Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Un-knitting

As you know, I've been knitting the secret (pattern) shawl for Alyssa's wedding in October. While I've knit some lace before, it's not my favorite thing - all the counting, all the YOs, all the room for mistakes - ha ha. But through the repetition of the pattern and watching the project become something amazing, I've truly found a new appreciation for both lace, and my level of skill knitting it.

But with all that comes an error (or two). There were times when I un-knit an entire row, more than once. There were times when I meticulously identified each stitch of the prior row to make sure it was, in fact, correct, before even attempting to re-knit the next row. The process is both frustrating AND rewarding (oh, and don't forget time-consuming!).

The best part, aside from making a shawl with love for a friend, is that it prepared me for test-knitting another (smaller) shawl for another friend. I've been using fingering and lace weight yarns for almost a month and they've really made me happy - who knew! Also, the drape of each of these shawls is divine...and neither one has been blocked yet so I can only imagine the fine details they will reveal when they're done.

Hooray for the knitting process. It's so nice to learn with each project and pattern.

Have a fantastic day!

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