Knitting soothes writer's soul

Purl. Knit. Purl. Knit. This is the rhythm I must keep up with for my latest knitting project. I even go so far as to say the words out loud as my hands perform the action in the hope that, at least this once, I won't mess up and have to start over for the fifth time in an hour. To the average person, this type of task may seem tedious and even torturous, but then again, the average person must not understand knitting.

Knitting does indeed bring to mind old ladies rocking on their rockers and slowly but surely churning out sweaters to give as Christmas gifts. Now forget that image and remember this: knitting is no longer a sport for the elderly and it is back by popular demand (not that it ever went away). Knitting does take some skill, but more than that, it takes the guts to turn a labyrinth of yarn into something substantial and laudable.

A hobby like knitting may seem to have no place in the life of a college student because it does take time. In my opinion, knitting is similar to tattoos. A good tattoo isn't cheap and a cheap tattoo isn't good. A well-constructed project takes time, and if that time isn't spent then the end product indicates as much. What does have a place in the life of college student is stress and time management. Knitting is both of these things for me.

When all of my classes start overloading me with work and my evenings are consumed by studying and homework, I am encouraged to set aside time to get everything taken care of so I can spare just thirty minutes to purl, knit, purl. During that time, I can relax and let my stress melt away and be replaced by the comforting repetitiveness of my work and the hope that sometime soon I'll have a new hat, or scarf, or sock. It's usually cheaper than buying them pre-made from the store and if it isn't cheaper then it sure is more rewarding.

If it so happens that my stress starts to reveal itself in my stitches, making them too tight or too loose, and I need to start over on my row five times, then I'll gladly accept it, albeit after a few profane exclamations.