Thursday, May 15, 2008

I Knit Here...and here...and there

Hi Knitters,
I had a comment the other day where I was asked, along with everyone else who reads this, where I knit. Where do you knit? I really would love to know.

When I am at home and I need to be surrounded by all of my knitting stuff or I am concentrating on pattern writing, I knit in my studio. Don't think it is glamorous in my studio because it is nothing of the sort. It is a small room at the front of my house and honestly it is a disaster right now, serious disaster. I still love it because even amongst the clutteriest clutter imaginable I have done a lot of creating, writing, conjuring, contemplating, attempting and mostly knitting. I feel good in that room and somehow things seem to happen in there.

I have this big, comfy chair and I stick my cable needles, yarn needles and stitch markers right in the arm of the chair. I love that, so close and handy. Also, I stick my scissors and ruler in the crevice of the seat cushion. It's okay, that's my knitting chair. The little basket hanging by the window holds my stitch holders. I get good light from the window and my Ott light is always there for extra lighting if need be.


Right in front of my chair is this fun foot rest that never rests my feet but it sure holds my stuff well. I just took this picture without moving a thing. That is one busy foot rest, not very restful at all really. I love it in the studio, a tiny spot to call my own, to create and work. Now if only I could clean it out but I think there is something to the chaos in there that spurs me on somehow. Is that weird?


I knit mostly in my studio at home but really I knit all over the place.


This morning I sat in the living room and listened to my little sweetheart read chapter after chapter of this fantastic book while I knitted away the minutes. This knitting project is for the holiday issue of this magazine. I am pretty excited about it. The project is almost completed and then I just have to sit and type in the pattern. I am hoping to mail it off tomorrow.


Other times I sit in the family room and watch a movie and knit with the kids. Everyday I knit in the car when I am waiting for or picking up the kids from school and their activities or in waiting rooms for various appointments. I really have no shame when it comes to dragging my knitting around. I am respectful about not knitting if I think it will be distracting to others, though. Also, I won't pull it out if I don't feel like talking about what I am working on because inevitably someone will ask and that's okay. Outdoor knitting is always fun, too.



If you feel up to it, please share your favorite knitting spot, I'd love to know.


This morning I saw my daughter's feet and I had to take a shot. These little legs are getting ready for a day of sunshine and learning and some good old-fashioned fun. This girl has a good time. (The other night in the tub she had to scrub her knees really hard to get the dirt off.) This morning she told me she is going to write a story about a purple paper clip. That's too good. Don't you remember when the world was your oyster like that? I do.


A little leftover rose from Mother's Day is fading fast, still hanging on to its beauty.



Look what I snagged (and this) early, early this morning. Happy day.


Back to work for me. Now where am I going to knit today....


best, susie

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a real estate agent and I knit while holding open houses. Of course, I try and put my work away while talking to people, but it ends up being a great conversation starter. If the open house is busy, great, but if not, I get lots of knitting done!

Anonymous said...

Edward Tulane is good, but if you're going to pick up Kate DiCamillo (and I think everyone should) Our house favorite, hands down, is The Tale of Despereaux. It has the additional advantage of being wonderfully, beautifully read in full on the audiobook version, which we listen to in the car. Originally, we borrowed it from the library, but when we saw it at a big bookstore while on a roadtrip, we bought it for ourselves. That, Ramona's World (Beverly Cleary), and now some Harry Potter, but not if we're trying to get anyone to sleep, are our roadtrip staples. Sandra Boynton's Dog Train gets a lot of play, too, but no novels from her, yet, audio or otherwise. I really want to audio-only record my children reading aloud at this stage. We had a few tapes of us reading to them from the early car trip days that are so very evocative of that stage of reading, and I want to have that for now, too. Sounds like you have a reader who would be fun to return to in 5-10 years, too.

Blogger issues, so I'll sign in independently, but don't need to be anonymous crickethunteratdejazzd dotcom

Anonymous said...

Hands down favorite place to knit is in a corner of my bedroom in my purple chair and a half watching my birds and hummingbirds race through the backyard in playful dance.

Anonymous said...

My mom just turned me onto your blog, and I'm really enjoying reading it!

I mostly knit downstairs while watching television...I start accumulating small piles of knitting and eventually pick up when my husband says something about the many bags... :)

My absolute favorite place to knit though is outside during the summer...I drag out my picnic blanket, set it up by a tree and lean back...I can knit like that for absolutely hours!!

Anonymous said...

My mom just turned me onto your blog, and I'm really enjoying reading it!

I mostly knit downstairs while watching television...I start accumulating small piles of knitting and eventually pick up when my husband says something about the many bags... :)

~ErikaC
My absolute favorite place to knit though is outside during the summer...I drag out my picnic blanket, set it up by a tree and lean back...I can knit like that for absolutely hours!!

