Clapotisn't

Aargh. When I decided to make my clapotis a bit larger so it could be a shawl, I was not worried about the yardage since I had 2 other skeins that I had ordered at the same time as the original skein. I finished it last week, then pulled it out of the bag on Sunday to block. Imagine my surprise when I stretched it out on the floor and saw...

(The wrong side is up for blocking.)(Not only do I have a lousy camera...but also I am a lousy photographer! The lousy photo does more justice to the shawl than it deserves...the lower left side, where I added the new skein, is significantly lighter than the rest of the shawl.)

I was so sad. I was having such fun knitting it that I did not notice the more than slight color difference. I had such high hopes for my newly-named Jacob Shawl. But I will not let my hopes be dashed. Nothing we make is perfect. I spent many Thursday nights knitting on it with my library staff knitting friends. It is still beautiful.As I have contemplated its flaws as well as its beauty, I also began to think more about the ladders. I like to think of Jacob's ladder as going directly up between earth and heaven (or directly down between heaven and earth.)
In this shawl, the ladders do reach the other end, but they are slanted and a bit catawampus- just like me.

For Jennifer

Spring sprang, summer sizzled, and fall fell. Well, there is still a bit of a chance for a fabulous fall, but most leaves have fallen already or are still green and may not realize that it is time dazzle the eyes with golds and reds and oranges before they just turn brown and fall to earth. We may still have leaves on the trees at Christmas!
Mom Nature has provided a few spectacles, but not as spectacular as previous years. Nanabana is working on a spectacle, too...
Several years ago, while visiting my daughter in Mississippi, I purchased a beautiful wool/ acrylic/mohair blend yarn by Ornaghi filati in a gorgeous colorway with autumn muted greens, oranges, golds, and browns. The blend is called "Wonderful," and it is. Unfortunately, I do not believe it is still in production. About a year ago I started a Clapotis with it and then bogged down. It has come out of the bog, has found its rhythm, and is going to be finished before the last leaf falls...and with this weather, I still have a good long time to work on it! If I do a Clapotis again, though, I will use a less fuzzy yarn. Those dropped stitches do not run on their own! I did add an extra repeat or two to make it a little wider so that it could be used as a shawl. I'm thinking that with the ladders of dropped stitches it could be called the Jacob Shawl, full of angels and prayers traveling up and down each ladder that was knit to be unknit. Hmm. Sometimes when we are unraveled, ladders form to keep us together. The stitch is no longer visible, but there is still a means of communication, something that holds the piece together. Horizontal and vertical. We need both. My goodness, I think too much and try to make metaphors from molehills. I am on a constant search for grace and redemption!

Unfortunately, the colors in the photo do not do justice to the true colors.


OK Jennifer. I blogged!