fourteen

What are you knitting?

While I was at knitting group tonight, I started thinking about knitting in public.

I'm no stranger to knitting in public. In fact, there's not many places that I haven't (or wouldn't) knit. I don't knit at the office, I don't knit at the movies (yet), and I don't knit in traffic (I don't think it will ever come to this). I do knit in airports and on airplanes, at coffee shops, by the pool, and certainly when I'm in any sort of waiting room. I have been approached many times about my knitting, and it's always been a pleasant experience. Those who know me personally will already know that I have no problem (at all) talking about myself... Hence this blog. So it's no surprise that, when asked about my knitting, I open up as easily as a pleated plastic bag.

When I knit on airplanes, I'm almost always in the company of another knitter (or crocheter, or hooker, ahem) whether they're seated near me or not. I've even had certain projects identified by the pattern and designer. As in, "Are you knitting the Noro scarf?" or "Is that a hitchhiker?" On one notably pleasant flight, one of the flight attendants was a fellow knitter and she stopped by several times over the course of a flight from Florida to Pennsylvania, just to check up on my progress. I admittedly love to knit, but on these occasions it's felt especially good to be a knitter.

I have found the knitting community to be warm, welcoming, and instantly comfortable; much like your favorite winter scarf, or a handmade afghan that's been handed down from generation to generation. Any time I stop into a local yarn shop**, the employees and patrons alike are always happy to talk to another yarn enthusiast.

That's all for today, really. After reading this, I guess I was feeling a bit smooshy today. Eh, it was probably the weather...

Oh wait, maybe that's not really all. Here's a quick WIP update... My 22.5 Degrees shawl (designed by Martina Behm) is coming along nicely. James and I have 10 hours of car time coming up this weekend, so hopefully I'll get that finished. Well, maybe. I've also just reached the halfway point on the Windward scarf (designed by Heidi Kirrmaier) and I'm really loving this pattern, as well as the colors. Can I be honest? I was originally going to use Bordeaux for the color block, but instead used Coast Grey. Because my husband said so. It was his idea, y'all... And I like it better... He knows me so well.



**Speaking of local yarn shops, here in Pittsburgh my very favorite shop is Natural Stitches. And... they have a blog, too!