So if you will excuse me, I will now join my Best Friend/Other Half for a quiet evening in our living room. It has been five very good years together and I'm very much looking forward to another five and then another five and..

PS. Stravaigin 2 pulled out all the stops tonight. Brownie points for the table right by the balcony, but the food was sensational. Roast sweet potato, fennel & feta stack w black olive hummus + Moroccan spiced chicken kebab, pink grapefruit & almond quinoa w harissa yoghurt & toasted flatbread + purple coconut rice parcels, peanut butter & orange ice cream w candied chilli peanuts.. One of the best meals I have ever had. Wow.

PPS. D gave me a signed first edition Alasdair Gray hardback. Goosebumps, I tell you, goosebumps.

PPPS. And I'm torn between five new knitting projects. I need someone to hold my hand and help me decide what to do next. D is surprisingly unwilling to spend several hours going back and forth between various books and stash compartments.

(this might be a good place to direct you to my mum's local rag's summer photograph competition and my current "favourite" summer photo)

Another lovely thing occurred this week. I was looking through people's projects on Ravelry when I came across a Canadian woman. Hmm, I thought to myself, hmmm. Something about her triggered something in my old brain (it used to be an Aston Martin but now resembles a Trabant). I looked closer, sent off a tentative email and, yes, Mysterious Ravelry Woman turned out to be May. Not just any May, but the May who was my supercool Canadian penpal way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She sent me mix tapes and I could barely form a sentence in English. Sometimes the world - and the internet - is a very tiny place.

Thirdly, my wrist appears to have recovered nicely thanks to my new wrist support, so I have whizzed through the first sleeve on my 4ply cardigan and now have one of the fronts on my needles. I shall miss the FIFA World Cup and not just because it allows for so much knitting time. Although my team, Denmark, did not acquit themselves with quite as much aplomb as I had hoped (cough), I have been enjoying the Cup so far - with a few notable exceptions. And we are heading into the second week of Wimbledon too. Maybe I will get my cardigan finished this summer! I need to ponder what to knit next.. Still or Calm?

Fourth Edition is taking part in the Knitting & Crocheting Blog Week, and you can read more about that blog project here.

I often get asked which is the best yarn I have ever used. I never know how to answer because, for me, the quality of yarn is wholly dependent upon what project I am doing. When I think about yarn, which I admittedly do all the time, I just try to think about it in context. What type of project am I making and who am I making it for? How will the object be treated, how will it be used and how often will it be used? Do I need to think about maintenance? In other words, every yarn has a purpose.

Many knitters shudder at the thought of acrylic yarns, but I maintain they have their place in the knitting world. Knitting for young children? Acrylic yarns (or woolblends) will seem like a god-send because they can be thrown into the washing machine with nary a thought. Acrylic yarns also have a better range of colours, they will not pill as readily and certain brands will arguably withstand nuclear holocaust (or toddlers).

I do not tend to knit for children, though, so I mostly use natural fibres. Since I live in chilly Scotland I also tend to use mostly woolly yarns.

New Lanark Aran is one of my favourite yarns. It is locally produced, is available in some truly beautiful colours and, best of all, it knits up like a dream whilst still being affordable. Old Maiden Aunt is another guilty pleasure - she dyes beautiful sock- and lace-yarns. I adore Rowan Kidsilk Haze which has a beautiful halo and yearn for a project in Rowan Lima, a soft and complex merino/alpaca-blend.  Drops Alpaca is one of my desert island yarns. I'd happily roll around in Noro Cashmere Island.  Also, I hoard Dansk Naturfiber 1-ply kidmohair/merino because I think it may be discontinued, it is absolutely divine, and I rarely get a chance to get my clammy hands on it (I used it for my Laminaria shawl). I dream of making something out of Garthenor 1-ply. And let us not forget handspun wool - I am lucky to count some hand-spinners among friends.

Meet the glittering star in my yarn stash firmament, though.

This is Färgkraft SoftBlend, a 2-ply laceweight Gotland-wool handdyed using organic dyes by textile artist Margrét Kållberg for the Färgkraft co-op in Sweden. 765 yards of utter perfection.It ticks all my boxes: rustic, organic, laceweight, Scandinavian, and dyed in my favourite colour in the entire world.

A Swedish friend of mine gave it to me last year as a birthday present. I am still trying to decide what to make from it. I feel tempted to pair it with my favourite shawl pattern, but on the other hand I also feel tempted to pair it with a traditional Scandinavian (or Nordic) shawl pattern.

I have many, many lovely yarns in my stash thanks to friends and family, but the Färgkraft 1-ply just stands out for me. I may never actually use it, you know..

When I first started attending knitting groups, I had no idea what to expect. I still remember my very first meet-up: I was knitting a pair of Fetching hand-warmers whilst sitting across from SoCherry and I was petrified. I worried she was judging the way I knit, that I might drop a stitch or make a mess of cabling. Looking back, this seems pretty funny - especially if you know SoCherry who is as sweet, kind and non-intimidating a person as you can hope to meet. I continued attending knitting groups despite my initial bout of knitterly panic and I was soon to realise that each and every person I met was A Great Knitter.

Usually I'm a very pragmatic person and I seldom get emotional, but I do get all gooey when I see what ordinary people like you and me can create out of a ball of string and two sticks. I see grannies knitting fabulous jumpers for their newborn grandchild; I see teenagers knitting socks in cheerful colours; I see adventurous knitters going for broke with lace or cables; I see casual knitters plugging away at a simple scarf - and I love it all. I really do. Knitters (and crocheters!), I salute you all.

