I don’t know about you, but this has been the hardest April I can remember. In fact, I dont think I’ve ever experienced such a difficult start to the year. In December I got a promotion at work. I was in a job I didn’t like, and now I have a job that I enjoy a lot. But the job comes with more responsibility, and with responsibility comes stress. Cue knitting to save my sanity.
A few months ago I finally bought the Knitter’s Almanac. I walked through Elizabeth Zimmermann’s fabulous “unventions” and sage advice, and decided that now was the time to cast on a Pi Shawl. Sometimes you start something and you’re not sure why, but it just seems like the right thing for the time. This shawl is what my brain and my heart have needed over the last few months. I sit down to work on it and it helps me to slow down and stop worrying. The yarns are beautiful and make this knitting a very tactile experience.
Earlier this month I got a call that my grandma was very ill and might not make it for much longer. I bought a plane ticket, packed a bag, and went to be with her. This shawl was such a comfort as I travelled and sat in waiting rooms. I showed it to her and she thought it was so beautiful. And then as she started to recover I knit on it in joy, so pleased that I was not knitting in mourning.
So often in my knitting I try to be smart. The easy solution or the obvious solution are not good enough, I have to do it the hard way. But sometimes I need something easy so that my brain can stop working on overdrive. That is what this shawl is for me.
Dramatic Lyric 
Oh, I am glad your grandmother is recovering! Such a blessing!
I have done a couple of Pi shawls, and just love EZ and her “pithy” instructions. I did one while traveling as well, it works well, because no matter how big it gets, it sort of folds in on itself! I love that yarn of yours, especially the beaded one. Is that your own beaded handspun?
I hope work settles down and the stress becomes more manageable, because you can’t knit ONLY pi shawls, lol.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m very blessed that my grandmother has been with us for so long and is still with us.
I’ve wanted to knit a Pi shawl for so long, but I always thought it would be boring. It’s surprisingly not. Having an eyelet round every 6th round helps to break up those long swathes of stockinette. The gold yarn is my handspun. I call it my Rumpelstiltskin yarn ; )
I keep telling myself the first 6 months are the hardest…and I’m almost to 6 months. And don’t worry, I have other projects going on in the background 🙂
You are blessed indeed! I always felt so lucky to have three grandparents until I was in my 40’s, and one until I was in my 50’s – no one ever believed it, but I was born to young parents and my grandparents lived to be old, so those two things worked out well for me!
Your gold yarn is really beautiful! Can’t wait to see your finished shawl.
And I am not surprised you have other things going in the background. Don’t we all?