Binding off

We found a buyer for our amazing house, which, now that I'm leaving and trying to find a new place to set down roots, taunts me with all the advantages it has. Lovely wide open spaces, yet plenty of closets and a huge and comfortable kitchen,close to train, town and parkways.. It will be difficult to duplicate this set-up elsewhere! Close to shops and my friends, yet private and leafy. I know the new owners will enjoy many years of fun here!
So, binding off is an odd phrase, isn't it? In knitting, it is where you finish the edge of the knitting by slipping one loop over another, and marks the end of a journey of creating a piece of cloth. Because most of my projects tend to be big and all in one piece, the binding off comes after a long acquaintance with a project and many hours spent knitting, designing, tweaking and sometimes ripping out and starting over! But if you consider the phrase itself, "binding off!" can also imply releasing the shackles and gaining freedom! So, in a way we are doing that also.
Here is my latest project: a vest knitted from a pattern by Brooke Nico in Vogue Knitting Fall 2010, #13 Lace Jacket. I left off the sleeves and made it a vest.

Onward to the next adventure!