The Scarf

It's been a while since I have written in this blog. Days of accomplishments and clever tidbits unrecorded, all because of my new obsession, knitting. As I type this I am wearing my new scarf, knitted for myself, by myself. I am almost as proud of this scarf as I am of Lucy. Unreasonably proud. It is lumpy and bright like a potholder from 1967. I have gotten several compliments on it, maybe because a) it is so noticeable that is demands attention -- to say nothing is to insult the scarf or b) I have been petting it a lot and smiling. Me (beaming): "Thanks, I knitted it myself." Yeah, you heard me, MYSELF.

I learned to knit on Saturday at a little lesson Mary Ellen arranged. Was funny to see eight youngish, smart, accomplished women hunched over needles and yarn, faces screwed into various expressions of concentration and consternation. Mackenzie actually referred to knitting as a sport.

Once I had a convincing rectangle, I found I couldn't stop. I knitted and the rectangle got longer. And longer still. With the exception of Lucy, so little that I do in my life has such a measurable and satisfying output (and unless you're counting diapers, ounces of breastmilk or loads of laundry, even Lucy isn't all that measurable). I wanted to say "Look! Look!" after every row. I whiled away two good hours of my life watching "The West Wing" marathon, finishing the scarf. There was laundry to be folded, a book to be read, home improvement projects to be done, and Portuguese to be learned (I like to ruin frivolous moments thinking of the edifying thing I should be doing instead of the thing I actually want to do). Still, I knitted.

I am not sure how far I will go with this whole knitting thing. Maybe I will stick with rectangles and fat, forgiving yarns and needles. I will be an unsophisticated but prolific knitter! Or maybe winter will wane and I won't want anything wooly anymore. But I have this one furry, yellow, orange, blue and green creation, proof of my new skill. If you see me and my scarf, please compliment me, even if you're lying.