Note to self: Knitting is not sewing. I should therefore start knitting my mom's shawl; after all, if I don't like the way it's turning out, I can rip it out and try something new without losing a bit of yarn.
I used to remember this about knitting. In fact, when I first started knitting regularly, that was one of my favorite things about it: I didn't have to suffer the dreaded First Cut syndrome, which is particularly marked with super-nice fabric.
This is super-nice yarn: hand-dyed, recycled/rescued cashmere and silk. Mmm. It's even a great weight for a real shawl*, or a lightweight cardigan, which is what's keeping me from casting on: what if I find the shawl pattern I've chosen to be inappropriate? Hence I must remind myself: I can always rip out.
I can always rip out ... I can always rip out ... I can always rip out...
*Not to degrade the shawl I've chosen as a non-real shawl. ;) I'm just being sloppy with my phrasing. Ahh, the leisure of not writing a Blog of Substance.
