Monday, June 14

Kinda Cool

What I like about crochet is its essential portability. I technically know how to knit, but I seem to be incapable of completing a row without needing to put down my wip (work in progress). This is problematic in knitting as you carry an entire row of stitches on your needles, and it can be confusing, if you have stop in the middle, to remember what direction you were going in. Well, it's confusing for me, anyway. With crochet, there's only one hook, and one active stitch/loop, so stopping mid-row is not a big deal.

Which is why I can crochet on the subway. I used to see people doing cross stitch or embroidery; but I've only seen one knitter, and she was was making socks using 3 (or maybe it was 4) dpn's (double pointed needles). Since I have difficulty with two pointy sticks, I was completely in awe of this woman. My point is, although I know there are knitters riding the train, I don't come across them very often.

In just the last two weeks, however, I've encountered two other people crocheting. In the first instance, I sat down next to this woman and we both pulled out our hooks and yarn at the same time to our mutual amusement. In the second instance, I was waiting for a train one evening and a woman walked up and said "you were crocheting this morning." Yes, I was. She then pulled out her current project and we had a brief but pleasant chat about yarn.

And then just last week I was sitting on the train and two women who sat near me remarked that they, too, crochet. And I think the one woman might have been inspired to bring a project with her on the next ride.

There's this idea out there that knitting and crocheting are for "older" women. Huh. It's practically trendy, if my recent experiences are anything to go by, and those were just the crocheters. There are knitters out there, as well. I think there are more of us yarnies out there than is generally realized. It's like being part of a secret but wide-spread counter-culture movement. How cool is that?