Knitting—Disappointment To Perfection

Pattern:  Summer Flies

Yarn:  Cascade Yarn Heritage

Needles:  size 7

Back in 2012, I was just getting serious about my knitting. And I knitted my first lace shawl. There were so many new techniques to learn. I wrote in my pattern notes, "Either I’m getting better or this is a really easy pattern!" I think it was both. Making this shawl marked a huge step in my knitting "career." There was still one problem that I didn't count on. My lovely large shawl was determined to be a tiny shawl. As one does with knitted lace, I soaked it, stretched it out while it was wet and pinned it out to dry. (That's called blocking.) Knitting will stretch out to a much larger size that shows off the open work of the lace. And it was perfect and beautiful. 

But some yarns won't stay stretched out. This was one of those shawls. I didn't know that could happen. I blocked it again, stretching it out even further. But this red shawl just didn't want to be a big shawl. When I unpinned it, it gradually—over several weeks—crept back to its original shape. It was determined to be a size better suited to a small child. So that's what I did with it. One weekend when the family was here, I gave it to Baby Girl to wear on a chilly morning. And I let her take it home.

Waiting for the doctor

Her mommy told me this past weekend that the red shawl has become a favorite possession. Last week it was her superhero cape. She wore it to the doctor's office for a round of allergy testing. She was much braver waiting on the doctor with her red cape wrapped around her shoulders. This knitting has magical powers.

This is Baby Girl's first year of full day school. She puts on the red shawl first thing when she wakes up and wears it while she eats breakfast. Besides keeping her warm, she might be recharging her "brave battery" before she dresses and heads to school. Maybe to her, it feels like a hug from Mimi every day. I would like to think that.

Summer Flies, 2012 photo

I was so disappointed all those years ago when the shawl didn't do what I wanted it do. But it ended up—years later—being an absolutely perfect knit. Just not the one I expected. It isn't just a shawl now. It's a superhero cape. It's a big hug from Mimi. It's a security blanket/shawl. It's love made from yarn. Knitting doesn't get much better than this.

Knitter's Note:  This was nothing wrong with this yarn. It is a good yarn—just maybe not the best choice for this pattern. I'm still learning more about fiber content and yarns and needle sizes and how all these factors affect the blocking size. Learning to knit is more than just knowing how to work the stitches.