For Belinda
This past May my friend Belinda (yes that would be Blenda from Oz) informed me that her grandmother was very ill. Belinda is a postdoc, who is researching here for several years, away from her home country of, you guessed it, Australia. When I saw how hard it was for her to be so far away from her grandmother during this time, I didn't know what to do. So I started knitting.
All summer I knit what I hoped would be a beautiful comfortghan for her. I picked different patterns and different colors in hopes of making a patchwork afghan that would keep her warm and cozy. All summer I knit. Then the fall came and still I knit. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting any bigger. Every time I measured I was stuck at 3 feet. I began to dread the knitting. The project I had started so lovingly had turned into a SLOG.
In October I realized something. If I dreaded working on the project, why would I be giving it to my dear friend? If I didn't like it, I should start on something I really loved. It was empowering. So I began to bind off. And I bound off. And still I bound off. That's when I realized what I had done.
The "width" of the blanket turned out to be a whopping 6 feet. The "length" turned out to be 3 feet. I was knitting it in the wrong direction and it was so slow-going because every time I knit a row it was 6 feet long. And what was worse, those different patterns and colors that I had come to dread so much actually looked cute. Oh the folly!
****
I started again. This time I opted for one color, a beautiful raspberry, and a simple, but classic lace stitch, Feather and Fan. And I loved knitting it.
I have only known Belinda for a year now, and in that time she has become one of my closest friends. I'm so happy that I got to know her while I was here, and she's one of the people that I will miss the most when I leave. I hope that this blanket brings her some comfort, and will keep her warm and cozy for years to come.
All summer I knit what I hoped would be a beautiful comfortghan for her. I picked different patterns and different colors in hopes of making a patchwork afghan that would keep her warm and cozy. All summer I knit. Then the fall came and still I knit. And for the life of me I couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting any bigger. Every time I measured I was stuck at 3 feet. I began to dread the knitting. The project I had started so lovingly had turned into a SLOG.
In October I realized something. If I dreaded working on the project, why would I be giving it to my dear friend? If I didn't like it, I should start on something I really loved. It was empowering. So I began to bind off. And I bound off. And still I bound off. That's when I realized what I had done.
The "width" of the blanket turned out to be a whopping 6 feet. The "length" turned out to be 3 feet. I was knitting it in the wrong direction and it was so slow-going because every time I knit a row it was 6 feet long. And what was worse, those different patterns and colors that I had come to dread so much actually looked cute. Oh the folly!
****
I started again. This time I opted for one color, a beautiful raspberry, and a simple, but classic lace stitch, Feather and Fan. And I loved knitting it.
I have only known Belinda for a year now, and in that time she has become one of my closest friends. I'm so happy that I got to know her while I was here, and she's one of the people that I will miss the most when I leave. I hope that this blanket brings her some comfort, and will keep her warm and cozy for years to come.
Labels: Fabulous Friends
posted by littledevilworks at 11:16 AM
1 Comments:
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I LOVE it..... it is the most wonderful present. I am snuggled up with it as I am writing this! You are such a great friend and an all round wonderful person...... I am going to miss you SSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much!
Post a Comment
<< Home