My birthday wish was answered when I received a skein of blue yarn, bamboo knitting needles and the book Stitch and Bitch wrapped in pretty paper. I'd been looking for a hobby to keep me calm in quieter times and thought knitting would be a perfect solution: it's relatively passive (though learning is really, really difficult and takes A LOT of patience) and I can create some cool things, too! In the 2+ weeks since my birthday I've managed to knit a swatch or the beginnings of a scarf. I carry my knitting almost everywhere I go, from work to rehearsal (where it comes in handy during those long interludes from the bass section)to coffee breaks in the financial district.
In fact, my knitting even garnered a new friend. The afternoon when the above photo was taken, a woman sitting at the counter of an area cafe noticed my yarn and proceeded to pull out a bag of knitting supplies from the Boston yarn mecca, Windsor Button. I asked her how long she'd been knitting and if there were any tricks to mastering the trade. She said, first, to *not* take a class right away, as the meditative effect of knitting wears away when more than a few pairs of eyes are analyzing your stitches and, second, to keep at it! She, like me, wasn't a "natural" knitter -- she didn't learn it in childhood -- but, rather, picked up the hobby to calm her nerves. She'd taken a few classes at Windsor Button (highly, highly recommended!) and was, when I met her, working on a pair of mittens. This is some advanced knitting.
I ran into her again at a different coffee shop, last week, and we exchanged numbers. She works up State Street from my office and we plan to meet up when I need a few tips. I'm definitely going to call her when I'm ready to "bind off" the scarf. In fact, I ran into her again today. I think we may even form a lunchtime knitting circle!
good knitting supplies to have:
1. "Stitch and Bitch" (www.knithappens.com)
2. 8" bamboo knitting needles
3. a skein of yarn in which the yarn end doesn't have to be made into a ball
4. wool or thicker acrylic, to start
5. LOTS and LOTS of patience.
1 comment:
For me, the hobby I picked up to calm me down was horseback riding. Not quite as cheap or portable as knitting, but it also takes a lot of learning and patience. It also gets me outside and moving... and absolutely forces me to calm down and stop thinking about everything else. If I don't, the horse flips out and I end up back on the ground (and not the comfortable way!)
Interesting the things we pick up as relaxing later in life!
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