The Shawl is done!!!

The never ending - taking forever - can't do anything else - forgot what my husband and child look like shawl is FINISHED and mailed off to little ol' Northeast Georgia for SP. Her engagement party is tomorrow night so I hope she can wear it.

I was up until midnight on Wednesday finishing the shawl. I bound off and found such a feeling of accomplishment. I went running into the bedroom around 11pm, waking DH up from a dozy state and was doing my happy jig which I only reserved up to this point for when DS pee-pees on the potty. DH was thrilled, but not too much when he realized that I still had to hand wash and block the shawl.

Ever so gently, I placed the shawl into a sink of cool water and daily shampoo (I realized at 10pm I had nothing else to wash it in!), massaging it just so, hoping not to mess it up. I have NEVER put a finished piece into the water completely to block it, but I knew that I wanted SP to wear it on Saturday. It had to be clean!!! So I hand washed it for about 10 mintues carefully monitoring the temperature so it never got too hot or too cold. Once the water ran clear (this stuff ran a lot) and bubbles were gone, I wrapped the shawl up in a towel. I was SO careful not to stretch it. I went through about 5 towels to get it dry enough to block.

So upstairs I went. The guest bedroom has a queen bed, quilt rack and a night stand. It is supposed to be a 2nd nursery, but since I can't get pregnant what better use then to be a blocking room for my knitting!! The cats were ever so curious and kept jumping on the shawl. DSs room in right across the hall, so I couldn't possibly shriek like a banshee at the cats b/c S would have woken up!! So I shooed them quietly out of the room.

Here we were, my Moby Dick and I. I just looked at this piece and knew I had done a good thing. As I shaped it on the bed I thought about SP's reaction and what her mom will say when the open it on Saturday (yes, 5 days late for a Christmas present). SP will definitely appreciate the shawl. She's just that type. The shawl spent all night with a fan whirring above it and by 8am on Thursday morning it was dried and finished. I was so pleased. Of course, L got the phone call . . . "It's done do you want to see it??" So I rushed to her house with S and lucky for me L's mom was visiting so I could get more accolades! I think I knit sometimes for the satisfaction of others praising my work. I guess we all deserve a little selfish pleasure when we knit for someone other than ourselves . . Right???

I packed it up and sent it UPS 2nd Day air to a tiny little town for a wonderful woman!! I feel such a sense of accomplishment! Here are the pictures!