From Greedy to Gracious in 9 sentences - plus a 99% Finished Object

I-cord bind off

  And so I am at the 99% done stage on that Shawl Collared Vest I began last August. I had only inches more garter stitch to knit but I had forgotten all the little fiddly bits that come after all the knitting is done. The weaving in of ends. The tacking down of facings. The buttonholes. Finding buttons, for that matter. Ha! That task took an hour! Happily, buttons were found and ends are woven in and all that is left is to finish of 3 buttonholes, sew on 5 buttons and wetblock this baby and I can wear it later this week. Because I've tried it on and I know it fits! Yippee!

 

So close - and yet so far away

what 99% finished looks like

This yarn is from my stash and there is a LOT more left - in assorted colors. As I've worked on this vest I've pondered other things I might make from it. I'm a greedy puss when it comes to knitting. Almost everything I make is for myself. Of course, it isn't just greed. There's something extremely intimate about knitting, especially when you are a process knitter like me. And it is a slow process - it involves lots of thought, both of a practical nature, while planning a project, and of a more introspective, even fanciful nature during the long hours spent quietly moving stitches from one needle to the next. I couldn't possibly spend 300 hours doing something unless I took great pleasure in - at every stage. That pretty much means I have to be knitting to my taste - and I don't expect anybody else to share my taste. I knit socks for my guys and every now and then I make something cashmere-ily luxurious for a close friend. But I am far too polite to foist my taste onto somebody else.  

Ooo. How do you like that reasoning process? From greedy to gracious in 9 sentences!

In other Knitting News - TheQueen has cast on her Soho Smocked Dress! In fact, she has dubbed this a New Beginnings Project - a sort of Knit A-Long sponsored by Clara Parkes for her Retreat attendees. I am not an attendee, though I have been in past years. She has kindly invited Others to participate. The intention behind the New Beginnings Project is to knit something for yourself that pushes you a little out of your comfort zone and this knitted dress certainly does that for me.

It's the first dress and the biggest project, I have ever attempted and I want to finish it by January - preferably by the time I go back to work after my long Christmas vacation. I love the dress - I think it will look good on me - I seriously love the yarn but my goodness. 3,000 yards of yarn is a LOT of knitting. I am going to need all the help I can get to finish this. It was an extreme extravagance to buy MoreYarn and put it in TheCastle. I don't want to hear any tsk-tsking even from my inner Virgo scolding self. For this project I will be a joiner.

My MondayMonday photo is completely untouched by digital paint. This is really what it looked like yesterday - and I am not ready to move away from such a beautiful day. Rain is due tomorrow - I'll be glad to look on this the rest of the week. I hope you enjoy it too. And so I bid you all a happy Monday.