The last few rows of this Mystery Shawl seemed to take an age (a subject to which I’ll return). But finally, my shawl is a mystery to me no longer.
Washing and blocking will highlight the lace, but this is basically it.
I think this shawl is pretty, but I probably wouldn’t have chosen to knit it had I seen it first. My favorite use of two colors in a shawl is still my Germinate. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when this one is stretched out and blocked nicely. Knitting it was fun, and I’m planning to do another mystery shawl with my friends this summer. Sometimes its actually better that I’m forced to knit stuff I wouldn’t choose. Horizon-expanding, that’s the ticket.
So, knitting lace is inherently dangerous. Drop one stitch or mess up the pattern and not catch it for a row or two, and you can be seriously screwed. I didn’t really mess up big time on this project until — wait for it — the bind off row. Yup, on the very last row I was rushing to finally get finished, dropped a stitch or two and let the screwing commence.
I was thinking about this today and wondered, what the heck was I in a big darn rush for? That was so important to make me cut some corners and be sloppy and then spend triple the time fixing the error. Now I’ve got nothing really interesting to knit, so finishing the project wasn’t for the purpose of immediately starting something else. And I certainly don’t need a new scarf in the month of May.
Impatience. Not enjoying the moment that I’m in. Living for a big future prize. These are all things I struggle with in life. Certainly, then, its no surprise that these struggles are challenges in my knitting too. Actually, knitting lace is good mindfulness practice for life in general. Being present for every stitch reduces the likelihood of regret later.
Maybe this time that lesson will stick, but I’m not betting good money on it.