delayed gratification

Most days, I wait and wait until I can pick up my knitting. Sometimes, I'll knit on the bus into the city in the morning, but lately I've been sleeping. If I get a seat on the subway downtown to my office, I'll do a few rows. Usually, I don't get my knit on until I'm on my way home. Again, I'll pick it up on the subway uptown if I get a seat. But, generally the serious knitting starts when I'm ensconced on the train or bus. All day when I can't knit, I think about my current project, or the next one, or I shop around and buy yarn. I continually check my bloglines feed to see if anyone's updated so I can be virtually surrounded by my obsesion. It's only an appetizer, though until I am commuting and then, I relax into the bliss that it is the stitching. I hate to be interrupted. Woe to the person who asks me to get up so they can have that empty seat; I shoot them looks of death.


Unfortunately, with the shawl, I can't pick it up for just a minute here or there. I don't even bother taking it out on the subway. I look at it longingly in my bag, but I know that I just don't have time (the ride's 8-12 minutes). So, I can't feed the lace jones until I'm on my way home. It makes the desire that much stronger, delaying it until I'm on the train and I can get the pattern out and fire up the yarn overs.


I'm trying to be good at home. Not working on the shawl as soon as Billy's in bed. Last night, I did the recycling and worked some of the duplicate stitching on bounce before I dove into the lace. Tonight, I'll do the dishes and a few more baseball seams before I allow myself the release of the ssks and skps.


Still, I've made some progress. I put a life line in after the first repeat of the main chart (or row 31-40 if you're like me and you work from the line by line instructions). I'll move it after the next full repeat or so. I'm still loving the knitting and loving the koigu.

Hubby asked last night who the shawl was for. I told him "Me!" I did mention that if someone sees it and really wants it I might give it up. I'm not sure if I'm a shawl wearer, but I'm sure I'm a shawl knitter!

I think I'll go finish my lunch and work a couple of rows, if nothing urgent pops up, which would be a nice change.