I write in cafes during the week because I get so little done when I'm at home. Even if I have a babysitter, I find it difficult to concentrate with the noise of screaming baby and the Wiggles' Big Red Car in the background. So I go out.
There's a new place opened near us that has great coffee, which is always a winner with me. It's attached to a store that sells threads and yarns, a concept I haven't seen before, though the bookstore/cafe thing is very common now.
Lots of women come in, buy their yarn, pore over patterns, and then gossip over a chai latte in the cafe next door. There's something about the juxtaposition of all the colour of the yarn and the creative vibe that really appeals to me as a great atmosphere to write in. I'll definitely be back.
So the cafe is a warm, cosy chocolate brown with a vertical band of rainbow stripes here and there to brighten it. A huge wooden table with about 12 chairs all around dominates the centre of the space and a bench with a teapot (knitted) cup and saucer (knitted) and plate of fancy cakes (also, sadly, knitted) and stools with colourful seats runs along one wall. Big picture windows let in light and a view of the street outside.
When you order, you take a number and on the back it has a quote. Did you know knitting is the new networking? According to Vogue (said my table number), that's what the modern young professional woman is doing instead of drinks and flirting at the bar after a hard day's work. If so, things have changed markedly since I was a solicitor at a city firm. The motto was work hard, play hard and I don't think anyone mentioned knitting. Maybe it's one of those covert things women have always done and are just now admitting it. But if it's a new trend, it's one I won't be joining in a hurry. If I have both hands free of babies and basketballs, I'm writing. When they invent a way to knit while throwing baskets with 4yo or feeding baby, I'm there.
With reservations. I remember well my last attempt at knitting. I was 8 years old, sick, bed-ridden and had read all 14 books I'd borrowed from the library. It was a red scarf and the start was narrow and tight while the end was about twice as wide, with loose, loopy, lacksadaisical stitches. Goodness knows what happened to it. I never learned how to cast off, so it could well be still on the needle where it began. Still, the creative part of the brain can be stimulated by keeping the hands busy in mindless activity like knitting or gardening. If only I had the time...
So, is knitting among the younger set a secret that's been kept for decades, or is it a new phenomenon? What sort of busy work do you do?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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9 comments:
HUGS, Christine!
That yarn shop/cafe combo sounds WONDERFUL! If I ever get back to Brisbane, I'll BE THERE (and might never leave)! After all, she who dies with the most yarn wins, and I'm definitely a contender. LOL!
How interesting that knitting is a new "in thing"! Though I prefer to crochet, I do know how to knit and do it occasionally. It is one of the two things I do right-handed (being a consumate lefty otherwise), which probably explains why I'm so slow.
As for hands-free knitting, perhaps we should take lessons from Mrs. Weasley of Harry Potter fame. I loved that scene where her knitting needles were clacking away in mid-air while she was doing other things.
AC
LOL, Aunty C! I love Harry Potter. Can't wait for the next book, though I think dh has first dibs. Might have to buy 2 copies. Wait, no, I have to finish writing this darn book before I get to do fun stuff. Can't read. Must...finish...book!
And don't forget, you have a bed waiting in Brisvegas when you come!
How great that you spin your yarns in a shop that sells...yarns. Sounds cool. I've got to say I'm hopeless when it comes to anything remotely handicrafty. I find I get a similar buzz from baking, though. It's something about the keeping the hands busy so the mind can roam thing. Looking forward to checking out the cafe next time we're together, Madam Wells.
Oh no! Anna's punning again!!!
Foanna, the big table in that cafe would be perfect for a crit meeting. You have a date! And I love baking too but then I eat what I've baked...
Well, I could always eat what you've baked!
Well now, Tigger! Knitting is one thing I can actually do - and do well. (Even if I do say so myself!) To tell the truth, it's my only craft, though I did finally learn to sew in a kind of a fashion.
But then - I discovered writing. Who has time to knit? I could give Cindy a run for her money. My cupboards groan with wool and the moths at my place are fat and happy.
The Bright Young Things may have only just "discovered" knitting, but it's an ancient craft. There are pre-classical Greek statues wearing knitted garments. Cute!
And just as a kicker, knitting doesn't free the mind to wander in a creative daze if you do any kind of complicated pattern. Try knitting an Aran or a Fair Isle while writing your NYT bestseller in your head! Huh!
Denise
Hee hee, Foanna, I hope you like chocolate chip cookies!
Denise, thanks for dropping in. I have seen your beautiful knits and you are indeed very talented! I rejected sewing and knitting as too Domestic, but I'm sure I'll regret the sewing part when I'm faced with school plays and fancy dress parties with the kids.
Ooohhh a yarn and coffee combo shop, sounds like my happy place. I learned to knit as a kid and it was a disaster. I hated it. But about 8 years ago I picked it up again to make a few little things as stocking stuffers and now I'm completely addicted. I guess it's just another creative outlet for me!
We have a lot of groups in the city of knitters who meet one night a week or every two weeks at a local cafe or pub and knit away. And I always seem to run into a crew at Starbucks who are knitting and drinking their coffee.
Hi Kelly, I thought of you and your knitting when I saw this place. Who knows? I'm attracted to all the pretty yarn like a moth to a flame. Maybe I'll buy some one day and see what I can do with it. So many things on my list to do when this book is finished!
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