Althouse: "People who sit & knit are just the coolest people ever!"

May 1, 2011

"People who sit & knit are just the coolest people ever!"

"Yeah knitters!"

41 comments:

edutcher said...: One of The Blonde's best buds knits and, yes, she's pretty cool, too.

I think knitting, like fishing, requires a certain mental discipline that makes for another kind of cool - serenity.

WV "larctic" On the opposite side of lantarctic.; 5/1/11, 11:35 AM
Joan said...: On our standardized testing days, I was one of the relief teachers -- I went from class to class giving the administering teachers 15-minute breaks. There is probably nothing more boring than going into a classroom full of students who are silently, diligently working, staying there for 15 minutes, and then leaving to do it again... over 4 consecutive hours. The administering teachers appreciated their breaks but it was excruciating, until I figured out I could bring my knitting and actually do something productive.

I sometimes bring some small piecework that I can do while wandering around the lunch room while I'm on duty there, too. The students are fascinated.

I like that knitting is cool now. It's not often that something I'm doing coincides with a trend.; 5/1/11, 11:50 AM
Fred4Pres said...: I remember when on a cubscout event, the couselors taught making braided laynards. The kids were into it for about five minutes and then gave their partially finshed projects to their parents. We all worked on those laynards for hours. It was meditative.

I suspect knitting is like that too.; 5/1/11, 11:54 AM
1775OGG said...: Well now, Madame DeFarge supposedly knitted as she watched those long ago events gather in more and more.

Ok, so she was supposed to be a fictional character yet there's probably a whole lot of truth to that character.; 5/1/11, 11:54 AM
William said...: One very rarely sees young, attractive women knitting in public.; 5/1/11, 11:58 AM
Quilly_Mammoth said...: Mrs. QM does Swedish weaving.The patience and discipline is beyond me.; 5/1/11, 11:58 AM
Irene said...: Yes!

But, like Joan, I've been knitting since before it was cool.; 5/1/11, 11:59 AM
Anonymous said...: I knit my brow. Does that count?; 5/1/11, 12:02 PM
Sal said...: That is sexy. And not because I need socks.; 5/1/11, 12:07 PM
sunsong said...: My 89 year old mother is *the* coolest knitter:

coolest knitter; 5/1/11, 12:13 PM
Rebecca said...: Knitters are the coolest people - never mess with people with pointy objects in their hands.

OT - Irene, are you on ravelry?; 5/1/11, 12:16 PM
edutcher said...: Irene said...

Yes!

But, like Joan, I've been knitting since before it was cool.

I have a feeling you've always been cool.

OT: The ad at the start of the video (chicken sweaters?) is supposed to run 16 seconds, but actually runs 30. The caption telling how many seconds left to the material runs down the 16 seconds and then starts displaying, "video will start in -(x) seconds".

Fascinating commentary on the falsity of CBS News.; 5/1/11, 12:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes, Madame DeFarge epitomized the coolness of knitters.

And when she got finished knitting for the day, the was a community organizer chopping off heads.

John Henry; 5/1/11, 12:18 PM
Irene said...: Rebecca, I am on Ravelry. My name over there is "Mezgam" (that word means "Let's Knit" in Lithuanian).

I don't have projects posted there yet, but there are many items in my queue.

PS. Thanks. edutcher.; 5/1/11, 12:33 PM
chuck b. said...: As trends go, it seems like knitting is finally in decline where I am after a few very robust years. For awhile you couldn't throw a ball of yarn without hitting some hipster, old lady, new mother sitting in the coffee shop, bookstore, or park bench with a bag of yarn in her NPR tote, NPR tote, or NPR tote.; 5/1/11, 12:47 PM
Irene said...: chuck b., my knitting lives in a Meadehouse Tote Bag.; 5/1/11, 12:50 PM
rhhardin said...: She's building a nest.; 5/1/11, 1:21 PM
cf said...: I knit while I blog. Does that count?; 5/1/11, 1:23 PM
DADvocate said...: Thursday we were at a orientation for parents of incoming football players at the college where my son is going to play. During all the presentations by the various coaches a woman knitted frantically. My 14 year old daughter thought is was "really weird." I'd add rude to that.; 5/1/11, 1:42 PM
Texan99 said...: I crochet all the time, while watching TV, listening to an audiobook, waiting for an appointment, listening to a dull hearing or deposition, or sitting around in conversation. Anyone who thinks he needs the undivided attention of his audience's hands as well as their ears probably is uncomfortably aware that his presentation is a boring waste of time.; 5/1/11, 2:16 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Irene said: "chuck b., my knitting lives in a Meadehouse Tote Bag."

Cool!

I don't knit. (I did the post because: 1. I thought the woman in the photograph looked really cool, and 2. to entertain Irene.)

But I would think knitting would really help a person listen well. I usually draw (or play solitaire on my iPhone) if I need to sit still and listen to something. It's painful to be forbidden to do these things.; 5/1/11, 2:44 PM
Hagar said...: In high school, most girls would bring their knitting.; 5/1/11, 2:58 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: But, like Joan, I've been knitting since before it was cool.

Me too. My grandmother taught me to knit when I was 8 years old. A loooooong time ago.

I've been knitting ever since.

And, yes it can be meditative, especially when you are doing a simple pattern that doesn't require counting. Of course once you have done the pattern repeats a few times you don't need to count, you can just tell by looking at it what you should be doing.

