The last time I wrote about Cinder I had 120 stitches on the needles and a lot more knitting to do.
That turned out to be an accurate assessment.
The rows got longer, the charts got more interesting. There were stretches of garter stitch, lace that required attention and bobbles that looked perfectly lovely while being absolute trash to knit.
Little decorative shits.
Cinder became part of my routine. Coffee and a few stitches in the morning. A row or two before sleep. Sometimes that’s all I had room for, and sometimes I had to stop somewhere sensible so the next morning’s knitting wouldn’t have to begin with an investigation.
Chart B gave me a few of those.
A typo in the written instructions called for a kfb where the chart showed a kfbf. One missing letter, one fewer stitch added, and suddenly the numbers weren’t behaving. Once I found the discrepancy I stayed with the charts.
Chart C required its own brand of patience. At one point I frogged the work back about 6 rows to row 25 and tried again. To no fault of the pattern, just me missing a yo where there should have been one.
Slowly the fabric grew.
It’s a peculiar thing, spending that much time with something while still being unable to see it properly. You can see the stitches, you can see the sections of the pattern. But the whole shawl is still gathered on the needles, waiting.
On October 31st, I finished the i-cord bind off.
Cinder finally came off the needles, went into her soak and was blocked on the dress form.
Finished.
I’m grateful for that finish. It came at the end of an absolutely shit week and I needed something that was mine. I insisted on having the time to finish her.
The long sloping edge doesn’t have the amount of stretch I would want, and the bobbles have already received their review. But I like having learned these things by making this amazing shawl. I know more about the edges I enjoy, the shapes I want to explore, which attractive little details I am willing to explore again, and that the i-cord bind off isn’t nearly as intimidating as it looks, but it truly is attractive.
Apparently I also got use to her company. The first morning without Cinder waiting for me felt strange. For weeks I had known what my hands would reach for. Now there’s a finished shawl and an empty space in the morning routine.
Brianna’s socks can have some attention now.
And, another shawl is beginning to take shape in my head. Something inspired by the things I enjoyed in Cinder. That one will have its own story.
For now, Cinder is finished. The yarn that came home from Salem has become something I made, lived with, occasionally swore at and finally took off the needles.
I’m glad I kept going.
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