Zen and the Art of Finishing

I took a seminar from Louisa Harding once and she told me she couldn't figure out how knitters could knit all the pieces to a garment and then never finish it. I understand why they do it. Because knitting is a leap of faith and as long as it's not sewn together - you can live in a dream world where the finished result will live up to your expectations. I tend to take my time with finishing and do a bit each night to make sure it's done properly. Last night I finally wove in the last end of my Bonsai Tunic and took a deep breath and tried it on.

I'm very happy with it.

I recruited my husband and son to take some shots this evening so here are the various angles to try and show the lovely stitch pattern. The gory details are as follows:

Pattern: Bonsai Tunic Interweave Knits Spring 2007

Designer: Norah Gaughan (my hero)

Yarn: Berroco Bonsai 97% bamboo and 3% nylon

Yardage: 77 yards to 50g (this is heavy stuff)

Colour: Shade#4149 Satsuki Green

Size: 34" bust (this is drapey yarn and it stretched about 2")

Used: 8 skeins (calls for 9)

I had to rip out the first attempt after getting all the way to the waist because it was draping too much and would have been too big.

The pattern is well written and the construction is really cool. I was completely engaged through the whole project and never had that "are we there yet?" feeling. This was my first completed Norah Gaughan and it won't be my last. I'll be wearing it to work tomorrow!