After 911, you were not able to knit on the plane. Too threatening and dangerous I suppose.; 5/1/11, 3:14 PM
Irene said...: Althouse said, "I don't knit. (I did the post because: 1. I thought the woman in the photograph looked really cool, and 2. to entertain Irene.)"

Yes! I am very entertained!

"But I would think knitting would really help a person listen well. I usually draw (or play solitaire on my iPhone) if I need to sit still and listen to something. It's painful to be forbidden to do these things."

This is exactly right. I focus better when I knit. I am an active listener when my hands move in a deliberate pattern that keeps my mind from wandering. I knit whenever I can at meetings. Some people assume it's rude, but it's quite the opposite. A knitter is an alert listener.

My mother, who was a physician from the 1950s through the 1980s, used to respond to patient calls from home. She spent many hours each day sitting with the telephone balanced on her shoulder. She knitted during these telephone calls.

Althouse had a post (with photo) several years ago about people who were knitting at a law school retreat. I cannot find it now.

Although this may awaken Crack, there are studies showing that knitting releases endorphins and other "happy chemicals" in the brain. Knitting definitely has made me calmer during testy times. I've knitted while studying for law school exams, waiting for relatives to come out of surgery, and through chyemotherapy. It's also a great way to make a road trip even more enjoyasble.; 5/1/11, 3:31 PM
Irene said...: DBQ, that's one of the reasons (among many) why I no longer fly.; 5/1/11, 3:35 PM
Michael K said...: A friend of mine, a woman physician, used to knit through boring committee meetings. Eventually, she bought a racing sailboat (My son used to crew for her) and would sit on the stern knitting while the kids ran the boat. She had to give it up because the yarn got wet.; 5/1/11, 3:39 PM
Mary Beth said...: I'm making (another) Jayne (Firefly) hat. I'm filling requests from my sons and their friends.

It makes it easier for me to watch TV. I don't like to just sit there and not do anything.; 5/1/11, 3:59 PM
Toad Trend said...: @Irene

"This is exactly right. I focus better when I knit. I am an active listener when my hands move in a deliberate pattern that keeps my mind from wandering. I knit whenever I can at meetings. Some people assume it's rude, but it's quite the opposite. A knitter is an alert listener."

Knitting classes should be made available to all public union members.

Problem solved.; 5/1/11, 4:14 PM
Big Mike said...: Hey Joan! I stumbled across this video that you might enjoy, given your avatar.

The part you'll want to watch comes at about the 3:25 mark.; 5/1/11, 4:30 PM
Big Mike said...: And I have it on good authority that bow ties are cool.; 5/1/11, 4:33 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Irene, that retreat post is here. Thanks for remembering it.; 5/1/11, 4:39 PM
Cheryl said...: Irene, I also knit in meetings, particularly those likely to go late. The first time I did it, a lot of people looked at me like, "Oh, she's bored so she's getting out the knitting." Then when I piped up to participate in the conversation they were surprised that I was not only listening but paying close attention.

Ann, I've read a couple of studies that say that doodling, knitting, other "brainless" activities that we do while listening all engage the same part of the brain.

I used to own a yarn shop, and really loved it when the younger knitters would come in. So much more likely to want the good yarn!; 5/1/11, 4:47 PM
Andrea said...: her hair
how can she see
(goes insane)

wv: horti - the plural of "horta," the mineral creature from that Star Trek (the original series) episode.; 5/1/11, 4:54 PM
Irene said...: Althouse, thanks for the retreat link. That post is very memorable for me.

Mary Beth, I always knit when I watch TV! There is one sweater that we call "Gulf War I" because that is what I was watching when I knitted it.

Cheryl, you are right about meetings. Nonknitters do not understand.; 5/1/11, 5:02 PM
Texan99 said...: Irene, I do that too! Every piece of crochet work I've done is associated strongly in my mind with a movie or a book on tape.; 5/1/11, 5:30 PM
Irene said...: Texan99, it's fun when the Olympics are on the TV because then one can not only name the sweater after the Olympics, but also truly knit an Olympic sweater!; 5/1/11, 5:50 PM
Rebecca said...: I knit on the airplane whenever I fly. The TSA even states that they are acceptable though it is up to the descretion of the TSA person standing in front of you. I usually take only wooden needles and have a yarn cutter but I haven't had a problem (knock on wood).; 5/1/11, 6:05 PM
Jake said...: My mom knits all the time. She made us knit in exchange for watching TV. As a result, I can knit with the best of the girls. Mom used to knit at the movies. Clickrty click. Some fellow mover goers were not amused. At eighty, she still teaches knitting. The young ones think she is cool. Her embroidery is better. So is her lace.; 5/1/11, 6:24 PM
Deb said...: I taught myself to knit right after my mother died of Alzheimer's Disease. It took my mind off those years and forced me to focus on something else. Much like sewing, which requires focus, doing something step by step. It's very therapeutic.; 5/1/11, 6:42 PM
kimsch said...: Ah, but you can knit on the plane! Use Denise Knitting Needles - they're airline safe and can make any size circular needle you need. I love mine.

Denise Knitting Needles

wv: plate; 5/1/11, 7:05 PM
Simple Single Mom said...: @William -- You should see me, I knit at the park almost every day. ;); 5/3/11, 10:14 AM