Knitting and TV

With last week's setback out of the way, I'm as good as new. Progress on my dad's scarf is coming along at a good clip. When the day comes that I can watch television and knit at the same time, I'll be cranking out scarves in no time.

I tried this multitasking over the weekend, but more often than not I was listening more than watching. Shows that use visual storytelling the most--Lost and The Office, for instance--are out of the question. They demand full attention and nothing less.

Reality TV is a good starting point. Survivor and The Amazing Race don't require such close viewing, although the travelogue aspect of the latter makes it harder for me to pull my eyes away. When American Idol and The Apprentice return--The Donald's vanity project is coming back, right?--I'll have two excellent candidates for knitting accompaniment. (I've come close to swearing off The Apprentice, but there's something oddly fascinating in watching Type A personalities bump against one another. And of course there's Trump himself, whose total lack of humility or consistency is hilarious.)

Believe it or not, sporting events may be the best programming I've found to knit to. Hockey has too much action, but the two intermissions provide a good window for knitting. If the score is lopsided, which has unfortunately been the case too often with the Blue Jackets, I have no qualms about knitting while listening to the third period come to its merciful conclusion.

Football may be the best. There's a lot of down time between plays, a fact that's painstakingly clear if you've attended an NFL contest in person. The breaks in action mean that most plays can be seen in replay once or twice, so if you miss something, chances are it'll be shown again. (It's also where having the cable company's DVR comes in hand. One press of the button skips back ten seconds, and another press jumps forward to live action.) I wouldn't be surprised if 40-50% of a football game's time is filled with commercials, which is prime knitting time. The way the Cincinnati Bengals have been playing lately, knitting offsets the frustration of their maddening inconsistency.

Baseball season is months off, but there's another sport with even less game play for the time it takes. Similar to hockey, basketball has fewer interuptions in the action, except for the final minute or two that take an eternity to play if the game's close. (Double that for NCAA Tournament games.) Then again, aside from the postseason, I don't watch as much basketball on TV as I used to unless the stray Dayton Flyers game pops up. (I much prefer college hoops to the pros. The NBA doesn't interest me.)

I enjoy watching soccer, but I tend to overdose on the World Cup and not see much else. I'll watch the Columbus Crew if there's nothing better on and I have nothing better to do. Their problem is that MLS is not an elite level, and the hometown team has been mediocre or worse for too long.

For now I'm more likely to knit and have the TV on as background noise or listen to music. (I'm working on a knitting playlist for my iPod. I'll share when I think I have it perfected.) Yet there's nothing wrong with knitting in silence, hearing the occasional click of the needles and getting lost in the work. Actually, it's quite nice to escape from the daily soundtrack, be it the ambient hum of electronics and life around us or the babble of inconsiderate moviegoers at the theater.

Next...remembering knitting background in the family?