Remembering the ROWS

I have nothing against flesh-and-blood humans, but when it comes to knitting buddies, my best friends are circular bits of plastic. They are my row counters, those tiny trackers of the rows knit behind me, so that I can always find where I am again in a pattern after setting a project down for any length of time.

Many was the time I was called away from my knitting and thought to myself that I would easily remember where I was, the pattern being so obvious that surely I could just pick up where I left off and be on my way. But too often I'd come back to it and struggle to remember how many repeats of a certain row or a segment I'd completed, and have to resort to counting stitches to try and find myself once more.

Now I use row counters and I have them rolling about everywhere; I need one for every project and slipping one on my needle first thing is as necessary as casting on the first stitch; I simply can't start something new without one.

Counters come in all sizes and styles; there are some that can be worn around one's neck and are advance by a click of a button rather than the turn of a circular end. Trial and error determines what works best for each individual. Inexpensive and easy to use, they have become an indispensable part of a project's success.

In life apart from knitting I live by lists. Pen-and-ink notes have become a necessary part of my life success. They help me keep track of what I have done and what I have yet to do. Actions I need to have completed by a certain time or date have little chance of getting finished on time if they are not noted down on paper that I view on a daily basis. My lists include everything short of taking a breath,including exercise regimes, cleaning routines, letters to write, things to do on my day off...I simply write everything down. The emotional satisfaction of marking something off as completed is (almost!) as wonderful as turning the counter to show another row completed.

Knitting reminds me that no matter how big the task in front of me, if I tackle each step one by one, the project gets done.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

(Psalms 90:12 NKJV)