The Old Girl

The phrase 'the old girl',  is usually used in relation to horses or the irascible elderly neighbour around the corner.  My old girl is something different.

The oldest thing in my WIP basket is this dainty delicate ever so airy pink beginning of a shawl.  

If you look on its Ravelry page,  it says 1/2 done.  This is just not the case.  I must have been dreaming when I set it like that.  It may have had something to do with needing to keep this project and it went outside my clearly set rules at the time - if it is older than July and it isn't half done, frog it.  I did a large purge in late 2010 or early 2011.  It has since survived several attempts on its existence, surviving repeated cleaning of the WIP basket, when many other things were frogged, I know not how .  It must mean I love it. 

Either that or I have a ton of pink beads and I darn well better use some of them. 

It is the oldest WIP I have other than some hardanger embroidery pieces that I really would like to finish.  She is my old girl.

I took her out and was looking at her last night.  The yarn is the now discontinued Skacel Merino Lace.  This yarn is impossibly fine.  It is cobweb or lighter.  I'm sure it is out there, existing in a new form, somewhere.  Such a good basic lace is never really lost, it just morphs forms and put ups and names.  

I'm knitting it on 2.5 mm needles.  Why am I knitting it on 2.5 mm needles?  I have no idea, but when you find the me that decided to do that, please lock her up and toss away the key.  This is just nuts.  Fine lace on very fine needles will take forever.  If I was to start her again, I would at least go to 3.5 mm needles.  

I won't start again though. There is something beguiling about her, the old girl, knit at such a small gauge.  Such dainty stitches.  Such delicate columns eventually to end in a flutter of lace.   When  you lift up the whole project, it is so light, weightless on the needles.  

She will be knit to many more repeats than the pattern calls for, because of the fine gauge and the large quantity of yarn.  She isn't nearly half done, perhaps more like 1/4 complete, but with everything I am, this shawl is going to be completed.  

Do I love the old girl.  Why yes.  Yes I do.  Time I paid some attention to her.