Now don't get me wrong. I absolutely love a bit of plain knitting in the round. Give me some self striping sock yarn and I'll happily knit a plain vanilla sock for hours on end - given the chance. Sometimes though it can feel as though you are wading through treacle, knitting and knitting but not seeing much in the way of results. My husband has very long feet and that trek along to the heel turn can feel very, very long.

This is when I like to use little progress keepers. Those little clip on stitch markers that you can clip directly into your knitting. Stick one in at the start of the day, carry your sock around with you as you would do normally and by the end of the day you can see how much progress you've made. Perfect for those times when you are lacking a bit of motivation.

I also like to use them if I'm knitting in the cinema so that I can see how much progress I've made whilst everyone else has been busy guzzling popcorn.

It's a little thing, but sometimes it's those little things that can help to perk up your motivation and keep your knitting moving in the right direction.