I have a slightly weird habit.

Actually, that's not true. I have many weird habits, ranging from just the tiniest bit off-kilter to... nevermind, where was I? Today I thought of one in particular.

I count stitches. I don't mean that I count stitches to make sure i've got the right number. I sit down and do the math to figure out how many stitches make up the thing I'm knitting. I'm usually not too concerned with having more than a ballpark figure. I expect my margin of error is within about 10% or so. Even if it isn't, it's really not important since it's a meaningless and arbitrary number anyway.

To be honest, I'm not sure why I even do it, but I think it's because I like to amaze myself sometimes. I started a pair of Ice Age Boots on last week's (no-)snow day, figuring that would be enough to keep me busy without distracting me from my movie marathon. The rough total for the size I'm making (with adjustments) is 35,838 stitches.

Isn't that just a mind-boggling number? And it's not just because I'm making double-layered, ridiculously large boots. Even a chunky hat on big needles adds up to hundreds of stitches. If someone told me when I first learned to knit, "hey, that thing that seems tricky to you now? In a little while, you'll be able to do this thousands of times without even breaking a sweat," I would have been pretty incredulous. Now, I just like to marvel at the everyday awesomeness that we crafters are capable of.