I’m shameless. I knit in public pretty much every day. Although I remember a dark time when I didn’t. Not long after moving to Toronto — 20 or so years ago — I was given tickets to a Blue Jays’ game. I took my knitting with me, naturally. And naturally, I worked on it, but I confess I felt a little sheepish about it. In hindsight, it was perhaps that it was a colorwork project, and I had several balls of yarn attached and more than a few loose ends…
But now, I relish knitting in public, and I love the sometimes-funny looks I get. And that’s what June is all about, for knitters. We celebrate World Wide Knit in Public Day (Facebook site). It used to be a single day, but it’s celebrated on a variety of dates, depending on where you are, and what else is on your calendar. And that’s sort of the point. Really, any date should be celebrated with a bit of knitting in public (well, maybe not on Polar Vortex days…).
I took part in a couple of Knitting in Public events over the past few weeks… At Shall We Knit, in early June. Kim and Ron of indigodragonfly did a yarn dyeing demo.
I worked on my circular shawl yesterday, on the patio in front of Lettuce Knit.
A group in Toronto also knitted at Gibson House. Not only are they knitting outdoors, but they yarnbombed their own chairs.
Yarn-dyer Cat of Blueberry Pie Studios wins this year, for knitting on a rollercoaster. I believe it was a kiddie-coaster, but even so.
Did you Knit in Public?
Hey I was at Lettuce too! I got there early afternoon. must have just missed you.
Yes I did knit in public! Just yesterday afternoon while on a family vacation in Madrid, I hung out in Retiro park and knit in the shade under a group of lovely trees. It was the perfect afternoon.
What I like is when I knit in public, people will come up and ask me what I’m working on, and then talk with me as though we are old friends. Especially senior citizens. It’s great!