Knitting in Public
Tonight was the ChicKnits KIP night in Chicago's West Town area. A very fun night for me, to listen to other local knitters and relax with a sock. John's second sock is coming along slowly. I'm almost done with the heel flap.
I'm not very good at doing complicated knitting while I hang out with other people, and the past two weeks at work have been dreadful. So the sock was perfect. One decaf skim latte and a lemon cookie and some fun conversation later, I'd almost forgotten about work for a little while.
Actually, this sock has another knitting in public experience. Last Friday as I was coming back from my meeting with my thesis advisor on the El, I was working on this sock. A man in front of me was sort of looking around and he sees me. I stay focused on my sock because my stop is soon and I just want to get a few more rows in. Finally, his curiosity gets the better of him...
Him: So what're you doing? Knitting a sock?
Me (sort of surprised that he would know what it is): Yep. I'm knitting a sock
Him: Is it hard? It doesn't look too hard.
Me: Nope. It's not really hard at all once you get a few simple hand motions down.
Him: Who's it for? You?
Me: No. It's for my husband. It's getting colder and he likes his feet to be warm.
Him:Wow. Well, I hope he treats you right if you knit socks for him.
Me (smiling): Oh, he does. He definitely does!
A lot of people have seen me knit in public. Very few people actually comment. Those who have, generally seem interested and friendly. That conversation made me smile all day. After all, how often do you meet a complete stranger, and a guy at that, who appreciates hand knit socks.
I also tried to cast on some Crystal Palace Splash for a quick fun scarf for myself, but it doesn't seem to like plastic or bamboo needles. It has a very sticky quality. Anyone else out there ever worked with this yarn and have a feeling for what its preferences are?
Oh.. and for those of you out there who like Apple, like iPods, or both, but have a Windows system, Apple released iTunes for Windows today! I've been waiting for this since Christmas when John got me my iPod. And it's very cool -- definitely worth the wait. I've already downloaded a few songs... this could get very addicting for a child of the 80's who has a love of all those one hit wonders that shared her high school years. I've always wanted a copy of 867-5309 Jenny...
As a veteran of MANY Crystal Palace Splash scarves, I can tell you it is VERY sticky on plastic needles (Denise). I kinda like it that way, as when you're cramming a bunch of stitches onto the needles, it won't slide off and cause major drama.
I do tend to use nickel-plated needles when I do simple 12- or 15-stitch scarves, however.
It was great to meet you last night!:) I have been anxiously awaiting i-tunes as well. I am hopelessly addicted to macs but I have a PC at home. I've been using a new G5 in all my classes at school for the past few weeks and I am now saving up my money for a new toy when I get out of college!
Or maybe I could sell some more centrifuge's on ebay...
:)
whoo hoo! I'm a mac-user and I'm really happy they did that (released it for windows)....share the love baby! I love itunes, ipods, and my beloved imac. Apple all the way! I just downloaded the Cure's Pictures of You....loved that song.
Hi Theresa. I really wanted to go to the KIP last night, but this week has been pretty frantic for me and I was just too tired. I plan to come to the next one. Oh, it seems like a long time from now!
I used Denise Knitting needles while making my Vegan Fox from Knitty which used Splash. I didn't have any problems. :)
What a sweet guy! He needs to get himself someone who likes to knit because he'd be a great recipient.
P.S. I'll be singing 867-53ohniiiiiiiine all day long now, thankyouverymuch ;-)
hello-
i also used denise needles for my multitude of splash scarves. i first tried my beloved addi's and found they were not pointy enough and very slippery when i had to toss down my knitting during carpool. what an exciting life i lead! i enjoy your blog very much.
I am an iPod, iMac, iBook addict who has downloaded 'way too many songs but use the iPod since the day it came out! My husband is a Windows user (boo hiss) and I am getting him a new iPod for his birthday--wish I could say it's becasue I love him soooo much (well, I do!) but mainly 'cause I donwanna share my tunes.
Your blog is very good!
I wish I could use my Denise needles for the Splash, but it really is a major fight for me. I think the combination of the Splash content and my tight knitting is not a good combination. When I have to fight my knitting too much, it usually ends up in the stalled out pile, never to be resurrected.
Ah well.. I never mind having a good excuse to purchase another set of Addis...