Test knitting

Having taught for what sometimes feels like forever (college biology, it's my bag, baby!) I've discovered that test days are the worst.  For the students (because they're taking the test) and for me (because I have to wait for them to finish taking the test.)

Hi, my name is Joyce and I'm a fidgeter.  I've been a fidgeter for 30-mumble-mumble years now.  If I'm waiting and I have something to do, I'm ok.  But, oddly enough, it turns out that staring at students for two hours isn't quite interesting enough to keep me from getting restless.  (Surprising, huh?)

This is yet another reason why I particularly like knitting.  Especially simple knitting that I don't really have to look at while working on it.  I generally call this movie knitting.  (Because it can also be pretty hard to see in a dark movie theater, and I even get restless watching movies.  I know, I'm crazy.) 

It turns out that movie knitting also makes great test day knitting!  It's perfect!  I can sit there and stare at my students, but fidget in a productive way.  (Thanks Panopticon's friend Joe for your brilliant observation: knitting = productive fidgeting.  Genius!)

So I can fidget, get some knitting done, watch for cheaters, and because the project is so simple (read: stockinette) I can set it down in the middle of a row to answer questions.  (Students for some inexplicable reason, don't appreciate it when you talk to them while knitting.  It's like they don't know the joys of yarn or something!)  It's the perfect solution to the long day of waiting that is the test day.

For today's test, I was knitting on Montague's Muffler.  It will be my next free pattern and comes in both a stockinette and garter stitch version.  It calls for 400 yards of fingering weight.

Knit one crochet too. Crock O' Dye. Colorway 250- Tomato.