A Tale of a Shawl and a Table


While my sister visited me over the past weekend, my husband was busy conducting a workshop with a colleague in San Francisco and brought me back two lovely gifts.  A shawl (can a knitter ever ever have too many?) and a handmade notebook.  He knows me well.


My table is finished!  I love the newness of the surface and I hope that this refinish lasts us another 30 years like the first one.  As always, the table still has personal flaws that make it lovable and unique.  Now if I can only get used to the slightest whiff of polyurethane in the air.  This is even after a week drying.


As I mentioned on Sunday, I ripped out my entire shawl on Saturday after finding a mistake near the beginning.  I confess I'm a perfectionist and the deed had to be done.  I dropped down a needle size and love the way the shawl is knitting back up.

Oh and hey, a valuable lesson I learned from this shawl that I want to share with all of you:  look and critically inspect your knitting when you pick it up to knit each day.  I wish I would have done that.


look at that reflection!

Comments

  1. BridgetJuly 26, 2017 at 8:57 AM

    Lovely gifts from your husband! I especially love the front of the little book.

    Your table looks absolutely amazing - enjoy it in good health for a long time! And as for your shawl, better to rip and then eventually be happy with the FO, than to leave it and always have it bug you that it's there!

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  2. BonnyJuly 26, 2017 at 8:59 AM

    You've shared lots of beauty with us this morning! Your table is indeed lovely; it looks brand new! The gifts from your husband and your second-time-around shawl are equally wonderful. Enjoy them all!

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  3. kathy bJuly 26, 2017 at 9:57 AM

    Wow, the table is stunning. The journal is perfect, and I love the cover!!! I will heed your advice and LOOK at each row. Now that I am well into hundreds of stitches per row, mistakes can be very time consuming!

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  4. Juliann in WAJuly 26, 2017 at 10:04 AM

    Beautiful table and great advice. I am not a perfectionist but I would like to cultivate the habit of looking closely.

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  5. VeraJuly 26, 2017 at 12:16 PM

    Beautiful gifts from your husband, beautiful table and beautiful shawl. So much beauty!! Everything is lovely.

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  6. GraceJuly 26, 2017 at 3:01 PM

    What beautiful and thoughtful gifts from your husband! You are like me, I am not good at letting mistakes go. My dad used to say if you're going to do something do it right, don't settle. Could be why I've never completed the sweater I began years ago! 😊

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  7. CathieJJuly 26, 2017 at 5:59 PM

    Your table is beautiful. I have a few that could use some refinishing after 32 years of marriage. Your husband brought you great gifts. So sorry about the knitting, but I agree that you have to look at your work often. Enjoy your knitting.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 26, 2017 at 6:03 PM

    Your table looks lovely! Congratulations!

    I think you made a very good call by starting over on the shawl. You'd never been happy with it if it had a mistake you could see. Now you have a fabric you really love. The extra time will be worth it.

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  9. MaryJuly 26, 2017 at 6:04 PM

    such beauty! gifts, a shawl in progress and a table (so shiny!) ... what a wonderful mid-week pause.

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  10. JaneJuly 26, 2017 at 8:27 PM

    The table looks beautiful. I can relate to that streak of perfectionism. I always hear my Dad's voice in the back of my head: "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." One of the things I like about knitting is that I can usually make it come out just so - or abandon it if it doesn't meet my standards.

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  11. AnonymousJuly 26, 2017 at 9:37 PM

    What a good eye he has; he brought back nice gifts for his loving wife. What workshop was he conducting in SF? I'm picky about fabric too when I'm knitting. I don't like having a big gauge for lighter weight yarn.

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  12. mamasmercantileJuly 27, 2017 at 3:05 AM

    Such beautiful gifts, a very thoughtful husband. A great job on the table, looks amazing.

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  13. mamasmercantileJuly 27, 2017 at 3:10 AM

    Forgot to say that Gerard is doing well at the moment, thank you so much for asking. The climate here seems to suit him well, he is working on the cottage for a few hours a day and we are getting out and about daily although he does use a cane. Time will tell, how long this lasts...

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  14. chrisknitsJuly 27, 2017 at 11:59 AM

    I need to use that tip more often! Too much ripping happens here.

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  15. UnknownJuly 27, 2017 at 5:17 PM

    What a sweetheart your husband is!!! I have one of "those" too, and I am grateful for that every day. Your table looks wonderful. This past weekend when my son was home for a visit, he made me a coffee table. We had some 100+ year old wood from the renovation of our house, and it's gorgeous! If it ever stops raining, I'll be starting the polyurethane. :-)

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  16. Needles and WoolJuly 28, 2017 at 12:31 AM

    beautiful table! I love the shine. That is so sweet your husband bought you those nice gifts. That's too bad the mistake was at the beginning. That had happened recently to me with my kerchief I noticed a problem many rows back and had to frog quite a bit to get to it. At the time it feels so frustrating to undo all the work you put in, but in no time you are back where you were and glad you did. That shawl is looking great!

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  17. Jeannie Gray KnitsJuly 28, 2017 at 12:56 PM

    Wow! I can't get over the difference between the 'old' & 'new' table. Amazing! And your shawl is looking better. I thought it looked fine before but the new slightly tighter gauge does look better. Good job!

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