Ravellers, here is a list of projects I love. I have seen so many beautiful things, so it was difficult to choose. I did settle on a theme - let me know if you guess what the theme may be..

• Arisaig by Jessibee
• Garter Yoke Cardigan by PetraO
• Waves in the Square Shawl by Tigerlilith
• Chevron Sweater by Kamicha
• Lords & Ladies by Elmleaf

Too easy? Here are five more favourites and another theme..

• Great Weekend Mitts by Minanina
• Kid Silk Jacket by Appleseller
• Suvi's Cardigan by Typhanie13
• Luxurious Lace Ribbon Cowl by Ellielabelle
• Nappikämmekäät by Nienor

I could go on all day, but suffice to say that each knitter/crocheter I meet inspires me and makes me a better knitter too. See? I do go icky-gooey occasionally.

Don't tell anyone.

ETA: And here's a very topical song too..

I wish I could say that I knew exactly which cardigan calls for those oak buttons, but my knitting mojo has gone AWOL. I'm about to graft the toe of the first Monkey sock, but my Frankie Says .. pullover is languishing in my knitting bag. I love the pattern, I love the yarn but I'm beginning to have second thoughts regarding the shape of the pullover. I'm, well, "top-heavy", as the professionals say, and I'm unsure whether a cropped pullover in quite heavy silk/cotton will do my figure any favours. I'm beginning to eye Blithe from Rowan 47, but I'm not quite ready to change my project just yet. I might need to talk this over with my knitting group.

Moving on.

I was disappointed in humanity when I came across this MetaFilter post about a recently discovered mass grave in England discovering during work on the 2012 Olympics site. The grave contained over fifty beheaded Vikings, possibly killed during the St. Brice's Day massacre in 1002AD. My disappointment arose after reading several MeFi comments of the "Vikings, LOL!" variety. I know this may come as a surprise to people who generally know Vikings as bloodthirsty barbarians from films, comics or Christian monks' annals, but, hey, they were actual human beings.  Actual human beings who were my ancestors and I fail to find the funny side in beheadings or mass-graves. Show some respect, please. The only good thing that came of the entire Viking thread on MeFi was a link to Star Wars re-written as a saga .. in Old Norse. Now that's hardcore.

Finally, I'm trying to decide whether to go see A Single Man or, ahem, Legion. I need to make my mind up quickly as I suspect neither will be shown in cinemas for much longer..

One afternoon I was meeting up with a couple of friends and we were merrily knitting along when a woman came up and said very slowly: "Oh. You are. All. Knitting. Socks." We weren't, actually, but I appreciated the stunned tone to the woman's voice.

And how did my Other Half react? He went out and got me a wooden shoe last because, and I quote, "you might want to use it for showcasing your socks on Ravelry photos." I already knew he was a keeper, but it's always pleasant to have this confirmed.

While I am not convinced the last will work for showcasing any socks, I do think it is exceptionally pretty in that 'early-20th C industrial item' way when mass-produced items were still being made in non-industrial materials such as wood, when you could still detect the workman's hand in the final product.

I do also adore the tiny details: the little plaque bearing the manufacturer's name, the stamp, the hinges and the elegant handle.

Ah, if this won't get me sock-knitting, I am not sure what will. I do have a pair of very plain socks on the go and I'm actually looking forward to a no-feet-involved photo shoot now.

Still no word on the missing project bag. I have a mind to go rummage through my workplace's storage facility today (and maybe buy a few books whilst I am in City Centre - those birthday vouchers are burning a hole in my pocket!). I find some comfort in the fact that both David and my mother think I might just have misplaced it. They know me too well.

Wall behind the Hunterian Art Gallery and most likely part of the Glasgow University Campus

I have a real weakness for old bricks. They come in all sorts of colours depending upon where they were made; they can be handmade or marked with the manufacturer's insignia; and they tell stories. We have too many brick photos to mention.  Thankfully my partner understands why I always just need one more photo of an old wall, a bricked-up window or even just an unusual pattern.

Plus, you know, I had the following exchange today: "Can I talk to the lady in charge of this?" - "That's me. " - "No, I want to talk to the slim one." Ouch. Maybe a soft, clingy knitted dress is a very bad idea, full stop.

Anyway. Finished object: my Kaiti shawl knitted in Rowan Kidsilk Haze (shade: Liqueur). I used just a smidgen over two balls (and you could totally get away with just two balls) on 4.5mm and although I really wanted to knit Sharon Miller's Birch, I used the top-down version, Kiri, to maximise the shawl-to-yarn ratio. This is a supersoft and very, very warm shawl.

(I'm not-so-slowly getting addicted to Kidsilk Haze - I'd love to knit a cosy jumper in KSH and have fallen in love with yet another Kim Hargreaves design: Veer from Rowan 32. The simple lines plus the quirky little details just stole my heart. )

Photo taken at the Kelvingrove Museum which is my favourite Glasgow museum, hands down. No matter how often I visit, I see something new and interesting. They even have a small, but exquisite collection of Early Modern Period art (one of my favourite ages). Afterwards we headed towards the Hunterian Art Gallery where, be still my heart, we saw a special exhibition on Albrecht Dürer in Italy and printmaking (including an incunabulum, phroawr). Seriously, seriously good stuff. I love my neighbourhood.