Knitting marks the times of our lives

It's summer, and we've had lots of out of town knitters visit the shop.  It's been wonderful to meet new knitters and welcome back those who've visited with us before.  When I travel, I always visit the local yarn stores.  It's fun to see what other shops have, and every knitter knows that yarn is the perfect souvenir.  Even if I don't knit it right away, I'll look at that beautiful fiber and think, "This is the yarn I bought on our trip to the Outer Banks."  My Lady Eleanor is worked with yarn I found there at Knitting Addiction nearly 12 years ago.  Every time I see it, I'm reminded of the happy time we had there.  Knitting projects are kind of like the stitch markers of our lives.

Your knitting projects are often bound up with the place and time you knit them.  My Luxe Alpaca Stole was knit on planes, trains, and automobiles through the highlands of Scotland in 2004.  The bulk of my Noro Lanesplitter skirt was worked mainly on a snowy, nerve-wracking Pittsburgh trip to bring Elizabeth home for Thanksgiving.  There are other things I've knit, and I'm sure you have too, that have been given away.  The little leftover ball is enough to bring the project, and that time in my life, into full focus.  Maybe not as powerful as Proust's madeleine, but close. 

I guess that's why we hang onto those scraps of yarn.  They are without logical purpose, really, but significant in a way that only knitters - and quilters - understand.  Scrap projects create something beautiful from leftovers too nice to throw away.  Nothing lost, nothing wasted.  It's a fun exercise in creativity - bringing disparate bits into a cohesive whole - and extremely satisfying.  There are lots of projects you can make using scraps, but my favorite is the Entropy Afghan so much.  Unified by color and pattern, it's a beautiful throw that gives constructive purpose to leftover bits.  More importantly, it's a knitted scrapbook bringing all those reminiscences together.  It's a tangible repository for the love and memories of your life. 

I look forward to seeing you in the shop and being part of your happy knitting times.  You are always welcome here.