What's the point?
I’m not a big fan of edge-up shawls. The work goes more slowly with each row, and it’s always tough to gauge when to stop. I always end up measuring back from the yarn end to make sure I’ve got enough for the bind off row, and I never get it right. Being as tall as I am, I need all the length I can squeeze out of a ball of yarn, so I try never to stop until I absolutely have to. Which gets me into trouble.
Still, that’s not what unnerves me about this shawl. It’s those picots, those little bumps waiting for me at the end of every row. They look so cute in the photos--all sweet and scallop-y. Subtler than pom-poms but with more style than a selvedge edge. I want them to work, want them to look like clever trimming instead of ugly growths bulging off the end of each row.
Some rows I look at the funny bump and think it just looks like my shawl has warts. Other rows I hold it up and think, “eh, not so bad.” The fuzz and the color work against me here...they make it hard to judge.
I know there are at least three that I totally botched, but I’m hoping they won’t show. I’m choosing to soldier on, trusting that there will be strength in numbers. You know what they say, “never judge September apples in June.” I’m trying not to judge a triangle by only it’s point.
And maybe that’s the point (pun intended). Sometimes we only see the beauty of our experience in hindsight.
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