Research: The Office

There has never been a shortage of knitting moments in The Office.  You can often catch a glimpse of Phyllis knitting away during a sales call.  But this week's episode included a subplot that I found particularly spot-on.  Darryl receives a hand-knitted beanie from Val on Valentine's Day, which he hopes means she returns his feelings.  He goes down to the warehouse to thank her and give her a gift of his own:

Darryl: Notice anything different about me?

Val:  You're wearing the beanie!  Do you like it?

Darryl:  Super comfortable!  Like sweatpants for my head.

Nate: I love it, too, Val.  It's really itchy, but to be fair my head is constantly itching, so I can't really peg it on the hat.

Darryl:  Wow.  It's like the Nation of Islam in here.

Val:  I like to knit.  Don't hate!

It reminded me of when Pete and I first started dating.  It was December.  A big group of our friends gathered together, many of whom were wearing hats and scarves I had given them over the years.  Poor Pete was wearing a raggedy store-bought hat that didn't even cover his ears.  I had resisted the urge to knit for him, fearing the boyfriend curse.  But after seeing him beside my cozy friends, I was so ashamed of my stinginess that I immediately cast on for a luxurious alpaca scarf that I finished 5 days later.

I gave it to him on Christmas that year.  I am proud to say he now has quite an extensive collection of knitted accessories.  Now I just have to make him a sweater!