If you’re like me, you know when a pattern has a firm hold on you. When you can’t or refuse to put it down because you just want to finish it. When you’re so close you can see the end is in sight, you feel that almost finished object rush. It makes your heart skip a beat and beat a little faster, while your hands feverishly work as fast as they can muster. You become so intent on finishing that no one wants to talk to you. And if they do they see your look and they will back away slowly. Currently I have that going on wither leaves of grass I started, which is going very well. The edging has been taking shape around the shawl/blanket, just repeating the edging chart for what may seem like miles.
The edging chart isn’t very long, I can do a repeat in 15-20 minutes no problem, unless I get distracted. Which you would think wouldn’t happen that often, but when the pattern just repeats as much as this does your kind can wander. When I hit that middle of the round marker, I stood up and declared I was halfway done with the edging. Luckily I was around other knitters when this happened they completely understood. I knew I was probably behind the others in the knit against but I had to press on.
I knit like a fiend, knitting those repeats as fast as I could manage. Back and forth working the rows and consuming stitches off of the body of the shawl/blanket. With each repeat I could see how big the actual thing was. Which I knew it was going to be big blocked, but what I didn’t realize is that unblocked mine would be huge. Near the end I found out that I could use it as a blanket that could cover me from feet to mid stomach, no stretching…. But I’m jumping ahead slightly. So then one of the other knitters came in and we looked at each other and asked where the other was. She was 9 repeats away from the end of the shawl. 9 repeats… I was about 30 repeats away from the end of mine, 21 repeats difference when the week before I was ahead. The knitters around the table asked how this could happen and I said work/life got in the way, which it did.
So I knew there was no way I would be the first to finish but I wouldn’t be the last, so I kept going. About 5-9 repeats left I looked at the remaining ball of yarn and my heart dropped, I didn’t have enough to finish. I panicked, thought I could knit faster, so that I would be fine before the ball could run out (don’t deny that you haven’t done that before). I looked on a few online stores and only one had it in stock, but definitely would stand out. No one on Ravelry had a full skein they were willing to part with. So I figured I better buy it and hold off on knitting the rest it till then so I pull blend. Then I thought I might as well knit as much as I could until I needed more.
I pressed on and watch the ball carefully, I noticed that each repeat didn’t consume as much yarn as I thought. I kept going, still watching, and I ended up on my last repeat, I stared at the ball and thought, I have enough to finish and a bit left over. Why was I panicking so much? I think I would have been devastated if I spent the amount of time I did and how fast I tried to get this done, to come up short. I had over the number of yardage required and it proved that I shouldn’t have doubted myself.
The last repeat is complete, now it just needs the Kitchener of the beginning and end of the edging, ends woven in, then the blocking of this massive thing. I’m wondering what it will look like when it gets blocked or how but it’s going to be…..