Secret knitting

I'm catching up on the first season of Pushing Daisies, which has, of all things, a male character who knits in secret (or at least as far as I've seen in two episodes). It is somewhat disorienting to see this dramatized. After all, I don't expect that men who secretly knit are common.

Playing the crafty private investigator Emerson Cod is Chi McBride. Again, not exactly the type you'd anticipate seeing wielding the needles on TV. There he is, though, being introduced as someone who knits to reduce stress and is not fond of knitting in public. To be sure, these character details are few, and I don't have reservations about knitting in public in most cases. Still, I was a little taken aback at seeing this part of me reflected on the screen.

I secretly knitted in my office a couple times last week, so it is something I've been thinking about again. I remain of a mind that it's best not to reveal my knitting secret at work--just be careful sending patterns to the department's office printer--and certainly won't be slapping my name on this blog anytime soon. I know it probably seems silly at this point, but it feels like the appropriate thing to do.

Perhaps the writer who decided to give McBride's character this quirk chose it because knitting can appear twee and retro, qualities Pushing Daisies has in spades. Maybe making it secret can be explained away because it fits in with the show's larger themes of interpersonal connection and longing. Whatever the reasons, the depiction hit home. Hopefully, though, I won't be needing needles on me to extricate myself from a body bag.