In some flash of madness I decided that nupps cannot be as difficult as people say. They’re wrong, thought I. People told me turning a heel was hard and I did it without any problem at all. Jumpers/sweaters are a piece of cake despite what people have said. Yeah, okay, self. Let’s try a nupp.
A notoriously difficult and fiddly stitch involving a k7tog in this pattern. A k7togtbl, in fact. Yes. Knit seven together through the back loop. That sounds like something I can do, I decided. It’s totally not a big deal that I am sitting on a bumpy bus on the way to work when I make this decision.
For anyone considering doing this: don’t. Just don’t. It was never destined to end well.
Whoops a not-nupp!
The problem is, of course, that I’m a super tight knitter. I get even worse when I’m anxious, like say when I’m about to try a really difficult stitch for the first time whilst using a really splitty yarn and bouncing around on the crappy Newcastle roads. There was no poking my needle through that little clump no matter how hard I tried.
“Despite what we knitters know to be true, the non-knitting world somehow persists in thinking that a “knitter” looks a certain way. Most likely, this picture is one of an elderly woman, grandmotherly and polite, sitting in her rocking chair surrounded by homemade cookies and accompanied by a certain number of cats.
In reality, a knitter today is just as likely to be young, hip, male, and sitting at a “Stitch and Bitch” in a local bar. Several of today’s best knitting designers are men, and a knitter is as likely to have body piercings as homemade cookies.
– Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
I’m not what most people would think a knitter would look like if you’re following the old stereotypes. Old being the operative word: it’s somehow a thing that only people with plenty of wrinkles do, or so many people would have me believe. And yes, I know plenty of older people who knit and who are totally awesome. But there’s young ones too. And middling ones. Basically there is no age requirement on picking up a couple of pointy sticks and looping string together with them.
There are at least two knitting projects in that bag. Fact.
This is what I look like. My hair is a little longer now on top but you get the gist. I’m not your stereotypical knitter. People have literally done double-takes on seeing me knitting on the bus.
I think the stereotype is starting to fade but we’ve still got a long way to go. There are loads of different types of people who knit and we shouldn’t be surprised by someone of a different gender or different age picking up the art. It’s good for everyone. It’s relaxing (and frustrating), it makes beautiful things (and terrible ones too). Knitting and its little sister crochet is especially great for anyone who, like me, feels like they can’t sit still without doing something.
A lot of people who don’t fit the knitterly profile tend to shy away from knitting in public. I say it’s time to stop that fear; the only way knitting is going to continue to be seen as a revitalised art form is if more diverse people start showing it off on the bus or the train or in class (with permission).
I would lie and say I knit in public to raise awareness of it but actually I’m just incapable of sitting still for any amount of time without reaching for my project bag. Thankfully a lot of my friends are knitters and no one else minds (or cares!) all that much so I can indulge wherever I am.
Let’s show people that knitting isn’t a myth and it’s not just something people magically take up when they get their senior bus pass. There are some awesome bizarre knitters out there. I’m proud to be in a community like that.
When I realise the world is screwing with me again I pick up a sock-in-progress and it fades enough to function.
When I find out I’m stuck in a country I don’t particularly enjoy yet again I pick up a crochet hook and start a sea silk shawl. Off I go to happy land.
It’s the busiest time of year for all knitters and crocheters and I am busy enough to distract myself. Though I allowed myself a few hours for crochet earlier today for my own sanity I am primarily focusing on the hoody for my nephew and the socks for my girlfriend. The yarn here in my hometown is nothing to the yarn back home in Ontario but I will last another nine months with sub-par facilities.
I knit because it keeps me sane. The rhythm soothes me as easily as meditation and I can focus on something other than crushing disappointment.
…And crocheting, but that doesn’t go with the alliteration thing.
This is my last month in Canada before I need a new visa/permanent residency, so I’m distracting myself with absolutely everything the world can throw at me. I’m crocheting a beautiful bag and a little fish that turns into sushi for a friend from the knitting group at the Little Green House. I am knitting some mittens for someone else and am about to start a little hat/scarf set for someone small. I have a lot of projects on the go and on top of that it’s Nanowrimo, so I’m writing 50,000 words (at least) of a novel this month.
You can imagine I don’t have much time to think about my imminent departure to England, or the fact that a bunch of strangers holds my fate in their hands.
Last month I also taught a three-part class on crochet which was my first time teaching – or at least the first time I was paid to teach. It was enjoyable and I think it went okay. It has rekindled my passion for crochet.
I’ll admit I’m mostly writing this blog entry to procrastinate all the knitting and writing and crocheting I need to do so I’m going to get back to that now!
The Knitter Nerd 