Math

What I'm about to tell you will surprise you. When I was little I actually enjoyed math. Those days are long gone now and nothing but a blurry memory, but I know I did. That was, until I encountered algebra. A couple years later that suffered from my first recordable mental breakdown while taking algebra II in high school. "My brain doesn't work this way!" I would yell out in frustration. "Why will I ever need to know this stuff anyway?" I would demand to know, exasperated. I just could NOT wrap my head around it. To this day, I'm convinced that part of my brain literally shuts down whenever numbers are involved.

Well who knew my mathematical deficiencies would rear its ugly head again some twenty years later, in my knitting years? Who knew so much math was involved in knitting anyway? I can usually manage to at least count and do simple math. Not so, apparently, when it comes to knitting. I know we have discussed these challenges before, but I feel compelled to bring it up again, because it just never ceases to amaze me. My inability to count is staggering! I must be on my 5th attempt at starting this dumb camisole by now, due to my lack of numerical comprehension, not even counting the number of times in between new COs that I had to undo and redo because I miscounted while trying to keep track of the ribbing. I mean, what the heck? Seriously??

Moral of the story: Math is important. . .at least when it comes to knitting. Looking back, this knowledge would not have helped me any from getting a D in algebra II, but it does help prove the point that some of the dumb stuff they try to teach you in public school may actually be helpful later on in life. Not algebra II, but you get the picture.