Knitting in Public

Do you knit in public?  

I do – to an extent.  At work, in my office with the door closed, I will knit at lunch.  I will take my knitting to the doctor’s office or when I get my car serviced.  But I must admit that I do draw the line at times.

Long Ago

Before I even knew how to knit, I became aware of some people in my graduate school classes who would knit through class.  This may seem rather innocuous but when the class consists of 8 people who are clustered around a conference table, the knitting is very distracting to others.  I guess I was distracted, too, because I wanted to knit after seeing all this knitting in class!

But I do think this was very rude to the instructor and other students.  Most of us were busy taking notes but the knitter was busy clicking needles.  This made a lasting impression on me – and my impression of knitters.

Vacation Knitting

Many knitters on social media take their favorite hobby with them on vacation.  I generally do not do this, unless it’s a road trip or a conference when I’m traveling alone.  For me, traveling is my other favorite hobby and I don’t want knitting to detract from my experiences on vacation.  

Vacations are also a time for me to bond with my husband and, at times, with our families.  Matt knows that I’m going to knit through television every night but I don’t want him to think that I’m missing the sights and sounds of our vacation because I’m concentrating on my knitting.  This may not be the same for other people and their relationships, but it’s been good for our marriage.

Impressions

I like knitting on planes, while in the back of a car, or while on a business trip, when I’m too tired to leave the hotel room.  But I have to work at being sociable – I’m an introvert. Therefore, when I have a chance to make real relationships, I want to focus on the people and not be distracted by knitting.  (Unless I’m at a knit night!)

Though I do knit at work, behind closed doors, I’m more than a bit apprehensive about knitting in public in my office.  When you don’t have kids but have cats instead, people already don’t know what to make of you. Add knitting into that and I fear that my colleagues will think some very strange thoughts.  I never hide the fact that I’m a knitter but it’s important for me to be professional when I’m at work.

All of this may change as I get older.  I fully intend to be a crazy knitting old lady!  I love, love, love knitting but every once in a while, it’s good to focus on my other passions.