Done! Fini!

To my own astonishment, I assailed my knitting mountain, Montparnasse, and conquered it well within my own personal best time, and even within the time allotted by the officials of the Tour de France KAL. Like most of the riders in the Tour de France when asked how they feel now the race is over, my first response is 'relieved'. But on reflection, even if I have to say it myself, c'est magnifique...not necessarily the outcome, but the fact I achieved it.


I've commented previously that there is always a tension for me between choosing a knitting pattern that provides an interesting challenge, and choosing one where I like the styling. I love the texture provided by good yarns, and don't often want to add lots of additional texture through elaborate patterning. Montparnasse is a knit where the overall styling is much more central than knitting complexity. It treats the (seeming) hectares of stocking stitch as if they were fabric, and only takes advantage of peculiarly knitting features through the reverse stocking stitch detailing on the collar, and the welted seams. By the way, welted seams really do make a virtue of necessity - all that seaming you usually try to make invisible becomes a decorative feature!


I finished despite lots of pleasurable distractions from my knitting in the last few days. My grand-daughter (who Emily has dubbed 'the dotee' - a most useful new word) and her parents have been staying with me before leaving today for five months in Cuba and Mexico. I'll have to do my doting from a distance via e-mail and photos and start knitting for next winter when she'll be back in Australia.