This is just what it appears to be: an unfinished, TCU-purple scarf, which I began to knit some years ago. Now before you start cracking jokes about how long it has taken me to finish, hear me out. I am indeed a novice in knitting, at best, and have completed very few projects, but it is not my inexperience or frustration or lack of commitment that leaves this particular project undone. Rather, it is a sweet memory of my Grandma. The last time I worked on this scarf, I was visiting her and my Granddad in South Carolina. It was a precious time because it was the last time I saw my Grandma before she passed away a few months later. Now every time I come across this piece of unfinished business (like tonight when I was going through some things in a closet), I am flooded with fond memories of her, first of Grandma watching me knit while we sat and chatted with each other and with Granddad, and then of other memories, like when I’d talk to her on the phone and she would ask how I was doing and then say, “Well, you’re looking good!” I could hear her smile on the other end of the line. She was sassy and funny and witty and loved fiercely. She had beautiful long nails that were always painted perfectly a particular shade of red and she liked to tease the people she loved most. She made friends everywhere she went and laughed often. These precious memories come to my mind and so I can’t bear to do anything with my unfinished scarf but keep it tucked away where I can take it out from time to time and think of Grandma. She was quite a woman, and I’m proud to have her genes.
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