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As a child, I read a book called The Hunky-Dory Dairy by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. One of the characters wore a hand knitted shawl which, according to the illustrations, looked quite cozy and comfortable. I decided I wanted a shawl for myself, and that book inspired me to learn to knit. Granted, it took another eight years (until I had a car and a job and was able to drive myself to the craft store to buy knitting needles and yarn), but I managed it. I made a few throwaway scarves as beginner projects, and then I knitted this shawl. It was the first real project I ever completed. I remember bringing it, on the needles, to a KVRX meeting during my sophomore year at UT and finishing it during the meeting, which collected a few stares and made me a bit self-conscious since I wasn't used to knitting in public at the time. I worked the fringe the next day, which was considerably more irritating than the knitting itself was. A garter stitch project is completely easy and mindless, but fringe has to be tied, trimmed, and knotted. It was worth it, though—Several years later, this shawl still gets more compliments than almost any other knitted project. |