Kate lent me a her old knitting machine – I  couldn’t cast on and rang for telephone assistance –  she advised picking up stitches from an existing  pullover and knitting on to that. It worked, and I had got this much done by the time she came to give me a lesson on Thursday. I learned how to shape the neck hole and accidentally impaled my thumb on  a hook. After she had gone I was so confined – zooming along – then  forgot to put the yarn along and wiped the whole lot off the hooks – I fetched out 

my lovely Rosewood cables and rescued the stitches thinking I’d just sit by the fire and knit. But it was so slow – the machine tempted me back and it was easy to

put the stitches back on the machine from the needles. By Friday night I had finished the back and front and was really pleased. Feel I am getting somewhere – albeit slow learning. My thumb has healed up. The pullover is nearly finished and it usually takes weeks to knit one – this is going to be done in days. Amazing. I shall use the machine to do the ‘tractor’ work and needles for the fancy bits that I really enjoy.  My thumb tells me I really am hooked