Took my knitting out in public last night...

tiedyedbeth · 01-19-2008, 07:39 PM

So I guess I must be hooked. I didn't even think about NOT taking it with me. I went to go take my state exam for EMT-Basic. I didn't make it there as early as I wanted, but I was among the first finished.

After I looked up the answers to a couple questions I'd not been sure of, I grabbed my bag and went back inside to wait for some of my former classmates to finish so that we could chatter, as it's likely the last time I'll see many of them (most of my classmates are Marines or Navy Corpsmen). So I'm standing there chatting and knitting, and a couple of the guys thought it was so funny.

I didn't pick it up again until after my class, so it was unexpected. None of them had thought I was the type to knit. They gave me some cheerful teasing about it, but they really thought it was cool of me. One of my female classmates came out and saw my knitting, admired it, and said she really doesn't have the patience for it.

I admitted that it's saving my sanity right now. I'm home alone with 4 kids for 5 days in inclement weather (church tomorrow is CANCELLED! we might get SNOW tonight of all things!). The kids were already off from school because of the holiday, then two teacher workdays...but now...oh dear.

snowbear · 01-20-2008, 01:41 AM

it's ok.. it starts slow and then.. it's like breathing.. you have to knit.
I take it with me almost all the time. I don't take it when I fix dinner, or take a shower, but, almost everywhere else, lol.

It does help with the nerves, and believe me, without it my BP would be sky high, lol

Take care, and know that it's a wonderful hobby, and a great lifestyle, lol

dustinac · 01-20-2008, 02:01 AM

That's great!!

alleusion · 01-20-2008, 02:39 AM

Originally Posted by snowbear

it's ok.. it starts slow and then.. it's like breathing.. you have to knit.
I take it with me almost all the time. I don't take it when I fix dinner, or take a shower, but, almost everywhere else, lol.

It does help with the nerves, and believe me, without it my BP would be sky high, lol

Take care, and know that it's a wonderful hobby, and a great lifestyle, lol

Aww Snowbear, you mean you don't have a bathroom project? LOL I stop short of having stash in my bathroom, but when I had my entire stash with me, I was on the verge of expanding in that area.

I take my knitting bag with me any time I feel I may have to be waiting for any longer than 10 minutes. I may not get a chance to pull it out, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

*makes a mental note to toss knitting into the emergency hospital bag*

jpenguin · 01-21-2008, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by tiedyedbeth

I admitted that it's saving my sanity right now.

I have taken my crocheting/knitting with me everywhere for years. Even to the point I take a lot of grief from family for that too.

I am just recently became a school bus driver & you can find my crocheting/knitting bag sitting right beside my seat just in case I get time in between my routes & will pick it up and do a little right there. I have been known to work on my current project at that time during Wednesday night and Sunday night church services.

Recently a girl friend and I have started meeting on Thursday nights at a local Barnes & Nobles for a little bit of "girl" time to knit or crochet. People stop & admire and say how they would love to learn but don't have the patience for it. I tell then that it is my patience and sanity. With three kids of our own, 1 married with a child of her own and the other 2 are teenagers, I had to have something or would have been committed years ago! Other bus drivers ask me how I can do that just sitting on the bus waiting for the kids to be released from school & I tell them it calms me for the coming storm. Get a lot of laughs out of that one.

I know that I am addicted since I have to have a bag with the current project or projects and a back up bag that stays in my car with back yarn & instructions for the next project. Not to mention when it comes time to pack for a trip the first bags packed are the yarn bags!

auburnchick · 01-21-2008, 07:32 AM

I think that knitting in public can be a bit nerve wracking at first. You never know what kind of attention you'll draw. I certainly felt that way, and I still can't tell if some people are making fun of me to my face. But now I just don't care. I don't get to knit as much as I would like (do any of us???), but when I'm not taking classes, it goes with me everywhere. In fact, sometimes I just carry my bag around like a security blanket. Makes me feel good to know my needles are nearby. Kind of like having my children with me.

Spikey · 01-21-2008, 02:32 PM

I leave a bag with a small project in my car, and one in my office, in addition to bringing whatever I'm working on almost everywhere.

Yesterday, we had a work retreat (6 straight hours in a conference room!). At the end a few people came up to me and expressed surprise that I wasn't knitting. But I was - the whole time

- it was in my lap, with my bag on the floor. I guess I achieved my goal of being unobstrusive

knittingymnast · 01-21-2008, 11:26 PM

wow!

Knitting_Guy · 01-21-2008, 11:54 PM

If I'm not ridin' and guidin' I'm sittin' and knittin', doesn't matter where.

Won't be long you'll feel out of place if you don't have your knitting with you.

Louine · 01-22-2008, 03:02 PM

People read in public all the time to pass time....why should knitting be any different. Actually it is friendlier. I would never interrupt a person reading to start a conversation but people always seem to be interested in what you are knitting and I am interested in what they are knitting if I run into a knitter.....so I think it is a great to knit in public.
I had to go and get my car serviced at a first-come-first-serve service center. I took my knitting and was sitting in the service lounge for over two hours (very glad I took it with me) and an elderly gentleman started asking me about knitting...told me his mother knitted booties and sold them to "rich" people for two dollars (sure couldn't do that today) to make money to feed the family when he was young and his father was out of work. He said that she even sent a pair to Shirley Temple Black when she was pregant just for fun and that he still had the nice thank you that Mrs. Black sent back to his mother. Don't know about you but the conversation and the knitting made the time fly by.