I put together Simply Knitting's Ideas pages each issue, which means finding lots of news stories - not just new products but events, new fibres, charity fundraisers and so on. Sifting through news stories online really makes me aware of all the things knitting can mean – and how often it's used as a shorthand for 'a waste of time', 'nothing'. All too often people in news stories contrast what they're doing with knitting, as though 'knitting' is somehow the opposite of 'doing', and if you're a knitter, you can't possibly have an interesting and varied life. For some reason, this makes me think of all those dreadful tampon adverts, where a feminine hygiene product enables its users to cycle, disco dance and roller skate. Knitting is diametrically opposed to tampons! Ah, now things are getting silly...
Anyway, knitting is all about doing, and when you're a knitter you find yourself creating things at times when other people aren't doing much at all. Waiting for a train, taking a bus journey, watching telly, even standing in a long and tedious queue – I've knitted during all those things, and you probably have too. Knitters are probably the least time-wasting people on the planet, and we've got a huge stack of jumpers and scarves to prove it!
Knitting is many things: it can be thrifty or extravagant, charitable or selfish, comfortingly familiar or challenging and new. However you knit, though, it is definitely active.
Tuesday April 07, 2009 Knitting is not doing nothing!
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My favourite comment recently has to be from my boyfriend, who remarked on me spending a whole £12 pounds on some gorgeous chunky marble wool: "You spent how much?! You already have loads of wool that you haven't used yet....blah blah"
Granted I am building a rather big (and nice!) stash, but this statement was from the man who spends up to £40 on Xbox games, which to me is a real waste of time and doing "nothing". He can sit there for two hours playing the damned thing, whilst I am knitting, and has no real end product for his virtually spent time, where as I have completed another part of a pattern...and in the end a jumper or gloves etc...
"waste of time" I think not!
Posted by Kate (127.0.0.1) on April 25, 2009 at 01:34 PM BST #