Remember when I've said that I'm a process knitter? That I knit more for the journey than the destination? I think my hospital shawl proves that. And remember when I've said how important steaming is to the finished product? I think my hospital shawl proves that, too. This is where I was the at the last post. . . Beautiful but amateur. Great yarn, great pattern but it just misses moving from homemade to handmade. Now let me show you what spending a little time with Marilyn The Red Hot Mama will do for something with potential. Isn't that yummy, professional perfection!?!?!?! This just came together exactly as I imagined, well almost exactly as I imagined, well, maybe not quite perfect. Dick and I tried to take our own Glamor Shots (remember Glamor Shots? Photos with lots of makeup that ended up looking nothing like you and your face burned for days from the professional makeup.) I think this is almost as good a photograph as the one in the pattern picture. Dick did hit the video button twice and cut off my head once and well, let's just say he had a little trouble. Every time I asked Dick to be the photographer, it's not quite right. I think this would be one of those, "Don't quit your day job" moments. Maybe it's not the photographer but the subject. Now for the rest of the story. I got a little nervous about where the medium teal begins. Was I going to run out of yarn? But how could I? The pattern for Everyday called for 800 yards and I had 1312. How could I possibly run out? About where the medium teal became pale teal, I was feeling pretty confident. Picking up my "pull from the center" ball of yarn, it felt like plenty. In the hospital, I just kept knitting. How can you worry about running out of yarn when your husband is recovering from open heart surgery? Some things are worth worrying about and some aren't. I just kept knitting and Dick just kept getting better. I really do believe there is a correlation between how your knitting is going and the healing process. I thought my knitting was proceeding as planned. I carried my knitting bag with Everyday on the needles in various stages of completion everywhere I went. To the cafeteria, to Dick's room, to my room, to Java Joe's, it was always with me. As you are knitting, that backbone gently moves from the middle to totally on one side, ending in the corner when you bind off. This is how it ended. I didn't have quite enough yarn to take the backbone all of the way to the right edge. "Pull from the center" balls of yarn can be deceiving. I really couldn't tell how much yarn I had left. See that little jog? With enough yarn that would be a flat edge. I was maybe 6 rows from having enough yarn to complete perfection. Remember the 100 or so yards I cut off from the dark teal to make sure I got into the very pale teal? I guess I needed those yards. I think it would have worked out exactly right. Some one said to me, "Aren't you going to take it back so you make one less pattern?" I said to myself, "ARE YOU CRAZY????? THIS IS ABOUT THE JOURNEY I JUST TOOK. I THINK THIS SHAWL IS PERFECT." Out loud I said, "No, I think I'll leave it just like it is." Most things I knit become part of my Christmas giving, but this will stay in the Parson home forever. I love every stitch. I love every tear stain, and there are a few. It is my journey through open heart surgery. Lydia looks great in it. See the little "I ran out of yarn jog?" I think it looks a little like a Mandarin collar. And from the back. Everyday is finished and beautiful and Dick is healing and perfect. My world is pretty darn good.
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jan parsonThis blog is dedicated to Mary Helen Growt my first knitting teacher and the woman who changed my life. The mission of Knitting: A Love Story is to preserve, share and promote the love of knitting. Archives
April 2021
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