Knitting for Dummies

I hate television, but if my wife, Jacqui, and kids were going to watch it, I wanted to put the passive consumption of media to good use — by getting them knitting. And with Knitting For Dummies, a set of needles, and some yarn, Jacqui and my daughter, Ariane, were off to the races. Sure they both made some mistakes on their first pieces. There was a gaping hole knitted in error where that kitty face resides, but Jacqui turned adversity into opportunity with style. By using a pair of scissors, some felt, and thick thread, voila, she created a scarf with a kitty face. Such stylin’ costs $100 or so in shops on Haight Street here in San Francisco. Creating this scarf took probably 10 hours of television watching — not counting the learning curve. So, now our TV is earning us $10 an hour. And hey, we’ve got unique fashions on our heads and around our warm necks.