knitting nooks and crannies - knitcroblo day 5

the beauty of knitting is it's portability.  well, i guess as long as you're not knitting a king sized afghan, most projects are pretty portable.

i do the majority of my knitting from the comfort of my living room sofa or love seat.  my knitting basket is tucked between the love seat and end table, and my knitting bag is wedged between an end table and bench by the front door.  my knitting crap used to be spread throughout the house, but is now concentrated in the computer room, with just a few things in the living room.  with all the needles, scissors and stuff, it sure isn't baby friendly.

i love to knit all curled up.  sometimes i knit in the recliner with my work spread in front of me, especially if it's a large knit.  curled up knitting is not the best knitting position in the world, but it's cozy and makes me feel safe.  some people drink tea or wine while knitting - usually i have a glass of water next to me.  cups of tea and hot chocolate grow cold as i concentrate on my knitting, and i have no tolerance to alcohol, hence no wine.

before the kiddos were born, i used to knit all the time.  now i'm lucky if i get an hour or two at night, or snatch a few minutes during daytime naps at best.  i watch tv while i knit.  i don't know why i bother, since half the time i'm concentrating on my knitting and not on the show.  i've watched shows and not known what happened during it.  my knitting teacher listens to music or books on tape.  i'm a voracious reader too, but i prefer to flip pages than listen.  can't knit and read at the same time, so there are times when i read more than i knit, or knit more than i read.  it's cyclical.

i did set up a sort of knit corner in our computer room a few years back.  my stash hamper is against the front door (we don't use it anymore since we rarely live in that room).  next to that is a barrister's cabinet, which holds my inspirational books.  next to the cabinet are built in shelves;  my knitting books live there.  in front of the cabinet is an old snake arm chair that used to belong to my grandmother.  i love this chair - i wish i could show it off, but we have no room in our living room for it.  it's pretty comfortable, and i enjoyed the few times i knit in it.  usually it is covered with hooked pillows FIL made for us, shawls, baby blankets, and joey.  more often than not it is a clutter catcher, where knitting books, used patterns, balls of used yarn and whatnot collect until i can be bothered to put it away.  next to the chair is my magazine end table and magazine basket, plus baskets full of odd balls.  my stash hamper is covered with knitting project bags (bags that have yarn and patterns for upcoming projects), the plaid cooler, a large pretzel container full of cotton yarn, and auntie grizelda's knitting basket which is still intact from when i received it 2 years ago, but i haven't had the heart to take apart yet.  in front of the basket is my rolling knit case with my loose pattern folders, odd knitting gadgets i don't use often, and my foam blocking boards.  the christmas tree skirt and my first sweater UFO hide behind the snake arm chair.  my knitting life, wedged into a 6X6 space.  our old recliner is in the room as well, and i've knit there while spying watching our idiot neighbors every time the cops were called to their house for baby mama fights.  it's very hard to knit in that room now, ever since the boy took it over with his toys.

i like knitting on the road.  it's a great place for knitting things that don't require a lot of attention, like socks or straight knitting like blankets.  i find it difficult to follow a pattern or book on the road so simple knitting is best for me.  knitting on the road is much easier in the van than in hubby's car, since there is space at my feet for my knitting bag and purse, and everything i need is within reach.

one of my favorite places for knitting was on the train going to and from philly.  it's a lot of fun knitting and watching the scenery fly by, going from the familiar scenery of harrisburg and lancaster, to the strange (to me) factory and tony burb scapes of the Main Line, then watching philly loom big and important.  for a small town girl like me, it's the little things that seem so big to me!

well, check me out!  that's me KIPing!  that's "knitting in public" for all you non-knitting muggles out there.  i'm working on my lettuce shrug in the middle of rittenhouse square in downtown philly, one of my favorite places in the world.  it was a beautiful spring day 2 years ago when that picture was taken.  if we lived there, i'd knit in that park every day if i could.  

i enjoy KIP.  i've knitted in king street park, i've knitted while waiting in line, i used to knit a lot at the boy's story hour at the library.  i don't get the opportunity to KIP much anymore but someday, when the kiddos are bigger, i'll be able to. 

if i'm not knitting at home, i'm knitting at my knitting group at the library.  it's best to take mindless knitting here - i can't follow a pattern while i'm listening or talking to someone.  

i've knitted in church, but not that often.  i feel funny doing it, like my dad will smite me from the pulpit.  the lady behind me knits in church nearly every week, usually small things like dishrags or mittens.  i used to have a knitting group at church too, but it petered out, and i became too busy with the kiddos to continue it.  

i love it when i see someone KIP.  it's like belonging to a secret society, as though the knits and purls are secret hand shakes and pass words.  i love to see other people's works, the kinds of needles and yarns they use, and their style of knitting.  it's a small knitting world after all.