...Knitting Up A Storm: FO: Forget Me Not

It seems as if a century has passed since I started this shawl. My grandfather just had stroke and was admitted into the hospital for heart surgery. I remember bringing my little knitting handbook with me, size US 6 circular needles, and some lightweight fingering yarn in the shade of deep red to pass the time in the waiting room while my entire family waited impatiently for any news during the long few hours. I knew I had started a shawl, but I didn't know what it would mean in the end and how long it would take for it to finally be completed. That was 2008.

Now, don't get me wrong. This shawl is simple in design, and beautiful for that reason. It did not take all those years to complete because of lacework, or construction. It was stalled for matters of the heart. I couldn't let go. It was a safety net, not finishing it.

It was worked on at the hospital, then put down. Worked on for "Ravelympics." Years later, it was worked on during vacation, while sitting with my (then) fiance, the same time my grandpa grew unable to care for himself and was moved from my grandma's home into a nursing home. It hibernated some more, and was worked on after my grandpa passed. It finally was taken out of hibernation recently when I decided that it was time to stop delaying the inevitable.

I learned that finishing the shawl was a good thing. It would not stop the flow of memories just because the needles stopped clicking, or if the familiar 20-row pattern left my mind completely. It was time to give it life by bordering it with the flowing texture of waves. It was time to give it peace by binding off the very last row. It would take on new meaning by wrapping it around my shoulders. Nothing forgotten. Just given new life.