Wednesday, June 11, 2008

KIP(T)

Which stands for Knitting In Public (Transportation).
On the ride in Tuesday I was sitting in the backwards seat facing the rest of the train car. I have been blasting along on my Arrgyle Socks. So although it's unclear still whether this public transportation business has saved us money vis-a-vis gas, it has fulfilled its potential of additional knitting time.
Anyway, I was argyling along and a man two rows in front of me commented that it looked good. So I held it up for a better view and he was properly impressed at the skill required and pointed it out to the woman next to him, who was also properly impressed.
Sadly, they initially thought the skulls were alien heads (but politely) , so I politely said "Jolly Rogers" and held the sides out flat for a better view. But their supposition might, unfortunately, mean there isn't quite enough contrast in the yarn. But it's too late to turn back now!
I have finished the leg and divided for the instep and heel. At which point I stalled because last night was a bit chaotic. (I have no pictures because I have once again lost control of the camera. But I've arranged to borrow Mom's for the Vegas trip.)

Speaking of the Joys of Public Transportation

On the ride home Monday our little three car train stopped dead on the tracks somewhere south of my station. Lights and air both went out. We must have been stuck for at least five minutes, it might have been longer, it was hard to tell (I read an article recently where researchers showed that people can estimate a wait accurately up to 5 minutes, after that our perception gets all screwy. I don't remember why that was), but it was long enough for it to get really stuffy because of the incredible heat and humidity the North East has been enjoying lately. (sarcasm? what sarcasm?) But they got it restarted, which is what counts. Still, I wasn't home until 7, so a good half hour was lost somewhere along the way.
That was nothing compared to Tuesday. Which was another scorcher weather-wise.
The ride in Tuesday was pleasant enough, but on the way home we were sure the little shuttle bus was going to breakdown and we were going to miss the 5:20 train. It didn't and our stress was unwarranted because the 5:20 was late. But the piece de resistance came when we got to my transfer station--and the train home was canceled! Never fear, they put us on buses.
On second thought...that is a reason to fear.
The buses were glorified MicroBirds, which might have been quite nice if they weren't packed full to standing room only with a bunch of overheated commuters at the end of a long, hot day. eeeww! Luckily I was one of the first people on and snagged a seat, and happily I was the first stop. Amazingly we got to the station earlier than the train is supposed to get in. Yipee! Then I had to go do the grocery shopping. All in all, not a good night for getting knitting done.
(And, let me take a moment to say that I'm totally aware that some people in the world don't have the good fortune of worrying about how to get to work, or having to do the grocery shopping. So I'm aware of what a princess I'm being. But for high princess form, don't get me started on the central air at home being on the fritz--of course that hissy-fit is all about concern for the puppies in their fur coats.)

The Bag That Ate the Blog
Oh, we thought we were done with it. It is still generating interest on Ravelry. yeah. Mom finished the lining the other night and sent it back. But it somehow ended up in the ground method of shipping, rather than the overnight/air method she had intended (pout) so I won't have it until tomorrow. Which is still plenty of time for my trip.

World Wide KIP
In case you were wondering, I have no plans for the official World Wide Knit in Public Day, which is apparently June 14. I figure I do enough of that on the train now. :-)

1 comment:

  1. I took the train yesterday and managed to knit the entire leg and part of the heel flap on the train. Mine didn't stop but it was running very slow into Manhattan. Hot. Humid. But at least I was knitting.

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