Community Building

The other day, I ran into a woman knitting while waiting for the Metro. Actually, I saw the scarf on her shoulder and thought it looked nice and warm before I saw that she was knitting. As I walked next to her, with my crochet project in my hands, I complimented on her scarf and told her how much I like Lion Brand Homespun yarn, which she was using. We chatted about how we just started (or in my case, restarted) yarn work and the various "sit 'n stitch" communities that have been cropping up. I asked her if she had heard of Ravelry.com which she had and I encouraged her to join.

It is so interesting to me to see how people are building relationships around the yarn work that we are doing. You see websites like Crochetville, you see all kinds of Meet Ups around yarn work, you observe people at coffee shops and such knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching. And like Ms. Knitter and me, you see us on public transportation, in doctors' offices, standing in lines and such, getting our yarn on.

I know this captures a lot of attention from people. Metro passengers and others who encounter me while crocheting look with interest at what I'm doing. One woman was doing an intricate crochet project with fine yarn on the Metro and a couple of women standing during their ride into the District, started asking about her project. One woman said that she was going to look into the craft. While waiting on the Metro one day, a woman came up to me, asked me about my project and proceeded to chat me up about the many projects she has completed. She said that she wraps herself up in a blanket that her recently-deceased mother crocheted for her years ago. It's wonderful to know that some of the things that we take our time to complete are lovingly coveted many years later. My sister has some of the afghans our late aunt made for her. My sister made a sweater/coat for me years ago and I still have it.

There's something about yarn work in public that seems to garner a lot of attention from all types of people. And when some people choose to approach us, sometimes sharing some of their experiences with loved ones who made this or that for them or how they watched them with interest while they created something pretty or wonderful.

I'm glad that people are doing yarn work in earnest...not just in their homes but elsewhere. Maybe I'm being idealistic in my thinking but I think that by doing so, we bring people together, even if it is just for a moment.