(image via design studio 210)
A common theme ties together my recent posts – I’ve been an abysmal blogger lately, and nearly as infrequent a knitter. Needless to say, my life has felt a little off-kilter. When I found myself un/under-employed in Baltimore, knitting was my solace and helped stave off my eventual nervous breakdown. Okay, maybe I’m a little dramatic. What can I say? I don’t handle stress that well.
Now, I’m nearly two months into my new job. I’m living in a new place, a townhouse lovingly referred to as The Owlery, with some amazing friends. As I’m getting used to my new routine, I haven’t found a place for knitting. When I spend a weekend in Baltimore, I’m usually knitting up a storm. I go to my old favorites – Common Ground, Spro Hampden, and Bonaparte, to name just three – and find myself clicking away on the needles for hours. This was my ritual: stop at a cozy coffee shop and get lost for hours in my project. So why haven’t I found those places here for me to feel at home?
For the last few weekends, I’ve ventured out for exactly that. One of my main complaints that I make about the district is that I find the people can be very distant and unfriendly. Then again, I come from “Small-timore,” the land of talkative weirdos, so if you’re sitting still for over 15 minutes, someone has probably started conversation with you. But with knitting at hand, people seem to feel welcomed to come up and inquire, even in the least friendly, corporate coffee shop.
On Sunday, a roomie and I checked out Zed’s Cafe after Sunday errands. It turned out to be a strangely wonderful place, and upon leaving, the owner took a moment to ask about my knitting and share a story about his grandmother.
I knit not only because I need to create things, but because I love the community of people who craft. This outing reminded me that by knitting in public, I can also connect with the community where I live. I will be keeping this at heart as I revive the Sunday ritual that makes me feel most like myself.
Where is your favorite place to knit, craft, read, or do the things that make you feel grounded and content?
Happy knitting!!
xx
My favourite place has got to be my corner of the couch. I get stopped and chatted at too much when I knit in public.
I think you have to give yourself time to find those comfortable places. But no doubt knitting opens up conversation to me. I usually meet up with friends at Panera, but since they renovated they took away the lovely couches by the fireplace, so it’s not as cozy anymore. Coffee shops, for sure, the beach….now, mostly just the couch.
I picked up Jane Brocket’s lovely new knitting book and adore some of the projects – simple, really…
Settling into a new city can be hard at first. Just give yourself some time and try out new places. Good for you that you ventured out and discovered Zed’s Cafe. It looks like a cool place to hang out. There are also several knitting groups in the DC and Bethesda area that might help you to meet fellow knitters. Have you checked out some of the yarn stores in the DC area? I mainly knit at home or at my LYS.