Knitting

It's been a couple years now, since I knitted a scarf for my niece for Christmas. I forgot to take a picture of it then because I was knitting right up to the moment I wrapped it on Christmas Eve. Recently I was at an event at her house, so I asked if she would model it so I could take a picture.



It was a beautiful spring day, which is why the scarf is the only winter-wardrobe item she's wearing.

Here's a closer picture, so you can see the pattern, plus the row of yarn daisies.



It's several rows of garter stitch (just knit, don't purl any rows) and 10 rows of seed stitch (alternate knit, purl stitches, so you make a pattern of bumps). The daisies, in addition to being cute, cover a row where I messed up. By the time I realized how bad it looked, I didn't want to rip out everything I'd done since. So I made these daisies on a little loom, using white and yellow yarn. My niece likes daisies.

I just wanted to record this completed project for posterity. I've started two other projects since then. I'll post pictures of those when they're done. It could be a while. I think it took me over a year to knit this scarf. That's because I don't stick with it all the time. For weeks, or even months, I won't touch my knitting.

Sometimes I listen to a book on tape (as I anachronistically think of it—it's really generally something on my Kindle) while I knit. I listened to all of "Evangeline" while knitting. A novel or novella-length poem is not something I would read with my eyes, but it was good to listen to. Poetry should be spoken, anyway, because it's a cross between writing and music. To read a poem silently is kind of like reading a musical score. Some people might get a lot out of that, if they're experts. But still, one would rather listen. And I like to listen to a trained professional reading, rather than my own first reads with mistakes, mis-pronunciations, and incorrect emphases.