The Scarf

I can write about this now because, as is the case with me frequently, I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and the cat, or rather the scarf in this case, is out of the bag - or in this case, the closet, and by closet, I mean the one where I was hiding it when he was around because it was supposed to be a present. It's a gender-neutral scarf.

The Scarf  was knitted with seven different colors of yarn. It is 800 rows long by 36 stitches wide, which makes it a little over 15 feet long and 12 inches wide or 15 square feet of scarf.

Not counting the tassels. The tassels add almost another foot of length.

I hadn't knitted for years, but I like to knit and residing somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind were some tiny fragments of rudimentary knowledge about Doctor Who and a colorful scarf so I did some Googling, as they say, and learned that in Season 12, the fourth Doctor, the Tom Baker Doctor, did indeed have a scarf. Through my extensive research (a.k.a. Googling), I also learned that The Scarf  had been studied thoroughly by knitters/Doctor Who aficionados and that exact patterns of The Scarf are available online by way of these aforementioned scarf experts.

The man I love happens to be a fan of the Doctor, so I figured a replica of The Scarf would make a nice gift.

I didn't realize what knitting The Scarf would do for me.

First of all, I remembered how to knit and in doing so, I remembered my grandmother teaching me how to knit, which is one of the only really heartwarming memories I have about my grandmother, who was not the most nurturing of women.

Secondly, knitting - creating fabric one stitch at a time is simultaneously mindless and mindful. The Scarf is knitted in garter stitch, which is just knit stitch after knit stitch for 800 rows. The only exciting break in the action is the changing of colors. It's kind of like a long road trip in which the distance to the destination is reduced by each city and landmark passed along the way. Only twelve more miles to Jefferson City and Jefferson City is halfway to Enid = only four more rows until the three rows of purple and that's halfway to the end of the scarf!

Knit stitch, knit stitch, knit stitch....  I can almost do it without looking. ALMOST. But I have to look. I have to watch every stitch in order not to make a mistake and leave a hole somewhere along the way. Mindless and mindful. Zen. There are mistakes though. I left them there as a reminder that I am not perfect.

As if anyone needs a reminder of that.

And lastly, knitting brings me peace and contentment. My hands are not idle when I knit and I can see measurable progress. Like banjo music, it's impossible to think of anything bad when I'm knitting and when I'm knitting for someone I love, I put that love into each stitch, every single time the loop moves from the left needle to the right. I wonder if he who wears The Scarf will be able to feel that love.

I'm on to other knitting for other people I love. I rarely keep anything I knit.

So I finished The Scarf, but I haven't stopped knitting.

I just had to pause long enough to write about it.



You can follow me on Twitter: @CeceliaHalbert