Just 8 days left until Christmas. And then I can FINALLY show you all the stuff I've been working on!
Not that I've done much in the way of Christmas presents in the past few days...
Yeah, I've just been working on the "I-just-need-a-hit-of-lace" shawl.
I mean, I guess I can show you my progress on it.
I'm affectionately calling it The Blob.
I've got 32 rows left to do, but mah god, they are So. Damn. Long.
And it's a fixed-size shawl. So there's no Ashtan-ing it. Which is TERRIFYING!
But the pattern is gorgeous and winter themed and the shawl's being made with 100% cashmere, so really, I'm in heaven right now.
Also, I *may* have picked up some mohair at the last pj party because I have a cool idea for another shawl that I want to try out.
It'll probably turn into a nightmare, but what's life without a little risk?
In other news, my hair's been regreenified thanks to my lovely Kayla.
It feels good to be my emerald self again.
I also FINALLY got to put up my grandma's ceramic village that she gave me a few years ago.
I'll leave you with this comment I left on a reddit thread talking about knitting. I could have rambled on even longer about knitting and what it's done for me and some of my thoughts on it, but I still think this is a pretty good little blurb.
"Knitting has pretty much been a driving force in the stabilization of my mental health. It's given me an outlet for my anxiety, connected me with a great group of people, and taught me how to value myself as a person. It also drove me to start a blog about all my craft work, which I've been consistently writing and posting on for over 3 years. And that in itself is a huge accomplishment for me. I'm bad about consistency.
I've learned that it's okay to make mistakes, for everything to not be perfect. There's value in those mistakes.
I've also learned that there's something to that notion of, "If you set your mind to something, you can accomplish it." I'm entirely self-taught. I learned crochet first and then discovered a knit shawl pattern called Celestarium. This shawl is a circular one with the constellations of the Northern hemisphere in the lace work. So I taught myself to knit just so I could make it. And I did.
I'm actually known for my shawls now. And my seemingly supernatural ability to either make them very fast or very large. Usually it's both and it's actually become known as "Ashtan-ing" a project in my circle.
Lace work speaks to me. It's my meditation and my craft. And the shawls I make become armor for myself when dealing with uncomfortable and anxiety-inducing situations. I'm wrapping hours and hours of work and accomplishment around my shoulders. How can anyone hurt me when I've made such an amazing thing? They also become a shield of love for the people I gift my work to. My love and care made tangible and just for them.
I will never sell my knitting. I decided that at the beginning. Knitting was to always be for myself before anything else. Never a job, never because someone demanded or assumed they'd get something. But I am always happy to gift people I love dearly with things I make. The people I know who value what I make and will take care of it. Because you really are gifting a piece of yourself every time you make something."
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