I'm just back from our New Year's family gathering, where there has been an outbreak of knitting.

After many months of waiting, K was recently approved to begin hospital corpsman training, and soon will head for the Navy's Great Lakes training center near Chicago. Knowing of the cold winter weather in that part of the country, J got some good, warm yarn and started work on a birthday scarf for K (today is his birthday). Watching her work, O became intrigued, and asked for a lesson. He quickly learned the basic stitches, and soon was snuggled next to J on my parents' couch, both of them working together on K's scarf and making rapid progress. How nice for K to get a scarf knit by both his mom and kid brother!

Meanwhile, J's mom S had joined us for our gathering, bringing her own knitting bag and pattern books. She got her first chance to hear a bagpiping concert by my brother E, and was most impressed. Not only is he remarkably good for a novice, but he looks the part, with his full red beard and piper's wardrobe of kilt, sporren, glengarrie, and so on. There was just one thing: to S's knitter's eyes, his kneesocks didn't quite make the fashion cut. So she and O were soon on the floor with tape measure in hand, measuring E's feet and calves. She will knit him a proper pair of socks, with O helping.

My housemate C tells me that knitting is the new rage among young college women. Who knew? But I think my family must be in the forefront of the Collaborative Knitting Movement.