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Knitting in Public: Better than Using Your Phone

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knitting in publicNot too long ago I wrote a piece asking if knitting in public could ever be considered rude. A lot of people, especially on Facebook, thought it was a stupid question (probably not clicking the link to see that I was talking more about in meetings and at church than just out anywhere).

But a lot of people also noted that knitting is preferable to staring at your phone all the time, because at least while knitting you can still engage with the people around you.

The knitter behind Roving Crafters recently wrote about just this thing, noting that knitting around other people is far superior to phubbing, that is snubbing someone by paying more attention to your phone than to them. Knitters working on simple things can still engage in conversation and make eye contact, and at the end of the evening they’ve made progress on a hat or scarf or sock or something useful.

So where is it OK to knit in public? We All Knit Here compiled a list of places you should be knitting if you feel like you’re too busy to knit, including waiting rooms, work meetings, TV night and while commuting (if you don’t drive, of course).

I’d love to hear where you knit and what you think about knitting versus using your phone if you didn’t weigh in already.

Comments

  1. First comment? Yay!

    I’m sure that knitting in certain situations at certain times probably is rude. I’ve probably offended in the past. But I’m not sure that will stop me from offending in the future! I have too many things I want to make and, umm, sometimes people/conversations/movies can be boring.

    Knitting keeps me from rolling my eyes and fidgeting like an 8-year old boy when the boredom sets in. 🙂

  2. I have a dear friend who takes her knitting literally everywhere! I have photos of her sitting on bales of topsoil at Home Depot knitting while waiting for her hubby, photos of her at concerts while waiting for the performance to begin… I could go on. And her work is exquisite!!! I knit while waiting for appointments and the like. But I always have extra ‘stuff’ because I can never remember the pattern directions and I am a copious note taker!

  3. My niece drove a professor crazy when she knitted scarves in class…but she actually could learn more easily when she was in motion, and knitting met that need. He would call on her hoping to catch her out but she always knew the answer! In church, I might find it distracting if the person next to me was knitting. I’m not a knitter, but I think using wait times to do handwork (embroidery or applique come to mind) is just good use of time.

  4. I was working on a preemie cap for my local NICU while watching a baseball game with my grandsons.

  5. I have taken knitting, crocheting and other needlework to appointments and long waits for many years now. I ‘ve found them all to be an icebreakers to start conversations with others in the same predicament. It definitely helps to make long waiting period a lot more bearable.

  6. I knit at church both in Wednesday and Sunday! I am more engaged because knitting satisfies the restless part of the brain. I knit in committee meetings, and on airplanes. If could knit in department meetings at work…we would all be better off!

  8. I have 2 knitting and one crochet project(s) on the go…I keep them in my car and send my husban in to do the shopping…he usually meets up with someone he knows and a 5 minute pop in to the mall can easily turn into an hour…for each stop that is lol…lots of time to work on my projects and a win win situation for both of us…I don’t mind the wait and he doesn’t have to say he’s sorry for making me wait 🙂

  9. How ’bout at a blackjack table? Yup….I did it and no one seemed to be bothered at all. And it was two-at-a-time, toe up, magic loop pair of socks! P. S. I didn’t walk away a winner, but got a lot accomplished on my project.

  10. I always keep a small project like socks to work on. The pattern is familiar and I use one of my dpn’s to measure.

  11. Not at all, how is possible that people think is rude? I´m designer for knitting and crochet, I knit all day, even in airports, train, waiting for appoinments, etc, I never had any problem, instead I had many compliments from people that admire my work, hope this people that compleints understand that knitting and crochet is a passion and is just Great!

  13. Knitting in a meeting or at your desk at work can get your fired in some companies. Don’t pull out a half done sock in a meeting run by your boss or a business meeting where you’re on the agenda as a presenter..

    Knitting on public transit is okay if it’s not crowded and the seat next to you is unoccupied. It’s never okay when you’re so packed in the slightest arm movement bumps your neighbor or invades their space.

    Knitting in a waiting room (doctor, dentist, your tax preparer,, etc.) is okay but never when you’re waiting for a business meeting (for example, at a prospective customer’s office).Credibility killer.

    In business situations staring at your phone lends an air of being someone who stays on top of things . … you have responsibilities and are handling them. You’re an effective multi-tasker. On the other hand, knitting looks like you don’t care about your work, don’t have enough to do, or are bored and would rather be somewhere else.

    If you must knit at work, do it at lunch.

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork. 

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn. 

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look. 

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me. 

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. 

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.