Commitment to the cause

So it's no secret that I haven't had much time for knitting in recent months...or haven't made much time for it. Today I did something about it.

For whatever reason the current WIP, a hat pattern I've knit plenty of times, has me jazzed about working on it. I knew I was going to be out and about for most of the day but would have a decent amount of time in between a couple things.

First off was seat selection for the Blue Jackets. I arrived early so I could promptly check in and improve the odds of securing an aisle seat for my ten-game plan. Earliness was a virtue as I didn't have to wait until my appointed time. With my seat chosen and registered before the time I was scheduled to look for it, I had about an hour and a half to burn before my next destination. So to the coffee shop for breakfast and knitting it would be.

Perhaps the reason why I've responded so well to knitting this hat is because I made no mistakes casting on, joining in the round, or knitting the early rows. In other words, there was no miscounting of cast on stitches or twisting of them. Progress equals enthusiasm.

This was the first occasion in some time that I've knit in public on my own, and it was nice to slip back into the bubble. With the iPod earbuds in, I honestly couldn't tell you if I was drawing stares or comments. I worked on the project at hand and let the rest around me fade. This was a four movie day for me, so I also had time between two of them to wile away. Having utilized all this spare time for knitting, I'm already a good way through the slower part of the hat.

For what it's worth, knitting and crocheting made cameo appearances in two of the films I saw. A tiresome grandmother is glimpsed knitting in Grown Ups. (Typically I'm not fond of Adam Sandler films, and this one was certainly no exception to the rule.) In the 1948 classic The Red Shoes, a woman is crocheting in an early scene on the stage. Perhaps she's making a piece of a costume for a ballerina.

I feel bad for writing only about an inconsequential moment for what is truly one of the great films, so let me mention that the lengthy ballet sequence in the middle of The Red Shoes is one of the most beautiful and astounding parts of any movie I've seen. Check it out in two parts. (Watching it on a computer doesn't do justice to it like the gorgeous 35mm print I saw does, but it should still play.)