Dear all,
I believe that this Birch edging issue generated the most rousing, undiluted unity of opinion in ten years of blogging about handknits. It’s unanimous! The border has been voted off the island, kicked offstage, yanked with a hook, booed and chucked to the ash heap of ignominious abandon. Thumbs down! DisLike! One star! Never has a border had such an unwelcome.
Thank you all for your open and heartfelt opinions on this urgent matter.
In my enthusiasm for ditching the border, I did the thing I rarely do, which is to get out my scissors and chop away at the border until it was gone. This took longer than I thought it would, seeing as how I actually cared about one side of the knitting. I can’t really recommend it as a way to edit your knitting, but it did leave me with the thing that we all knew was the correct destiny for this wrap.
Pure, untainted, no-fooling, sea-to-shining-sea gray. It looks like this winter, you know? I hope all of you who are buried under the latest pile of snow are hanging in there. Nashville has yet to see a genuine snowfall this winter. We’re actually a little bitter about it.
I think I feel blanket fever coming on. I mean: big blanket fever.
Love,
Ann
Phew! You made the right decision.
It’s beautiful!
It’s true – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much accord, even on a knitting blog. haha
Good luck weathering the weather…And what will be the next big blanket? (I feel the urge coming on, too…It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have something that big tucked away to work on among the bajillion other projects I have going right now…right?)
Katie =^..^=
Also – it’s gorgeous. haha
It is a thing of simplicity and beauty. As I read through the comments, I also noticed that quite a few people did like the color of the border, so much so that they wanted a like item in that color. I live in VA and round two just started. I am something of an oddity because while everyone around me is ready for spring I am really enjoying the winter weather. I have a bag of log cabin squares in my “craft room” (better than saying disaster area) that is ready for assembly. Since I recently completed another blanket, I think I may save that for the NCAA tournament.
Let Congress debate the nation’s knitting projects from now on and we’ll be well on the path to non-partisanship, if the Great Silk Birch crisis was any indication.
Are you going to make a headband or belt out of that bit? Or just rip it?
I have just heard of an impending baby and must make a blankie. Am frantically searching for easy, interesting, fancy-pants, cabled, textural, easy and quick, glorious patterns. But I can’t actually start because I have Olympic knitting to do. Oh, dear.
SquareMary — I had a similar baby blankie pattern selection challenge for an impending baby to be born in CA, so I needed something ‘chic’ and not so heavyweight. Suggest you search “nestle blanket” on Ravelry. I’m making Nestle in a cotton yarn and the other that comes up in the search (nesting blanket) looks yummy (except for the border). Good luck!
Yeah!
What is it with you people taking scissors to your knitting? It’s very disturbing.
Bitter about not seeing a “genuine” snowfall this year? Goodness gracious me! I live in a suburb of NYC that is full of hills. We’re getting pounded with snow Yet Again. Right now, I am “bitter” about not seeing “genuine” pavement. There are snow drifts at the top portion of my (23) stairs that seem as if they would be up to my hip should I be foolish enough and venture out to check. Yeah, I got “genuine” snow.
However, I ain’t got nothin’ as pretty as that lace shawl you’re blocking. It rocks!
LoveDiane
Winter is here is southern Ontario, but it’s not nearly as beautiful (or warm) as your shawl. As for Big Blanket Fever, bring it on and share it!!!!
Just popping in on a low-comment day to say I love you guys!!
Have to admit I was thrown off by the website update, since I normally look at the blog on my iPad – I thought I was being subjected to some kind of app/device format, and got disoriented. But now I’ve caught up on the last few months, had some great laughs and realized how much I missed you!
I’m going to get rid of a Certain Number of Things, inspired by your January exercise.
And I’m also enjoying a winter full of handknits – it has been below 60 for quite some time here (meaning the temperature inside the apartment, which causes me to pile on the handknits at home.)
Oh, and I have a new website, too: http://www.einesaite.com
Big love –
T
I need a *like* button up in here.
The shawl is lovely!
Is that the inscrutable Eliot looking at your de-bordered shawl? What is he thinking? We know what Kermit is thinking.
Thank you Kay for removing the border! It is a lovely shawl as is and deserves all your love and attention on its own. I never cared for the border (lovely though it was), but didn’t originally post and cast a vote. Everyone else seemed to echo my sentiments. Well done!
Your model looks very grumpy. Was he or she not happy your Silver Birch is not in a color more complimentary to the model? Or was it because the shawl was still wet and full of pins that are not friendly to soft, fluffy feet?
What a beautiful shawl! Good decision.
Well-done! Did you have the presence of mind to add the (much-maligned) border by binding off the gray and then picking up stitches, or did you have to catch all those lace stitches and then cast off? I hope the former. In any case, looks great all blocked and ready to go.
We’ve got at least 18″ on the ground here in Boston. Feel free to come up and experience it. Bring your knitting. We can provide the fire and snow shoes. 😉
I am amused that you didn’t seek satisfaction in frogging that border right off. But it’s almost funnier that you took scissors to it. Did you have more gray to bind off with, or did you have to go back further to a previously completed repeat to harvest enough yarn to do so?
Looks BEAUTIFUL! Perfect.
Oh, and we actually had a snowfall this year! It’s been a couple years since the last one. It was fun to play in. A very polite snow, that came on Thursday, gave us a long weekend, and left on Monday.