End of Traveling

Fall has always seemed more like the beginning of the year to me, but I am not in charge. Therefore, it is time to close out this year, and perhaps look forward hopefully to the next. It seems that many people are ready for 2009 to end, and are loudly trying to convince themselves and others that 2010 will be so much better. For me, it has just been another year. There have been good times, as well as those that have not been favorites of mine. Truth be told, the years seem to blur together with each other, and on a given day, I might not correctly state which year it is or how old I am.

Still, I am knitting. I do not think I was overly productive this year, but I did make more than few things, spun a bit, and survived times when I was not up for any of it. The deadline/production mode of late had moments of exciting energy, but it also took its toll and had its depleting effects, too. However, I am coming out of that, and thoughts of new are returning. While I have felt the itch to cast on for something new, I have been unable to translate those feelings into action. Instead, I decided to work on finishing some things.

I started with my sister's mohair moebius. Polly wisely advised me that it would be good to give her for New Year's, and she was right. I nearly finished it on Tuesday, but I ran out of yarn on the bind-off round. It was just as well, as I was not quite thrilled with the traditional bind-off I had used. I tinked back the 3/4 round of binding off plus another round of seed stitch, and then worked a stretchier bind off, and had about four inches of yarn to spare.

After I had the moebius soaking, I went directly to the next knit in need of finishing. This time it was something for me. I decided to figure out how I could fix my Traveling Woman shawl. I ended up tinking back five rows, skipping four rows (13-16) of Chart B, knitting the last three charted rows, and then knitting (instead of purling as per the pattern's instructions) the same stretchy bind-off I had used for the moebius. Again, I had about four inches of yarn left. I am thrilled to have been able to completely use my handspun yarn, and I will be able to begin a new year with a new shawl.