Fighting the urge to cast on a shawl

That's how these big knitter-gatherings all go. I hang around with a whole passel of other knitters with their beautiful hand knit items on full display (Rhinebeck, Stitches, Yarn Harlot booksigning) and come home with a nagging thought ... something I should do ... something I just saw everyone else with ... I should cast on a lace shawl.
I know there's people out there that cast on lace shawls without a moment's thought, but I've never knit one before (doesn't mean I don't collect patterns, though.) I've got some green yarn that would work fine and I've got the Flower Basket pattern, and I've got a needle and there's nothing stopping me but a house to move, a house to paint and a whole lot of other knitting that could be done instead.
I did manage to finish a hedgehog the other week, for the daughter of a dear friend from grad school.
"What is that?" Janice asked (not the dear friend.)
"It's a hedgehog," I said.
"I thought it was an Afro!" she hooted.

So now, somewhere outside London, a small child is (hopefully) clutching her beloved handknit hedgehog that her mother named Tom Jones.

Comments

LaurieM said…
Aww... don't fight it. Just do it!

BTW - Cute trio in the pic.
Angie said…
Cast on if it makes you feel good - that's my motto! The hedgehog does look a little like a skunk with an afro, too cute, either way.
Patience said…
The thing to remember with shawls is that they're alot like puppies. They start cute and small and somewhere along the line, you've got something that's a large animal.

Are you prepared for 20 minute rows?

On the other hand, there's a lot of satisfaction to be found, and being able to cross off single row can feel like an accomplishment.
Anonymous said…
The hedgehog is perfect! About the shawl, though, consider whether you really want a shawl or is it just peer pressure. There's a section in the Yarn Harlot's latest book about the ugly stuff she started (and hated, and never finished) because of peer pressure. On the other hand, if you're strong, you can try it and if it isn't for you, you can rip it out or bind off and call it a doll shawl or babushka.
LaurieM said…
Patience, there are shawls that will take you an hour or more to complete a row.

Ask me how I know.

But really, it's the process, right?

And Meg, I thought the same thing about the red shawl. It looks like a creature of some sort.

Popular Posts