I Love Non-Knitters

Are you ready to be impressed? Since starting my Malabrigo scarf on Tuesday, I've completed 27 inches. My Odessa hat that I started on Friday night was finished on Monday morning.

Are you in awe and stunned by my awesome knitterly power? No. Of course you're not. The Odessa is probably a three-hour project, and the scarf should take maybe four hours (hey, there's a pattern involved, and lots of purling). But when I mentioned at lunch on Tuesday that I loved the hat I made over the weekend (Susan had seen the photo), coworkers were STUNNED that I could finish a whole hat in a mere weekend. Travis gazed in awe at my measly 27 inches and goggled at my ability to complete so much so quickly. (I think my slowness has to do with the fact that I can never just sit down and clickety-clack away...I watch TV, I wander down to the kitchen, I pick up a book...I love knitting, but I love my crappy attention span more, I guess. I hate that...I wish I could just buckle down.)

But non-knitters make me feel accomplished, usually just in time to save me from getting discouraged.

My #1 non-knitter Travis picked me up a few belated birthday books at Borders last night. (And he didn't have to tolerate any poking and prodding from me whatsoever...right?)



Of course, I've been wanting this one since the day it was released. Love it already. Funny, clever, witty, fun to read....who cares if I never make a single thing in it (I will) - the writing alone is worth it.

Then there was the book that I'd leafed through once before, a while ago, and decided didn't suit me at all. A more mature knitter now (four months later and, hopefully, beyond garter-stitch scarves for a while), I fell in LOVE with it.



My first project? The fingerless gloves that call for one skein of Manos del Uruguay Malabrigo wool! Perfecto! (Laced up with a bit of silk ribbon....dreamy.)

My second project (well, depending on how long it takes to gather the materials) will be the Bridgetown T-Shirt Rug. T-Shirt yarn! Gather up oodles of t-shirts, cut them into spirals that equal one giant 1/2" wide bit of yarn, and start gartering! (So freaking simple and clever...I wish I'd thought of it first and written a damned book.) I want it to be special, so when I have my housewarming party, I'm going to ask all my guests to bring me one of their old t-shirts. That way, I'll have a rug for my knitting room that reminds me of everyone I love. Awwww.