Knits of the New Year

Sometimes, I'm surprised by the "extras" we're able to fit into our days, regardless of the breaks in our daily rhythms. A child wakes in the middle of the night with a cough, a long-scheduled business trip shakes up our routines as if we hadn't seen it coming, a much anticipated birthday or growth spurt or first day of school sends everyone in a new direction. And still, when the cough has subsided, the suitcases have been emptied, or the wrapping paper cleared, I find (each time) evidence of the extras.

It could be that the very nature of breakdowns in our routines and the need to regroup leads us to seek out the extras: those little things that pull us back to a sense of rhythm, row by row, page by page, chord by chord until slowly, we find our way back. Sometimes, with a handful of scarves...



The first two knitted projects of the new year made their way off my needles this month, both scarves based on a pattern by Astor Tsang. The original pattern, from her A Simple-to-Use Guide to Creating Hip Knits (a kit I stumbled upon at a Half-Price Books that I couldn't help but exchange for the hot-in-my-hand cash I'd just received from selling a bag of old books) was for a scarf incorporating several different stitches. I picked my favorite and used it for the entire scarf. The one in the top picture was a gift for a friend, made using Patons SWS yarn in Natural Plum. The second was for Audrey. She had mentioned that she wanted a scarf (she also mentioned that she thought I was so smart because I know how to make scarves - yes, she's mastered the art of flattery to gain handmade items). So last night, as she slept, I finished her scarf, made from Patons SWS yarn in Natural Pink. This scarf has a little buttonhole feature that makes it the perfect scarf for a nonstop-how-can-she-possibly-keep-a-scarf-on preschooler. She was an instant fan, showing the scarf off to Nate - "mama made it, wasn't that nice." She wore it as we made our rounds today, stopping any stranger who wanted to talk at the library or gym to inform them that she had a new scarf, made by her mother. I kept quiet, giving her a few moments to share her news, thankful for an appreciative daughter willing to wear her mother's creations, if even just for now. Yes, it's those little extras that bring us back, that welcome the rhythm and call it back home.