Now, while the wheels are going round and round, I’m going round and round on this pulli.
For some reason, the Sock Knitting Muse has Left the Building but not the time spent commuting. Now time on the bus, especially the #66, can be very challenging. One needs a project that has portability, simplicity and the dropability because on a moments notice, things change and it must go into the bag post haste.
Riding public transportation is an exercise in trust in your fellow man. We’ve all seen the pictures of those subway cars in Tokyo which set the bar for packing people in as tightly as possible. I like to call this the Spam in a Can effect (SiC). IF you are lucky enough to have a seat, life goes on; book reading, newpapers, music (if you’re the iPod guy with the shaky leg up on me, I pity you!), knitting, eating, etc. People all stuffed together and standing talk on their phones, read (yes!) or just go-with-the-flow as part of the larger aisle jellySpam they are.
This makes me recall an experience on the #66 where two people squeezed on the bus through the back door. [WARNING: This immediately creates ill-will with the established riders!] The *stowaways* never pay a fare; most often they are anti-social. These 2 folks carried into the coach an argument started at the door as the drunker of the two spotted a seat and pushed her way into it. Surprisingly, the second person sat next to her and The Game Began!
Insults flew fast and furious and were quite amusing as one side quipped Yuppy Insults (You’re RUDE!) and the other quite street (You UGLY!) until suddenly Yuppy commented, “Now you didn’t have to pull out the box cutter…”
Now if I hadn’t been knitting something that could go quickly into the ether, more than my post-work stupor whould’ve been lost! Come to think of it, that was the last sock I knit on the bus…
This project is so easy I can stop anywhere on the round at all and pick it up and continue at will, whether surrounded by sociopaths or my buds on knit night!
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go ahead say WHOA!
©2008 Interweave Press
Chic Knits Aleita Shell has been nominated
for the next Sexy Knitter’s Club KAL!
THANKS SO MUCH, Elizabeth!
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Yesterday my train home was exceptionally crowded, and I was the only passenger in sight with a whole seat to myself. I’m sure it was no coincidence that I was also closing up the picot hem of a sock with pointy, stabby DPNs. They have many uses! ;-)
I love my morning commute. It might be long, but I am on the first train stop and get off at one of the major stops much further down. I’ve knit socks and sweater parts and scarves – sitting down when I’m lucky and standing when I’m not.
As much craziness as there is on the train, the knitting often provides a sense of comraderie and people look on and talk about what they or their relatives used to do.
Now I remember why we moved back to North Dakota, where you hear more German accents than street talk!
I do miss some of the “city” stuff though….
I remember you telling us about that. Oy. I’m glad you and you’re knitting were ok. Hmmm, perhaps this is why no socks are knit on the bus? Are you repressing a subconscious connection between sock knitting on the 66 and scary people w/ box cutters?
Hi! I am a Chicago girl living in Tokyo. Yes, the trains are crowded, but people keep to themselves. During the morning rush hours, conductors push the people into the train cars so the doors will shut. If your arm is up in the air, oh well, it is that way until the doors open again. I have however, been closer to strangers on the train than I have been to my husband in ages :)