First project done!

I finally finished my first knitting project. This scarf was knit with a variagated 4 ply Red Heart, and I love how it turned out. It was knit with 14″ of garter stitch, 18″ of ribbing, then another 14″ of garter stitch. I love how the ribbing makes it skinnier around your neck! I think next time I do this pattern, I’ll make the garter stitch sections longer. I like the look of longer scarves.

I learned a lot on this project. It was a good beginner project to master the basics – keeping an even tension, refining my technique of holding and throwing the yarn, and how I hold my needles. I worked on this one for a few days, then set it aside to start a blanket (which is about halfway done). When I picked it up again, I was amazed at how much more quickly I was knitting. I’ve definitely gotten faster since those first few squares I knit.

But beyond the knitting basics, I was surprised at how much I learned about myself during this project. I’m terribly impatient. Now, that’s not news to me or anyone who knows me, but rather it was a big in-my-face reminder. I’m used to scrapbooking where I can finish a half a dozen pages in a day and feel like I really did something. Or making an incredibly nice diaper bag in 3 days, or half a dozen teddy bears in one night. But knitting? No way. It takes daaaaays to finish just one scarf. And a blanket? Weeks. So after a few hours work, I realize I’ve only done 6 inches of a project. And that can be incredibly frustrating for an impatient, type-A, task driven, goals oriented, check it off the list person like me! I had to realize that knitting is about enjoying the process, and relishing the fact that with each stitch I’m taking YARN and turning it into FABRIC, which really is amazing. This beautiful pattern emerges as I carefullfy work each stitch, each row, each section. And each little stitch matters, because if I work it carelessly, it’s pretty obvious, especially on an even pattern like this scarf.

And that pretty much sums up my life right now. Things are taking longer than I’d like them to, and I continually find myself getting ahead of the game – working on setting up our new home in Michigan in my head when the one in Florida hasn’t even sold. I find myself packing and organizing boxes in my head, when it’s not time yet. And in turn, I end up goofing up the current stich I should be focusing on – which is loving my kids and my neighbors and my friends where I’m at, enjoying the days we have left here and letting tomorrow take care of itself.

So this scarf was a little bit about knitting and technique, and a whole lot about learning to be patient and focus on the here and now.  I’m sure next winter when I’m wearing this scarf in the Michigan winter, I’ll remember my lesson in patience, and it will apply to whatever I’m facing then too.