hap hap happy!

is my 12 year old to receive her 12th birthday gift before turning 13. this shawl was not difficult to knit, the pattern was not full of trickery & i actually like the yarn SO why did it take so long? good question. maybe because i like quick results. maybe because i made a mistake and frogged and didn't want to knit with the same yarn i began with since it reminded me of the minnesota vikings and i didn't like the idea of that resting on my daughters shoulders. maybe because i wasn't sure my girl liked the new yarn i used and didn't feel motivated to knit her something she didn't like. it took me longer to knit this than it's taken me to knit anything and i must say i think the wait increased my girls desire (does absence makes the heart grow fonder work here?). she loves this thing! she has brought it with her everywhere we've gone since it came off the needles and it's being used like it's original intent: as a blanket when it would be weird to have a blanket with you. her idea , not mine, but i like it and that's why i've started another shawl, for myself.