Knit in Peace
I always pack my knitting or needlepoint project first when traveling.
-Kaffe Fassett
-Kaffe Fassett
Elizabeth Zimmerman, knitting guru extraordinaire, considered a lace shawl the best possible project for family vacation. Now it's been a while since I've been on family vacation, but maybe our family was rowdier than hers. My mom invented a special game just for us three kids to play in the car: Quiet as a Clam.* The rules were simple - a contest to see who could stay quiet the longest. Don't I wish my fellow airline travelers would also play . . .
Have you ever noticed that - when you are knitting in a public place - people talk to you? Perfect strangers come up and start chatting. (I'm not talking about knitters. No knitter is a perfect stranger.) I'm talking about people who want to convert you to their religion, or people who want to tell you that you can buy that sweater/scarf/hat at Wal-M*rt - they're just trying to save you some time, dearie. Yeah, I really hate strangers who call me dearie. Don't they know I'm holding pointy sticks? I don't want to sound like a misanthrope, but I have been living in New England for 8 years. I like to knit in peace.
Since I'll be knitting in airports and planes all day today, I leave you with a photo of an almost-peaceful place to knit, which should qualify for the Scout's "knitting place" meme:
This is the view from the seat of my parents' couch. The presence of Hannah enthusiastically** trying to get you to take her on a walk adds to the authenticity of the situation. Black and white because it's my dad's photo. Bonus points for noticing the FiberTrends felted clogs in the background. These are my dad's pair, so here's proof that he wears them, even though I think the aran weight yarn completely felted might still be a little too big.*My sister has recently adapted "Quiet as a Clam" for use in her third-grade classroom. Clams, if you were wondering, have no arms and DO NOT poke their neighbors.
**Apparently Hannah's feelings were hurt by being called "high maintence" on this knitting blog. The suggestion was made that really, it's just an exuberence for life and a desire to share that with, well, everyone. You be the judge.
posted by Theresa at 3:00 AM/Permalink
3 Comments:
the idea of clams not having fingers for poking reminds me of my years on a summer camp staff; kudos to your sister for introducing the kids to a new "game."
Hannah looks like a dog with a lot of soul - and I can see how those eyes are capable of convincing people to take lots of walks.
people do tend to talk to me about what I'm knitting when I'm in public, but often I'm simply a reminder of how their grandmother/great aunt/mom used to knit and that leads to lots of storytelling. If they were to start telling me about where I could buy a scarf I'm not sure how I'd react....
Of course my eyes are soulful, I am an ancient soul reincarnated from a very wise woman.
In looking over your projects, I don't see a fancy dog sweater that could be used for long walks in the snow. I presume that the sweater is already finished and ready to put under the Chrsitmas Tree?
Quiet as a Clam is a brilliant parenting tool. Wow! I love it.
I know exactly what you mean about the Concerned Citizens Brigade. I usually tell the inquirer that they haven't lived until they've had a pair of handmade socks and that people who've never worn them don't even know that their store-bought socks don't fit until they get some personally tailored socks that do. That makes them doubt (or at least question) the validity of the I-can-get-those-for-$0.99-at-Target philosophy.
Hannah looks so sweet. One of my dogs sits like that and if she's ignored, she punches!
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