My friend Gail challenged me to knit a sweater. While a sweater looks impressive when it’s finished, it’s really not technically difficult to do. If you know how to cast on, knit, purl, increase, decrease, and bind off…you can make a sweater. I was pretty proud of myself when I finished…mostly because I’m not good at finishing projects. I’ve been the Queen of UFOs (unfinished objects) in the past. As a matter of fact, it was everything I could do to stay on task the last couple of days knitting that sweater. I was bored and ready to do something else. A new yarn. A new pattern. Learning a new technique. But I stuck to it and finished! Go ME!
When I discovered the yarn shop in town last week, I bought two new yarns. One for making socks, and the other…I had no idea. I just liked it. It’s 100% merino wool. A light fingering weight. Perfect for making something light and airy…like a summer shawl. I sent Gail a picture of the yarn and told her the weight and how much of it I had. She sent me three patterns that would work well. The one I LOVED was the most difficult…errrrr, I mean…challenging.
Gail has made this particular pattern many times. She agreed it was more challenging, but she seemed to think I could pull it off. Well, let me tell you…there IS a learning curve to this one. The most difficult is…it has a pattern. I mean, there are fourteen rows and you repeat that set of fourteen rows over and over till the shawl is as big as you want it to be. I found I had to write down where I was in the pattern or I would be lost. I’ve had to rip several rows at a time out and correct an error. It’s going to be one of those pieces that means a lot to me when I’m done because I poured so much into it. And, the more I look at it, the more I realize this may not be the perfect yarn. I think I’d rather have more of a speckled look. So…When Mr. FixIt called me in to see something funny on TV…I ripped out all the work I did today. That’s not a bad thing. I know know how to knit this shawl and I know I’d rather have a different yarn. I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m cool with that.
I have my appointment with the surgeon today, and afterwards, I think I’ll go to town and look for a different yarn for this shawl. There is a knitting group that gathers on Tuesdays and I’d love to meet some knitters and make some more friends. It will be good for me.
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“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2 ESV