Knitting on rails
Travelling on the same train each day to work means that I generally encounter more or less the same group of commuters. So when I got an earlier train one day, I was surprised and rather delighted by the travelling knitting circle I encountered. There was a group of six women who were already on the train when I boarded, and were occupying the six facing seats on one side of the carriage. Evidently ultra-fluffy or hairy wool is in right now, as each of them was knitting feather-boa-like scarves in bright colours like purple, red or sunny orange.
As they knitted, they chatted and laughed (itself a lamentably rare thing on a commuter train), barely looking at their work and letting their fingers follow a well-practiced routine. I noticed that their work tended to punctuate the conversation, so that changing needles would coincide with a pause in conversation, and they would speed up their stitches as they laughed at someone’s joke.
I felt slightly jealous of their easy camaraderie, and they reminded me of old photographs of groups of women cleaning fish, waulking cloth or doing other repetitive but social manual jobs that leave you free to talk. I’m one of those sad people who travels wearing listening to an iPod and with my nose in a book, but only because I can’t bear to be exposed to the 90% advertising drivel from the on-board TVs that get foisted on us by Central Trains. Now I’m half tempted to take up knitting again and shyly try to join the travelling knitting circle.
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I took up knitting again last year, as relaxation therapy: knitting is everything my job is not -- precise, orderly, with visible progress and a well-defined end. After a long work day, when my brain can't function enough to read even Harry Potter, knitting in front of the TV helps me feel productive. With a little luck and planning, I also end up with something beautiful to wear
Warning: knitting is addictive and you very quickly run out of closet/drawer space -- it helps to have non-knitting friends who are willing to commission items (and pay for lovely expensive yarns); recently I discovered a retirement home that's trying to raise funds for a new building by selling craft items created and donated by employees and neighbours, including potential future residents (the fundraising slogan is "You might need us one day but we need you now") -- so when my friends' closets/drawers can't hold anymore, I'll still be able to knit lots of small quick projects and send them away to good homes. (Small projects are the best kind for train travel)
I don't have a cat (allergy) but I've heard they like to play with the yarn while you're knitting -- something to try with your houseguest while your parents are in my part of the world
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Well in that case please knit me a Ruby on Rails jumper
Beautyfull pictures by the way
by Peter @ 22/03/2006 10:04 pm • Permalink •
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Do shyly try to join the travelling knitting circle! I reckon you'd have a great time
by jim w @ 22/03/2006 11:04 pm • Permalink •
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Embarrassed to reveal my ignorance, but what does "waulking cloth" entail?
by Jolyon @ 23/03/2006 8:03 am • Permalink •
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I don't know what waulking cloth entails, but whilst you're on that kind of subject, I'd really like to know what a winding sheet is. I have two CDs, Joanna Newsom and Martin Carthy that both sing about Winding Sheets.
I took up knitting a few weeks ago, with my mother giving me sporadic lessons. But I've since discovered that it's essential to be able to knit backwards in order to undo mistakes!
by Karen @ 23/03/2006 2:03 pm • Permalink •
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Google is your friend:
http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/8_2.html
... and now I know what waulking is!
BSAG: I love reading your entries and am frequently reminded by the drift in language that has occurred across the Atlantic. Not to mention the myriad cultural differences.
TV's on trains? I never thought of it! I don't think any of our commuter rail lines feature any entertainment at all. Of course, what would I know? The nearest city with commuter rail is hundreds of miles from me! Er, kilometers...
The really sad thing is that I live in a large urban (suburban, exurban, whatever) area with over a million other people. Not backwards either -- Research Triangle, North Carolina (3 major universities, dozens of corporate and government research centers and the highest number of PhD's per capita in the world). But no trains... just cars and pavement... :-(
by Kevin Gunn @ 23/03/2006 2:04 pm • Permalink •
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Audrey: I used to be OK on squarish types of knitted things in fairly plain patterns. I never could keep track of fancy stitches. And that's a great idea for fund-raising.
M is distinctly laid back about playing with things. She likes ping-pong balls, but only if you roll them directly to her. If she has to move, she just ignores them
Peter: Hehe. That would be cool.
jim w: I might try, but it would mean getting up even earlier than I do already to catch the earlier train routinely.
Jolyon: Kevin's link is good, and there are some pictures here. For those who don't feel like following links, it's the process of pummelling tweed cloth which has been soaked in stale urine to shrink, soften and tighten the fabric. It was traditionally done by groups of women, who sang 'waulking songs' while they did it.
Karen: I've always assumed that a winding cloth is a shroud; a cloth for wrapping a body in for burial, but I could be wrong. Does that make sense in the cntext of the songs?
Kevin Gunn: Trains are wonderful, and despite the wretched service in this country, I love using them. But TVs on trains are a terrible idea, particularly when they are basically showing one long and very tedious advert for SkyTV. It's intrusive and annoying for those who want to read, listen to music or just gaze out the window and think their own thoughts. Or, indeed, knit.
by bsag @ 23/03/2006 6:04 pm • Permalink •
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You should knit again. You don't have to give up your iPod.
by Emily @ 23/03/2006 9:04 pm • Permalink •
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Correct.
I suppose one may have thought it a sheet on which to burp a baby; as in "win ding".
by Jonathan Briggs @ 23/03/2006 9:04 pm • Permalink •
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I have a friend whose big hobby is cross-stitch. She attends a cross-stitch group which she says is populated by a bunch of older (in their 60s) women and her. And the main feature for all of them - including her - is the friendly nattering that goes on.
As for knitting, loads of people seem to be getting into it of late. A friend of mine produced a short film about bit (and got nominated for a Bafta!) and I keep thinking I ought to get back into it...
by Clare @ 26/03/2006 10:04 pm • Permalink •
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Yes, it's obvious now!
"On a frozen pillow we must sleep With the cold clods at our feet. And the tears that you will shed for us Will wet our winding sheet"
How depressing!
by Karen @ 30/03/2006 3:04 pm • Permalink •
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hi all, well i have been knitting for longer than i care to remember, i knit on trains, mostly buses, i am a member of a knitting group in birmingham, you could knit your ipod a cover!
by debbie @ 12/04/2006 9:05 pm • Permalink •
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i have been knitting scarves for about 3 years and now I have to large loops at the end of a stich line. I've tried everthing but to no avail. I haven't drop a stich and haven't got a clue as to what to do. I've tried tighteing the loops but nothing happens.
Please help
by Lexanne Van Osdol @ 04/07/2007 8:39 pm • Permalink •
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Does knitting while traveling hurt the eye?
by Fundraising Ideas @ 14/02/2008 3:38 pm • Permalink •
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