*blink, blink*

I took the car for a minor service Saturday morning. Two hours of sitting in the waiting room while things were tweaked, arranged, drained, refilled, blah blah blah. Naturally…I brought my knitting.

The waiting room was positively stuffed with people. Not one, not two, but THREE of them said something like this to me:

“Wow, that’s really cool. Do you knit, too?”

*blink, blink*

Now, the problem here is, how do I say, “This is knitting” without the unspoken “…ya idiot!” coming through?

Honestly – I don’t think that people who don’t know the difference between crochet, quilting, sewing, knitting and playing the harpsichord are stupid. It isn’t exactly taught in school any more, and your mother probably didn’t knit, and in my case even my grandmothers didn’t knit, thanks.

It’s when people think they know the difference and don’t that I start getting that wee little headache in the temple. One of the three actually told me at some length all about how her very own three daughters had taken up knitting after being taught by their grandmother, and how she used to crochet herself when she was young, then ended the tale with, “…so, do you ever knit, too, or just crochet?”

*blink, blink*

Hokay. If you used to DO crochet...how is that you can't tell that I'm using two (2) needles, as opposed to one (1) hook? Hel-LO.

This reminds me of the time that somebody walked up to my while I was playing the harp at a Renaissance fair and said, "Wow. That's the biggest autoharp I've ever seen!"

This is my harp.

This is an autoharp.

Yet, because my harp doesn't look like this one...it would be easier to convince this guy that we actually lived in Bolivia than that the name of my instrument is 'a harp.'

Not an autoharp. Not a harpsichord. Not a dulcimer.

Just...a harp.

And this...is just knitting. Not tatting, crochet, weaving or spinning. Just...knitting.

And with that, I’m getting back to the next 5 hour baby sweater, which I’m making in the ‘smaller but not quite preemie’ size. I’m on a rampage with these things for two reasons. One, it’s getting cold out there, yet there are still a lot of babies going home in just the free hospital t-shirt because their parents either didn’t bring anything else or, worse, don’t have anything else. I literally cannot imagine that. I can readily imagine not having many things for Baby, but none at all? But, then again…baby clothes are the hands-down hardest things to find at the thrift stores. Captain Adventure doesn’t wear Brand New Fancy-Dancy clothing because I’m the kind of mommy who dotes more on the babies than the older kids; it’s because I can’t find a darned thing for him at the thrift stores until he gets to about age 2. Then, I can find anything and everything he needs there. I’m told by my inside sources that anything for babies under 2 is generally sold within seconds of hitting the floor, and I believe it.

And two…I need to clear out my craft closet. Stitches West is coming in only four months, people! Tama + Checkbook + Large Yarn Market = “…and isn’t this just the most gorgeous blue you ever did see, and isn’t this is the softest merino you’ve ever felt, and isn’t this the wildest self-striping sock yarn you ever did witness, and then I thought I could make a little scarf out of this and maybe a pair of hand warmers with that and it was on sale so [say it with me, you know this one!] I saved ever-so much money…”