I like making a piece of string into something I can wear

I love knitting.

Yesterday, I taught my married friends, Ashley and Ben, how to knit. Two months ago, I taught someone how to knit so they could knit a scarf for the girl he loved for Christmas. I was taught how to knit by one of my closest friends at a knitting club she hosted in residence. Through knitting, I have seen frustration (losing a stitch halfway through a project), joy (people receiving knit gifts), accomplishment (finishing your first project), fear (the first time you knit a stitch, and slip it off the needle) laughter (realizing you flipped your stitches knitting in the round), and so many people coming together. Knitting undeniably has an underground culture in my generation.

Some people are afraid to admit it. I embrace it! I knit my loved ones things for Christmas, and in the past people have knit things for me for Christmas. There's so much love and time that goes into knitting. For instance, I'm knitting my sister a scarf right now, and every stitch I take I think about what she will wear it with, if she'll like the colors, and the pattern, if it will keep her warm with this crazy chill wind... etc.

Once you're a master at knitting, which I hope to someday be, you can pretty much knit anything that comes to mind. Hats are something I'm becoming more comfortable with, and with time I'll be able to invent my own patterns.

My next step though, is socks. In this way, knitting is also a very practical pass time. Your efforts produce something in the end, whether it be for you or for someone else.

So if you've ever considered knitting -- give it a try! Yes, it can be frustrating. Yes, your first project will probably look more like a huge V than a scarf. But the practice you put into it is the experience you get out of it, and with time, hopefully we'll all be knitting gurus.