Inch By Inch, Row By Row

There is a Peter, Paul & Mary song that we performed a few times over the years for spring school programs called The Garden Song. It starts "Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this garden grow." The tune has popped into my head from time to time as I've knitted. That is exactly how I feel about my current knitting project. Back and forth. Back and forth. Over and over. Singing in my head as I knit, "Inch by inch, row by row, I'm gonna make this white shawl grow..."

I am on schedule at the moment, but I'm in that long middle slog. At the beginning you can see the progress. But where I am now, there isn't much visible difference between 17 inches and 20 inches. It all looks alike. And there are many inches still ahead of me. So I sit still and knit.

In order to see some proof that I'm making progress—and to keep my place as I go—I made a check-off sheet for every row that I knit. And I have the pattern written out on index cards...one row per card, flipping cards as I complete a row. That way my eye can only read one row pattern at a time. Knitters know that when you work from the printed pattern, it's too easy to read part of one row and then part of the row below.

I'm taking extra precautions while working with white yarn. Frequent hand washing is a must for clean knitting. It's also a good thing during this bad flu season. I keep the work in a large baking pan (17.5x13-inch, Nordicware, from Amazon) with a lid. When I'm not knitting, I put the lid on to protect it from spills or drips. This project mostly stays at home. It would be too easy to have an "accident" in transit. And I can't work on this and talk, so it doesn't go to my Thursday afternoon knitting group.

I spread a large dish towel over my lap when I knit. This has served several purposes. It keeps the yarn on a clean work surface. When I put the project back into the pan where it lives, I don't pick up the project. I pick up the towel and fold it up over the knitting. Keeps me from excessive handling of this yarn. And I discovered that if I drop one of those very tiny stitch markers, they neatly land on the towel instead of falling down between my legs or between the sofa cushions.

Taking breaks has been as important as the dedicated knitting time. It's good for my hands. It's good for my eyes. It's good for my back. Knit three rows. Throw clothes in the washer. Knit four rows. Move laundry to the dryer. Knit two rows. Unload the dishwasher. That means I need to stay at home even though I'm not knitting for hours straight through. I need to be able to do it in many short bursts. And I'm being honest about when it's time to stop for the day. When the tiniest mistake happens, I fix it and then put everything away.

Netflix has kept me company while I work. I tried audiobooks that other knitters love. I found myself listening and then realizing I had "drifted" while I knitted and missed half a chapter. I do better with something on television. Interesting, but not too interesting. I mostly listen and then glance at the screen every now and then. I switch around between shows. I evidently am not cut out to be a binge watcher in the truest sense. About two episodes of one show and I need a change.

I am loving every stitch of this pattern. I love who I'm knitting it for. I love that it's for a special day. But when this is done, I'm knitting dishcloths. Quick. Easy. No worry about spills. It's going in the washer anyway! Yep. I'm knitting dishcloths.