Sheep On My Stuff

Ah, knitting monogamy! Some knitters out there are virtuous knitters, knitters with only one project on their needles at a time, knitters who don't even have a stash because they buy only what they're going to knit -- and they return unused skeins to the store for a refund.

What's up with those people?

The question has never actually been put to me with the phrasing "why aren't you a monogamous knitter?" It's more of, "Why the heck do you need to have seven projects on the needles at once?"

Well! That is an excellent question, and one for which I have an answer.

Different situations call for different types of knitting. My favorite thing in the world to knit is lace -- but lace is delicate, involves charts (frequent attention to a pattern), and although it packs well into a purse or suitcase, whipping out a chart at a restaurant can really be a drag.

I've also knit sweaters. I don't mind taking a sleeve to a restaurant, but a whole bulky sweater for a 6'5" guy? What kind of purse does that take? I don't own one, in any event. (Same thing for blankets.)

Don't ask me to knit socks if I can't be sure I can look down at the floor and pick my DPN right up once I've dropped it. A plane? No. Planes move around. If I drop a DPN on a plane, it could roll all the way down the aisle before I can retrieve it. I'll pass!

Are we going to a movie? I need a project that can fit in my purse that has almost no pattern whatsoever. 2x2 ribbing works great. Also, I need a large-ish ball of yarn, so I don't have to mess with splicing in new yarn while I'm sitting in the dark.

In other words, I need different projects because I'm always knitting. I'm knitting when I go out to eat, to the movies, when I'm watching TV, when I'm listening to audiobooks, when I'm on the bus, and if I can get away with it, when I'm in classes. (French? Knitting works great. ASL? Not so much!) If I couldn't take a different project to wherever I'm going, based on the needs of the environment, I don't know how I'd cope!

I guess I just wouldn't knit. Which sounds like a horrible plan!

Huh. Now I have a question: How do people cope with not knitting all the time?

* ...that's going to come out wrong to anyone who's not a knitter, isn't it? While I totally grok the concept of polyamory and I fully support anyone who does it conscientiously (a lot of people nowadays behave really jerkticiously and then chalk it up to "polyamory"; the healthy version of it involves honesty, communication, and care), that's not me! I only have so much romantic time and energy to give to other people; for me, they are a finite resource. One-on-one works best for me, and luckily, for my partner as well.