People, especially people at school, often ask me how I find the time to knit. I'll admit that sometimes around school this question bothers me on some irrational level, because sometimes the person asking is implying that, you know, to succeed in law school you really need to spend EVERY MINUTE OF THE DAY, including when you're sleeping, studying. And you can't do that if you're spending your time knitting and purling and entrelac-ing, and whatnot (more on entrelac later, btw!).
I often respond by explaining that when you live in Brooklyn, you've got at least 30 minutes on the F train each way, and one couldn't possibly study on the train. You might injure someone (for instance, yourself) while trying to turn the page of your gigantic 15 lb. casebook. Most of my knitting is done on the subway. And it's mostly true. But it's not just because I couldn't study on the subway. The fact is, I wouldn't study on the subway anyway, because on top of its not being a great place for learning, I've always considered it a buffer zone between work and home, where you release some feelings of obligation. Despite all the other stresses that can come with taking the subway, the time I spend there is a little daily slice of time where you can Do Whatever You Want Whenever You Want To Do It. Even if it means Doing Whatever You Want Whenever You Want To Do It While Ignoring the Two Crazy Guys Talking to Themselves But Not To Each Other. That time used to be spent reading, mostly. But now that I read sort of for a living (or at least for negative tens of thousands of dollars a year for the moment), I don't often read for pleasure. These days it's people-watching, knitting, listening to music, talking to a friend if I'm not alone, or just staring at the walls of the tunnel as they pass.
And so, I'm a subway knitter. Knitting is a great conversation starter on the subway, actually. What's funny is you'd never be able to predict who will talk to you about knitting. One time this 20-something huuuge ultra-urban-badass-taking-up-two-seats-with-his-legs kind of guy saw me knitting with double pointeds, and the conversation went...
Him: Hey, is it some kind of holiday today?
Me: No, not that I know of.
Him: Oh. 'Cause I saw two other people doing that (gestures toward my DPNS) on the subway today.
Me: Oh? This is a kind of knitting. You just use lots of needles instead of two.
Him: Huh! When I saw you doing that, the third person, I thought that must be part of some kind of holiday.
Me: Nope, just knitting.
Him: Huh!
And recently I had a conversation about the Norwegian Stockings with an entire Orthodox Jewish family. I've also been approached by Spanish tourists, college students, small children, and a whole additional assortment of folks.
So that's that. Thank you, Angela, for tagging me with this fun little meme! I'm a little late in the game with this, so I won't tag anyone in particular. But if you think this is interesting, and you haven't yet done it, consider yourself "it"!
Posted by jess at December 23, 2005 3:57 PMI enjoyed your stories about knitting on the subway! And it looks like Lady Eleanor is off to a great start. Enjoy your break. :)
Posted by: Chris at December 27, 2005 9:12 AMI so can relate to precious subway time. I ride the Chicago "L" to and from work, and it's seriously some of the best time I have all day. I don't do as much knitting as I probably could - but just reading or listening to my ipod on the train is so relaxing, despite all of the characters.
Posted by: Melissa at December 27, 2005 2:14 PMYeah, you definitely get a lot of funny questions from different people. This one time I was working on a sock and this middle aged man asked me if was knitting a baby hat. And this other time, a thuggish looking teenager type asked me if I could knit him a sock and then told me that he could knit too, that his grandmother taught him. Who knows if it's true, but it was definitely a funny convo. Thanks for sharing =)
Posted by: Angela at December 28, 2005 12:38 AMI too live in brooklyn and my fav. place to knit is on the 45 min N train ride to and from work. I get a lot done, and I enjoy meeting all the curious knitters and non-knitters.
Posted by: Marie at December 28, 2005 1:49 PMI'm starting a new job next month, which will mean 30 minute train ride each way to work- and you've just reminded me of one of the benefits! knitting time! yay!
Posted by: di at December 29, 2005 8:32 AM Last year during school (high school) I rode the bus home or to my mom's work downtown. It took only about ten minutes to do this, but I decided to take my knitting with me. I was a beginning knitter then (and consider myself one still), so I got ten rows or so knitted. BUT, the point of this whole comment/story is I encountered the same type of people you describe. I observed schizophrenic people and other such interesting individuals on the ride. Some people asked me what I was making, and some asked if I was having fun "crocheting". At those latter times, I just smiled back and said yes.
Sorry for taking up so much space, but I can relate.
(Nice website, by the way)
I too am a law student (among other things) here in Montreal and I too find time to knit... My trick : study for a set amount of time (or number of pages; why oh WHY do supreme court judges feel the urge to go on and on about it? just get to the point already! ) and knit a couple of rows as a study pause. I find it disciplines both my knitting and my studying.... and congrats on the blog!
Posted by: Sophie Gallizioli at February 23, 2007 10:59 AMI don't do as much knitting as I probably could - but just reading or listening to my ipod on the train is so relaxing, despite all of the characters.
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Posted by: BallKIM at June 8, 2010 8:47 AM