Circles

I absolutely adore knitting circles. In fact, my BKB and my Knitting Guru both tease me about my love for knitting circular shawls. If either one of them finds a new pattern before I do, there's bound to be a wink and a nudge as they share it with me.

My favorite part? I love watching the circle grow from just a few stitches as it expands outward - needing ever bigger needles. I'm easily delighted with the beauty of the piece as it stretches out over the needles.

When I was in college, I had a fascination with dream catchers, partially because a good friend gifted me with one. (Quality sleep has been elusive since middle school, and my dreams were tough back then.) Later, a social worker at the girls' home where I worked as a fundraiser introduced me to the idea of a mandala. Perhaps because of these, circular knitting holds a fair amount of mystery and magic for me.

Last fall, I made the Firmaments Lace Shawl, which was designed by Bonnie Sennott. (Bonnie just so happens to be the sister of one of my guild friends.) It's a beautiful design, and I was particularly pleased with it when it was finished.

Much as I loved it, though, I knew it was not destined to live with me. (Do your finished projects speak to you? Mine do. Often they tell me where they need to go - even if they live here for a while.) Instead, I carefully wrapped it up and gave it to my brother's girlfriend as a birthday/Christmas gift. She's one of my favorite people to gift with handknits, and as soon as I saw her draped in that shawl I knew that it had come home.

But I did really, really love that pattern, and I wanted one for myself. And so, when my next webs order came up I happily added the yarn to my purchase....and then cast on as soon as it arrived.

I'm a happy knitter.

Of course, the real reason why I made that order was that I had fallen completely in love with the Botanica Medallion Cardigan on the cover of the current Vogue Knitting. The Green Woman and I have to smile...it's just another excuse to knit circles!