Knitting gets me to thinking...

I'm working away at a project that I never really thought I'd see the end to. When I first started slipping back into my knitting, my mother gave me some beautiful yarns, in the hope that I would knit myself a nice warm wrap for the coming winter. The colours were beautiful, the tones of autumn captured perfectly in a warm fuzzy blend, that promised to take some of my country background deep into the city with me.

My only issue with the yarns was the fact that the project was all one single stitch. The knit stitch. I would knit 140 stitches across, break the yarn to leave a tail, attach an opposing yarn, and knit all the way back. The result would be a long stretchy wrap, that was moderately fuzzy and had an attractive fringe on both ends. Attractive in theory, but I couldn't get myself interested in knitting the exact same stitch over and over again. After 5 rows, the project went onto the shelf, and eventually, into my sealed and packed away knitting container.

It's been two years, and I'm working on it again. I've made some very decent progress, and I'm over halfway done. I found that listening to audiobooks was a huge help, as it kept my mind busy while doing the same repetitive motions.

But, I got to thinking. Working on this wrap reminded me a lot about the work I was doing in my relationship. In a lot of ways, it felt the same way. Doing the same repetitive motions, over and over, sometimes distracting myself and just plugging away to get to the end result.

So, what am I creating with my relationship? Am I working towards a fuzzy shawl to keep my neck warm under my jacket, am I knitting a sweater to wrap myself in to keep safe, or a pair of socks to keep me moving through the times that come?

I haven't quite figured out what I'm weaving together with James. I probably won't have any idea until I look back at the partially completed project. I just have to keep reminding myself not to let it get so repetitive, to not see it as a chore that has to be accomplished to reach an end. I need to turn my relationship into a fun knitting project, one of the ones that keeps me occupied from start to finish, and that I revel in watching grow under my fingertips.

Perhaps it's time to teach him how to knit too?
Probably not the answer...