KNITTING FOR THE IMPRECISE

My latest effort – for the future mama/chicken raiser’s baby. Cat (18 lb) is for perspective.

I have been knitting a lot lately, what with the arrival of a new granddaughter nine months ago and the anticipated birth of a grandson (our first!) next month. I have never been very good at knitting articles of clothing but I figured I could knit up some appropriate toys. Babies don’t see that well anyway, and their parents are likely to be too distracted to analyze my knits and purls. I certainly hope so.

As I sit on the couch, trying to follow these simple patterns, I have plenty of time to consider just how imprecise my knitting is. I am trying to get comfortable with imprecision because, as mentioned above, neither the babies nor the adults in their circle give a hoot. My own lax standards are more the problem. Readers of this blog may remember my fondness for the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi (here and here). Wabi-Sabi–the acceptance of transcience and imperfection–is one thing and impatience is another.

I often think of my mother, a sometimes impatient person, who despite that was a perfectionist when it came to sewing. For years I could look at someone’s store-bought clothing and pick out all the mistakes my mother never would have made. Now I wonder if careful knitters look at my knitting and just shake their heads. Still, when I stifle the self-recrimination, I realize I enjoy the process of knitting, no matter how imperfect my technique may be.

And a toy dachshund quieter than Baby Granddaughter’s real one.

Or it may be that it is just fun to think of another sweet new life on this fractious planet of ours.

HAVE A GOOD WEEK!

Comments

comments

About Alexis

Alexis Rankin Popik, author of Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate, is an award-winning short story writer whose work has appeared in The Berkshire Review and Potpourri Magazine. She has penned numerous articles about local history that have been published in Connecticut Explored and the University of Connecticut School of Law and The Hartford Seminary publications. A former union organizer, Popik traveled the country educating shipyard workers about health and safety and founded a labor-management health plan before turning to writing fiction full-time. She lives with her husband in New England.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.