Saturday, July 29, 2006

Knitting, And Knitters, In Public

Here's a recent picture of me with Amy S., a fellow knitter who was visiting the U.S. from Israel. That's a long way to come! So while she was here, besides lots of sightseeing, she visited lots of yarn stores, and lots of knitters she'd met through the Internet, including me. :-)

We had a great time chatting over coffee and Danish at a local coffeeshop, comparing knitting projects and talking about this and that. Also, she picked up a couple of my books, and I was delighted to autograph them for her. I met her husband and adorable daughters, who are so lucky to have a mom that knits! Especially since knitted clothing and accessories are now all the rage.

I had an interesting "knitting in public" experience the other day. I had to take my son-in-law to the ER (fortunately it turned out to be just a virus and he'll be fine). I had several hours to kill in the waiting room, so I brought out my knitting. I was working on a dishcloth with variegated yarn. Pretty soon an 11 year old boy, whose mom had left him in the waiting room alone for a minute, ventured, "That looks pretty cool."

I said, "It's called knitting. Would you like to come over and I'll show you how it works?"

He came a few feet closer. (And I thought, Good for you Mom, you taught him not to go TOO close to strangers!) I demonstrated how knitting worked, then told him I was making a dishcloth, showed him the pattern as it was emerging on the dishcloth, and the picture on the pattern of the finished item. He said it was "cool" and seemed quite fascinated.

A few minutes later his mom returned, and pretty soon I heard, "See that lady? She's making a dishcloth!"

So I told his Mom, "Yes, we had a knitting lesson over here." She said she thought it looked like a soothing hobby, to which of course I agreed.

So who knows...maybe a young convert? ;-)

I'll bet some of you out there have interesting stories of meeting other knitters, or knitting in public. So, fess up and spill them!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog

I have a tale in this recent Chicken Soup for the Soul books: https://smile.amazon.com/Chicken-Soup-Soul-Hilarious-Companionship/dp/16115907...