Another day, another knit night

Make it back-to-back knit nights for me, although tonight's excursion was to a café rather than a yarn shop. Best as I can tell, Ravelry brought people together for some Thursday evening knitting. I'd been considering going for awhile and finally ventured to it for the first time tonight.

Now I've never considered myself to be the most sociable person, a quality that's often misread as aloofness or snobbery but is really self-consciousness. Keeping quiet is the surest way to make others think there's something suspicious about you. When people get to know me (and vice versa), I'm something of a chatterbox, but prior to that familiarity I'm usually more than happy to keep to myself and listen.

Which makes matters such as knit nights doubly tricky. There's no blending into the walls when you're the only guy present. I'm not trying to be invisible, although the power to vanish might be useful when talk turns to, umm, womanly things. No, I'm content to knit and be quiet while I get the temperature of the room and the group.

I must say that knitters--women, all of them--have been welcoming even though I may be asking myself what in the world I'm doing there. That question emerged as I approached the place tonight. I met one of the group at the yarn shop's knit night several months ago, so I wasn't going in completely blind. At the same time, it wasn't like I knew these people. My mind decided to remind me of this less than a mile from the café. When I walked in and didn't see anyone knitting (despite deliberately arriving slightly late), my first impulse was to split. I decided to get something to eat. Shortly thereafter a face I recognized was there, and all was well.

I ate a delicious (and presumably healthful) Thai burrito and then got to the knitting. A few questions were asked of me every so often, but for the most part I was able to enjoy the company and not feel out of place or put on the spot. At most there were six other women there, all more in my age room than the older-skewing Wednesday knit night, which was less intimidating too. (There's nothing wrong with being around women most of whom are twenty to thirty years older than me, but it is sort of weird.)

I'd been there for nearing three hours when I packed it in and headed home. I enjoyed the more laid-back knitting time and appreciated the acceptance, but the lack of lumbar support in the seating and limited leg room was killing my back. Plus, I hadn't been home since work, and I was starting to wind down.

As for what I was knitting, the hand towel continues to progress nicely. There's a good chance I might finish it this weekend. I think I'm back in the zone that I couldn't find for awhile.