Untangling Knots

Knitting in Bars

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If you haven’t ordered a copy of the 2013 Winter issue of Pom Pom Quarterly yet, you should! It’s full of some gorgeous patterns, and I have a silly article in it called Pints and Purls about some of the different characters you might meet knitting in bars.

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I was in the habit of dragging my knitting everywhere I went long before I reached the drinking age, so it seemed perfectly natural to bring my knitting out when I went for a drink with my friends in college. Apparently it’s not as natural as I think it is because, not only do I attract curious non-knitters when I’m out, but I also get quite a few comments about it from other knitters whenever I mention that my knitter friends and I regularly knit in bars!

Do you ever take your knitting with you when you go for a night out with your friends? Do you have any good stories about the people you’ve met when you were knitting in bars?

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8 responses to “Knitting in Bars”

  1. Emma

    I’ve only knit in bars a few times, mostly when working on deadlines, and no one has made comments on it aside from the people I was with (to the tune of “addicted, can’t put it down” type stuff.)

    BUT when I was in college I worked security at residence halls at night, which involves sitting at a desk for 4-6 hours depending on the day of the week and checking the campus IDs of everyone who comes in. I would do homework and then knit, so while it wasn’t a bar I got a lot of interaction with drunk people while I was knitting which is close enough. Boys especially were prone to annoying comments like “Is that for me?” and “Oh I see you’re almost done with my sweater!” I met a few other crafters but no one I made friends with. And I will always remember the girl who INSISTED I was twisting my stitches when I did 1×1 rib but I’m fairly certain I wasn’t! She was pretty condescending!

    Reply
  2. Johanna

    I’ve been looking for an excuse to start knitting at happy hour. I am going to take your post as a go-ahead. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Nicole

    I used to knit all the time at bars- it’s an easy way to keep myself occupied while I’m waiting for drinks and listening to my friends. Nobody minded, and while I’d occasionally wind up getting drunk and gifting new FOs to my friends, it worked out well, overall.

    I don’t do it as much these days, but that’s more because I now live in the sticks and go to bars less often (driving after drinking is a non-starter for me).

    Reply
  4. Tina

    I often knit on the bus or train and I find it must be mesmeric to some other passengers because they keep on staring at every stitch I knit! Hopefully it will inspire someone who has never knitted to join our ranks…the world needs more knitters. At the moment I am busy knitting 8″ squares to send to Turkey so they can make blankets for the Syrian children who will be facing a freezing winter!
    Blessed be the knitters who keep this wonderful art alive!

    Reply
  5. Katie

    I should start knitting at bars more!

    No stories yet. 😉

    Katie =^..^=

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  6. Sarah

    My knitting goes where I go 🙂

    Reply
  7. Julie

    ah, amazing! Congrats on the article! I used to knit everywhere, but then I found that some people found it distracting, or that it made me look distracted- like I was pulling out the cozy equivalent of a cell phone or something. So I tend not to do it unless I’m with other knitters. They understand!

    Reply
  8. Alicia

    My knitting goes wherever I might find myself sitting or standing for a while. This includes: waiting rooms, airports, train stations, in-transit (except for car rides, I get dizzy), food places (restaurants, bars). It often draws out a curiosity question or a comment.

    Reply

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