Bittersweet Knits
I spent part of my childhood in the mid-west, which had (what felt like) unforgivably cold winters. I distinctly remember being on a school bus one winter, snow coming down so hard all you could see was white, and my bus driver, Wanda, got the notice that we were having a snow day, and we had to turn the bus around.
Naturally, we kids were devastated.
Other than the bountiful snow and equally bountiful snow days, my memories of winter also coalesce around winter wear, particularly, the stiff snow suits we had to wear, the endless mittens I lost, and the scarves that seemed to be always damp and itchy. When I was maybe 8-9 my great-grandmother sent me a knitted scarf, and it was all kinds of colors--peach, black, and green--I wish I could say I was grateful at the time. My great-grandmother was such a kind, generous person, and I loved the various knitted things she sent me (knitted pumpkins that held tissues or little homes built from plastic canvases and yarn), so it pains me to remember how ungrateful I was that I disliked the color. I never wanted to wear it, both because of the color and because of the style--it was old-fashioned, a knitted ascot, and I so desperately wanted to feel trendy at the time.
Years later, when she taught me to knit, she taught me to make one. I wasn't confident in my knitting yet so she did the hard part, dividing the stitches over two needles and then joining them back on one, sand I did the knitting along the middle section. We made a we made a white one together, and I still have it in a token box.
A few weeks ago, I decided to make one on my own, not confident that I could tackle it. But sure enough, I figured out how to divide the stitches and rejoin them to make the little pockets the ends slip through. I used SusanneS-vV's "Miss Marple Scarf" pattern on ravelry and knitted it in Brava Worsted yarn in coral from knit picks. Finishing the project was bittersweet. I was proud of my work, but it made me miss that peach scarf more than I could say.
Naturally, we kids were devastated.
Other than the bountiful snow and equally bountiful snow days, my memories of winter also coalesce around winter wear, particularly, the stiff snow suits we had to wear, the endless mittens I lost, and the scarves that seemed to be always damp and itchy. When I was maybe 8-9 my great-grandmother sent me a knitted scarf, and it was all kinds of colors--peach, black, and green--I wish I could say I was grateful at the time. My great-grandmother was such a kind, generous person, and I loved the various knitted things she sent me (knitted pumpkins that held tissues or little homes built from plastic canvases and yarn), so it pains me to remember how ungrateful I was that I disliked the color. I never wanted to wear it, both because of the color and because of the style--it was old-fashioned, a knitted ascot, and I so desperately wanted to feel trendy at the time.
Years later, when she taught me to knit, she taught me to make one. I wasn't confident in my knitting yet so she did the hard part, dividing the stitches over two needles and then joining them back on one, sand I did the knitting along the middle section. We made a we made a white one together, and I still have it in a token box.
A few weeks ago, I decided to make one on my own, not confident that I could tackle it. But sure enough, I figured out how to divide the stitches and rejoin them to make the little pockets the ends slip through. I used SusanneS-vV's "Miss Marple Scarf" pattern on ravelry and knitted it in Brava Worsted yarn in coral from knit picks. Finishing the project was bittersweet. I was proud of my work, but it made me miss that peach scarf more than I could say.
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