To continue the discussion in comments....
I'm not particularly worried about the message that knitting sends at work, just the annoying attention it would attract in the office at large. Individuals, like Boss, know I'm a knitter, and I have said that I will bring my knitting to the next mediation and knit while we're in caucus, because it will keep my hands busy and out of the pastry tray/sandwich tray/afternoon cookies, OR distract me from my growling stomach (some mediators feed you all day long, others believe starvation leads to settlement). Boss thinks it's cool that I knit, and gets a kick out of the mental picture of me sitting there knitting a sock while discussing structural steel problems or OSHA regs. But knitting before the office at large at lunch would be like sending out that homing beacon for annoyance, and no good could come of it.
I'm sure my atttitude about KIP has been shaped by my personal experiences and circumstances, but by and large, I have rarely had an intelligent conversation with a stranger about knitting. 98% of the conversations are along the lines of, "Oh, I would never have the patience to do that!" and "Oh, you're so lucky to have so much free time to do that!" And I don't have it in me anymore to explain to these condescending bimbos that I'm a tightly wound, impatient Type A personality who knits to relax, and that my knitting time is generally a few rows grabbed here and there and it takes me forever to finish anything. Oh, and if I had a dollar for every snarky young thing who said, "Oh, my grandma knits!" I could quit the job that is giving me an ulcer. Once in a blue moon I do have a nice conversation with a stranger or an acquaintance I didn't know was a knitter - one of my husband's oncologists saw me knitting in the hospital and told me she was a knitter, and I think it gave us an extra bond of friendship above and beyond the doctor and wife of patient roles, which was very nice. But on the whole, Knitting in Public makes me want to jab these idiots with a size 1 sock needle. So for the good of society, I don't KIP much, and try to avoid eye contact when I do.
Little knitting or crocheting has happened so far this week. Tonight will be the gym and, possibly maybe, progress on the crocheted jacket.
Perhaps I'm hyper-sensitive about KIP because I came out of the secretarial pool and I'm in what is still something of a testosterone-infused profession (although it's changing). So I'm wary about who knows that I knit.
ReplyDeleteI knit because I enjoy the technical challenge (sometimes) but more often it's to soothe jangly nerves and help un-knot my shoulders and neck.
Those remarks? The:
"Oh, I would never have the patience to do that!"
"Oh, you're so lucky to have so much free time to do that!"
"Oh, my grandma knits!"
Yes. Ad nauseum. I would also add "What are you making?" I love telling them that it's a swatch--just to watch the confusion.
Like you, it takes me a long time to finish anything and I resent the idea that I must have a lot of free time. That somehow knitting is for the lazy/leisured. Hell, books such as "The Shipping News" they reflect an older culture where EVERYONE knitted. If you had time to sit down, you had time to do work with your hands. That's how my mother raised me and my brothers. If we had time to watch TV, we had time to do sit-down tasks such as mend/sew/knit/pay bills etc. JUST sitting and watching TV was considered wasting time. I never thought about it until one of my younger SIL's pointed out that my brothers and I always seem to be busy with SOMETHING. We never just sit.
And yes, it keeps me out of the cookie jar, too.
I don't KIP to KIP. I KIP in doctor's offices (there've been a lot of them lately) and that sort of thing. But I don't want to talk about it either, I want to knit. If I see someone else knitting, I might comment on their yarn (if I recognize it) or ask about it (if I like it) or just smile and carry on my way.
ReplyDeleteI don't care for the whole "LOOK! I'm KNITTING" thing either.
I did request that the Knit Knite group I organized be held in a public place, but mostly as a way of drumming up members.
If anything, the statement is "I'm not as much of a lazy slug as you are" though I seldom say that, even to those stupid enough to attempt to break down my own FUCK OFF shield.
I feel the same way. Sometimes I'll knit at day long conferences, etc., but generally it attracts attention where people start to feel that you are "too home-oriented" and not "professional". Whatever. Maybe it's a law thing. People get goofy. I'm not supposed to have a hobby, apparently, and I should sit and wait while yakking on my cell phone or frantically checking my e-mail. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteMyshelle10 from KR
How do.
ReplyDeleteMy KIP has been fairly low-key - Board meetings for my local Library (somehow I always seem to drop a metal needle at least once!), some book group meetings, at an appt. for the doctor or dentist. I have sometimes approached a knitter if it looks as though her "Fuck you" shield is not in place ^..^
And let me say that I am surprised you, C., would pick only a size 1 sock needle to keep folks & their Homer Simpson D'oh comments away - let's grab a size 17 at least!!
Martha
P.S. I never did get to buy you that funnel cake at MD - next year maybe?!
"And I don't have it in me anymore to explain to these condescending bimbos that I'm a tightly wound, impatient Type A personality who knits to relax, and that my knitting time is generally a few rows grabbed here and there and it takes me forever to finish anything..."
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, this is how I also feel about the folks I work with. So well said!
I have only recently begun to KIP. Very very tentatively because of the comments from coworkers (yuck) although I find when I knit on the bus people just completely ignore it, which is wonderful. Love you, blissfully self-absorbed people! I want you around all the time! Because having someone talk to me while knitting is usually weird.
I'm blabbing now. Loved your post1
Oh, so much to respond to -
ReplyDeleteI can't just sit either. If I'm watching TV I will be knitting, crocheting, or at least brushing the dog. I have no problem with the lawyers I work with knowing I knit - at least, not the ones who know me well - but I would be a bit concerned with knitting at work in front of people who don't already have a clear picture of who I am. Even as a paralegal (a pink collar ghetto job if there ever was one) it's not entirely safe to be girly at work - at least in my field. In the past I have watched construction cases I was supremely qualified to handle go to the inexperienced "boy paralegal" based on the lawyer logic that a penis confers knowledge about construction. It would not do to be too girly around men who operate that way.
Martha, next year I hope we all have more time to do stuff together! As for the size 1s, they can inflict serious damage if you use 'em right. ;-)
Imagine a world where you can KIP and be left alone, as if you were reading a book, instead of being treated like you are doing something for public amusement. It's a dream....
Yes, but what a nice dream...
ReplyDeleteActually, some people think if you're reading a book, it must only be because you don't have anyone to talk to, and they come to rescue you. I was reading in the lunchroom at work and someone asked if they could sit at my table. "If you don't mind if I read," I said, and she was quite taken aback.
ReplyDelete