The week was too hectic to do this on the official eve, but tonight MyFavoriteKid and I went to my mom and dads for a belated Passover dinner.......
.......where the discussion came up that my knitting at the table at the end of the meal could viewed as my being distracted (or could serve as a distraction to others). My knitting was being compared to the likes of my son playing a handheld game system (which I had earlier refused to allow him to play).
I outright argued that I know this is bullshit. People have been sitting around and knitting and engaging in conversation for centuries. But who am I to explain that to a non-knitter. What I can tell you is that I have my very own handheld game system, so I do have the ability to compare, and no it is NOT the same thing AT ALL. I can knit and listen and talk and not even be looking at my hands all the time. I can make eye contact. Try doing that while you are blowing things up or chasing things around in fantasyland.
But I get it that not everyone understands us knitters and how our we are capable of multi-tasking, and I did (not so politely probably) put my knitting away, and I'll be damned if I ever pull it out again during a visit.
In truth, though? Bottom line? I have only one thing to say to all of this:
If I can't knit while I am with you?
I'm probably not going to have the time (or desire) to knit more things for you.
Just sayin'.
Friday, April 10, 2009
can a roasted lambshank be the bone of contention?
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13 comments:
agree (1000)
Rock on!
Totally agree. When I first started knitting my partner would complain and bitch whenever I pulled it out in public. So I knit him a hat, and then it wasn't "Ohmygod I can't believe your knitting again," it was "Hey, is that my hat? How much do you have left?" He was totally cured.
Agree (eleventy-billion)
Here is what I say: I am too antsy and hyper to just sit. I will get up, sit down, fiddle, etc. Knitting allows me to get my shpilkes under control so that I can engage in civilized conversation without fidgeting. It opens me up to partake of the present, rather than providing an escape from the present, which video games tend to do.
Amen sister. If they don't like your knitting, then they don't deserve your knitting.
Will make Christmas a lot less stressful this year, won't it? LOL
I used to get told off by one of my roommates for my constant knitting. She found it 'distracting' to be in the room with me if I was, say, knitting while we chatted or watched tv. I got petty and started leaving the room whenever she started to gnaw on her fingers (compulsive nail biter), and she eventually got the point. I think knitting is inherently social, and certainly far less distracting than a game. You can stop to emphasize a point without pressing 'pause', you don't make much noise, and you're able to engage with your enviornment while you do it (things you already know!)- so amen to you!
Well said.
Very educating blog & comments; I have learned much about dinner-table etiquette; I now know it is PC to do knitting at the dinner table, and for me to do my whittling {of utensils, figurines, gifts, etc.} at the dinner table, and Mom can do her darning {of socks, underwear, gifts, etc.} there as well. But, it is unPC to use video games, or to twitter, at the dinner table. Should any of you attend a dinner w/us, expect to see us knitting, whittling & darning at the dinner table, but not video gaming nor twittering. Or, as they say, there will be a-knitting, a-whittling, a-darning, but not a-video-gaming nor a-twittering, at the dinner table; who knows, there might even be a-dining & a-eating (try saying "a-eating" 3 times, fast). For some time, now, I have not seen the following at the dinner table: geese-a-laying, maids-a-milking, 5 golden rings, or a partridge in a pear tree. Thanks to all for clarifying the correct dinnertable PC rules.
OMG! I am in HUGE trouble! I have not yet evolved to social knitting. I MUST have all of my attention on my hands or the yarn has a way of coming to life and doing its own thing......My table knitting would be the equivalent of my playing JUMBLE on my Nintendo DS..which I bought for the purpose of keeping my brain in a non-gelatinous "under" 50 state. I want to still be able to parry and thrust with my quick wit at the age of 80....I digress....this is about knitting.... I am a newly created kntting knovice and cannot...I repeat...cannot knit and talk at the same time....YET.
Dad (Rev) I would have to say that all things being equal - UNDERWEAR that is not being worn is a no no at any social gathering....
I love y'all
Hoo boy. Agree.
XO
I can make eye contact, smile and nod occasionally, and be not paying attention at all. I can even be trying to pay attention, but I'm too deaf to hear softer voices (speak up and don't mumble, sheesh, most people today) so I still don't know what you're saying. Knitting would not make me pay less attention. On the other hand, spaghetti sauce on mohair would not be fun; dinner knitting should always be fully washable.
This has been an issue with my husband when we attend family events. Most of the time at family events there is a lot of sitting around. Well, I get bored. And it's a perfect time to knit. He told me: "it looks like you don't want to be there" and that it's "rude". I have given in and not taken my knitting but it irks me. I think non-knitters do not realize that knitting can be done in the presence of others at an event and that the knitter is still fully involved in the conversation. In teleconference meetings at work, I have a tendency to fall asleep - the whole head bobbing thing, over and over. It's mortifying. If I were to knit, I'd stay awake and pay more attention to the call. I'm too chicken to ask, though. So what's the answer? Let's just say this: when there is a family event on my stitch 'n bitch night, I don't hesitate to leave the family event to go to stitch 'n bitch.
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