View source for Finally finished Scarf not always labor of love Kim Aaron spent two years knitting replica of Dr. Who neckwear

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| publication = Charleston Daily Mail 
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| date = 2008-12-22
| author = Cheryl Caswell
| pages = P1A
| language = English
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Kim Aaron has lugged it, loved it, struggled with it, worked at it and cursed at it.

Finally, she has finished it.

After two years, the Kanawha County magistrate has completed a knitted scarf for her son, Adam, who wanted the trademark neckwear worn by British science fiction icon Dr. Who.

This is not just any scarf.

This is a 12-foot-long scarf. It has seven colors that change 46 times. It took $90 worth of yarn - 26 skeins - and 41,500 stitches to complete. It is finished off with 14 fringes, each 12 inches long.

"Now it's done and I'm amazed," Aaron said wryly. "That's two years of my life I'm never getting back."

A few years ago, Aaron decided to revive the limited knitting skills she learned as a teenager and make her mother a scarf for a holiday gift. Her son, Adam, 19 at the time, noticed.

"He said, 'I didn't know you could knit,' " Aaron recalled. "And he brought me a printed-out page and asked if I could make him a replica of the Dr. Who scarf."

The project turned out to be massive, and she had to knit at odd times to complete it.

"I found myself knitting in doctors' offices, at the car dealership while I got the oil changed, in restaurants, at family gatherings, waiting at the airport, on night court when absolutely nothing was going on," Aaron said.

She had to have shoulder surgery not long after starting the scarf, and knitting turned out to be a surprising and valuable part of her recovery.

"I had to go into physical therapy, and knitting helped me regain control of my arm," she said. "My doctor said it was fabulous."

Aaron fell into a love-hate relationship with the scarf.

"Every stitch was not made with love. I have cursed this thing," she said.

"I would come home and knit, knit, knit, knit, knit. At one point in this knitting saga - when it was about half finished - I said, 'I can't do it. It's bigger than me.' "

She nearly gave up but ordered a $500 knitting machine to finish the work. Aaron discovered she was better at traditional hand knitting than figuring out the technology of the machine and sent it back for a refund.

"Every once in a while Adam would mention the scarf - I was working on it while he wasn't around," she said. "He'd say, 'How's that scarf coming? How's that working out for you?'

"Truthfully, I think by now he completely forgot about the scarf," she admitted.

Aaron intended to surprise him with the scarf as a Hanukkah gift. She completed it this past Thursday - two years to the day since she began it.

"I finished it and thought now I'm going to need to read a book, or find a hobby for my free time," Aaron joked.

"But seriously, I got this empty feeling. Like I gave birth and it was all over," she said.

So Aaron did what any self-respecting stitcher would do - she began another project immediately.

Meantime, she hopes Adam appreciates the gift.

"If he loses that scarf, I'll probably be brought up on charges," said the magistrate.


Kanawha County Magistrate Kim Aaron models a Dr. Who scarf she made for her son as a Hanukkah gift. Aaron completed the labor-intensive project last week, two years after she started it.
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