Anonymous said...

I have a comfy chair with ottoman in the living room, in the corner, and the table next to it has a little sliding bookends thingmajobber that holds all my most-used knitting reference books. There's usually a small pile of yarn/needles near my spot on the loveseat in the TV nook. And my spinning wheel looks out our big living room wall o' windows where I can watch birdies, bunnies, chipmunks, and Nuts the Red Squirrel cavort. Like ErikaC, I love to knit outside in the big double-seat swing under our monster willow tree.
P.S. Yours was the first knitting blog I ever read and I've been hooked ever since. :)

peaknits said...

I knit just about anywhere I can - while my little one is splashing in the tub, in front of guilty TV, in the car, at the doctor's office, watching t-ball or swimming - I'm not picky:) I got some Hello Yarn too - yay for cathing the update!!

Knittin Kudzu said...

I love your studio! I actually knit everywhere I go becaue I always carry a small project with me. My most favorite place in my home to knit is the big squishy blue chair that sits in our family room. It gives me a bird's eyeview of the kitchen, the sunroom and the tv. And, it keeps me in the middle of my family's activities. My foot rest is never for my feet either. If it is not holding knitting patterns, books, and all sorts of knitting paraphernalia, then it is the resting place of my sweetie, Sylvie.

Your blog is really inspiring. Thanks for sharing your life with the rest of us.

Blessings, Sandy

Unknown said...

I have an oversized stuffed chair with an ottoman and that's where I knit. I, too, stuff my scissors into the crevice of the cushion! Sometimes I stuff my notion bag in there as well if my toddler is around or inevitably, she wants it. I can look out our big bag window, I have a good view of the TV if I'm watching that or a movie. I knit on airplanes (although once someone got up to go to the bathroom and somehow wrapped their leg around my yarn and pulled a ball of yarn with them down the plane aisle!), in the car during long drives with my family and in my knitting friend's homes. Most of all, I love my comfy chair which also happens to be the chair where I most often nursed my baby.

Anonymous said...

Better question for me is, " Where doesn't she knit." Answer would be "the bathroom and church (I'm in the choir, front row)." Anyplace else is fine with me. I really can't NOT knit while riding in the car. It would be such a waste of time. And I can't NOT knit watching TV or at the movies....again, a waste of time. I do love to knit with friends, especially at the LSS's that have coffee shops. (I don't drink coffee, but hey! I knit!)
Sara

Caryn said...

I usually knit in the basement in front of the TV. Usually my knitting goes where I go - car, friends house, work...I even knit in the bathroom when my son is in the tub! I have a hard time not doing something and find it a waste of time just sitting there. Recently I took my knitting to school and knitted during a staff meeting! I usually choose mindless knitting projects for times like that (baby hats are great).

Anonymous said...

I leave work most mornings after I have worked a few hours and spend some time at the coffee shop down the street knitting away, then return to work. I realized that I spent too much time there knitting when the coffee shop owner finally fessed up that she thought I was unemployed!

Anonymous said...

I knit in my glider while nursing my son ... small projects only. I knit in our office chair while waiting on the internet to load ... it's spotty at times. I knit in the car while my husband drives. I knit on the couch while watching movies with my family. I knit during my lunch at work. I knit while waiting on my children in car line. I knit during church or Sunday school ... prayer shawls only!

Tracy Batchelder said...

I took over my husband's big chair and ottoman for my knitting spot. He hasn't complained about it though. He's sits in my spot at the dining room table when he's tying flies for fishing. I use a table top Ott-Lite. He has a floor model.

Hilary said...

I loved this post! Thank you. :-)It's cool to see your chair and footstool-desk, which looks a lot like the top of my entertainment center. I have a two year old so knitting paraphenalia must be kept out of reach... she calls dpn's "candles" and balls of yarn are "birthday cakes", which means the needles go IN the "cakes".

I knit in the living room while watching my little ones, in the bathroom while big little one takes her bath, in my bedroom before I go to sleep, outside on my deck, at work when it's slow (hasn't happened much lately) and at family gatherings when we're all sitting around visiting. My favorite place is either the corner of the couch or outside when the weather is nice. My inlaws have a screened in porch that overlooks a river, which is a fabulous knitting spot, even on chilly fall or spring days. (With a big cup of coffee!)

Anonymous said...

Wow.And I thought that I was the only one who knits while being a passenger! I actually look forward to doing errands! And long car rides are the greatest for me! I mostly like the response, "When DON'T I knit?"!

It always amazes me that after 23 years of non-stop knitting, I still can't get enough of it! I wish I felt like that about laundry or cooking dinner!

I also make jewelry and have the same obsession! I am going to use this question over at my blog. Thanks for the fun!