Public knitting success! :D

You all know that I'm a public knitter. You all pretty much understand that it not only has to do with my impatience with sitting still, waiting (on anything), but also because I'm hoping that it will inspire conversation.

Today, I was knitting in Human Sexuality (as I do almost every Tuesday/Thursday), finishing up a rainbow striped hat (ironically, on the day we're studying sexual orientation), and my friend's friend asks me to knit him a hat. He was really excited when I told him I could even do ear flaps and pom poms and all sorts of things! It was adorable and satisfying to see the excitement of the prospect of a hand knit hat.


My knitting today also spurred another type of conversation. My professor, Dr. Kelly Welch, had this to tweet at the end of class:

"A gal was knitting in class while I lectured today. I wasn't offended--I was fascinated."

First of all, it's exciting to be tweet worthy :) I think it's awesome that she was fascinated, but I also think it's kind of sad that the opposite reaction, the presumable default reaction, was offense. Sure, knitting a complicated Fair Isle sweater would be inappropriate in class (unless you've some how mastered the art and memorized it ~ I'm not that advanced yet) but simple knits where you aren't doing a lot of counting is appropriate for certain kinds of classes (like ones with a lot of discussion). 


I have become so comfortable with knitting in class that I've forgotten it's not a normal occurrence for some professors. I feel bad now that I didn't ask permission (and I'm emailing her after this post) and at the same time, I believe there may be a misunderstanding about knitting and why I do it in class. I'm an achiever (according to StrengthsQuest) which means that if I'm not being productive every minute I possibly can, I'm failing. In fact, the more ways in which I can be productive at once, the better I feel about myself. Dynamic multitasking. I knit during class because it feeds my productivity in my hobby and it also enhances my ability to stay focused for a longer period of time on the material being presented. 


This is because knitters are impatient people (generally speaking) and I'm one of the most impatient of them all. I get twitchy when I am expected to sit still for too long. I start day dreaming or falling asleep. Knitting gives me a repetitive task that keeps my wandering part of the brain occupied so that the other part of my brain isn't distracted. Does that make sense? (It's late and I often become incoherent when I'm tired)


Anyways, that's all I have to say about that subject. Professors, don't be offended by public knitting in your classrooms! Rather, have a conversation with the student about the craft and the knitter's relationship to the craft. Any questions? Send them my way :)




PS. I might be using rope in my knitting/quilt/story project...more to come later :)