it's the taking part that counts, right?

One more day, that was all I needed, one measly 24 hours. Well, that, and drying time, and decent light to take a half-way decent photo. But the Olympic Knit, she is done.

So what did I learn? That in a perfect world, I could have knit a Faroese style shawl, with lining, in 16 days (I did the lining in 5 days). But the world isn't perfect, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Am I sorry I missed out on the medals? No. Most defiantly, definitely not. Because it is seldom that I drag myself out of my default state of torpor, and actually bother to apply myself. And I did, for this. I went and learnt about Faroese shawls, just a bit. I went and worked on my charting, just a bit. I even tried some maths, just a bit (and know that I need to go back to school, because the state of my maths is abysmal). I set myself a challenge to try something new, and I did.

I joined in, and I'm not really a joiner. I visited new blogs, met new bloggers, been astounded by the work they do, and by their generosity. (And greatly appreciated the generosity of those who were sane, did not take part in the K.O., and yet still indulged this madness in others.) I've thought about what the meaning of community is (hey, I've got a background in social anthropology), and applauded the efforts of thousands around the world.

I took some time out, to concentrate on one thing only, tried it on for size, and confirmed that I don't really work that way, though I can, if I have to.

I learnt that I'm not afraid of knitting, I'm not afraid of getting it wrong, of making a mess, because things are fixable, work-roundable, forgivable.

And although you can't see it (I'll try and get some better photos up over the next couple of days), the slogan around the bottom of the shawl is * K O * YARNHARLOT GAVE ME * T S F [for Tricoteuses sans frontières] * KNITBLOGGERS MADE ME *. The lace on the panel is, from the bottom up, fir cone, christmas tree, and snowflake.

Right, I'm off now, to make some socks. And if anyone knows anyone who is really, really cold, I happen to have a seriously warm, two-layered alpaca shawl lying around, that needs a good home.