The gift that keeps on giving

Knitting with Vanessa.

Lately I've been giving knitting lessons to the ESL students here. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to watch them, a few minutes after the click happens and they nail down the motions, teaching their friends who've shown up late how to do what they've only just learned.  

I'm also doing my part to eliminate the annoying stereotype that men don't knit (or crochet). Daniel knit the most perfect garter stitch scarf I've ever seen—a Christmas present for his girlfriend who is patiently waiting for his return to Colombia. 

Daniel weaving in the ends with a crochet hook.

Last year at this time, I taught my dear friend Amiee how to knit. At least that's how she sees it—as I see it, I gave her some pointers, but it seemed to me that she already knew how. She insists she only knew how to crochet. At any rate, she's been stitching up a storm over the past year, and when I saw her in Providence the other weekend she presented me with a gorgeous shawlet-scarf (the pattern is Saroyan by Liz Abinante).  

The color choice was a mindful one, as it's been an ongoing joke-on-the-square with us that I need more orange in my life. I never expected my teaching to come back to me in such a perfect way. (Not to mention useful—Amiee knew I needed a vegan scarf!) This is the first thing anyone has ever knit for me, and I'm so grateful!

(And I love how this has been a blog post entirely about other people's knitting.)