From humble beginings, a shawl is born.
Blocking:
And, yes, these pictures aren't great. It's hard to photograph a white shawl on a grey background. Or, at least, it's a hard thing for me to photograph.
In its unpinned glory, modeled by the Pie Goddess:
You will note the big mistake in the middle bottom bit. I hemmed and hawed about posting this -- despite the fact that I never once thought about ripping back to fix this flaw. There are two reasons why I didn't rip back. The first reason is a practical one. Given that I didn't notice how bad this patch was until I was blocking it, there simply isn't time. Really.
The second one is a more metaphoric one. This is a shawl for a wedding and, as such, in my mind at least, it's come to represent something about marriage, which I was thinking about while I was knitting it. Marriage, too, has its ugly bits. The shawl's mistakes came about because I lost track of the fundamentals like counting to 11 and when to purl. A marriage's ugly bits often crop up for the same reason, which is that you lose track of the fundamentals.
It's something to keep in mind on your wedding day, I think. Yes, yes, you should celebrate and let those around you celebrate as well. But know that there will be spots that you look at later and wonder what the hell happened. If you can keep pressing ahead and still make something pretty dang beautiful, you have done quite well and should be proud.
And I am proud of this Icarus, despite its imperfectness. Ditto my marriage. And I wish the same for the happy couple.
![](<img src="http://www.martinimade.com/52969729.jpg" />){kind=link}
![](<a href="http://www.redcross.org"><img src="http://www.martinimade.com/badge_BC_I_give_blood.jpg"/ </a>){kind=link}
You did it! BRILLIANT! I'm right there with you about the imperfection of it--it's an integral part of the shawl, and frankly, the whole thing would fall apart if it weren't there.
Better or worse . . . way to go!
Really looking forward to Memphis next week!
Posted by: Ann | October 05, 2006 at 02:48 PM
That's a beautiful shawl. I'm amazed at the handiwork.
Posted by: Cuccu | October 05, 2006 at 05:40 PM
Love the shawl.
Love this post.
;)
Posted by: Katy | October 05, 2006 at 09:12 PM
No matter what the flaw may be, your shawl is still beautiful. Your thoughts reminded me of what someone told me about diamonds and marriages being perfect. "Those are not flaws, those are birthmarks! And no matter what happens at the wedding, you will still be married and will be with each other. Congrats!
=:8
Posted by: Kimberly | October 22, 2006 at 10:02 PM