Other things knitting has taught me...
I recently wrote a very serious post about all the great things knitting has taught me. Having thought about it some more, I realized there are other things I've learned from knitting, in a little lighter vein...
1. There are a LOT of experts out there. And they all know that you are crocheting all wrong. (Even if you're knitting)
2. Everyone had a grandma who knit. What's really great is if someone old enough to be your own grandparent tells you that they had a grandmother who knit. Not only are you now OLD, you are ANCIENT. Gosh, thanks.
3. Sometimes it's better to just smile and nod. (see points 1 and 2) You won't really change their view of knitters by biting their heads off, though muttering about them under your breath later can be quite therapeutic.
4. Seemingly normal animals who completely ignore your knitting to your face will sneak into your yarn basket and ingest copious lengths of expensive yarns when you are not looking. The clean up from this is never pretty, and in fact can make you no longer love that yarn. (Now you'll be checking my yarn giveaways for wet spots and teeth marks...)
5. Growth doesn't always happen. No matter how long you've been knitting, you will make rookie mistakes on a regular basis--more often if you are in the middle of teaching a class. So if you're a new knitter and you just had to tink back 3 rows because you were knitting with the tail rather than the working yarn, accept that you may never really outgrow this. Sorry.
6. Diverting your focus is good for interpersonal relationships. I try to take knitting everywhere, and sometimes it's a bit of a lifesaver. During sporting events where my kids are competing against children whose parents are convinced they've given birth to the all-time star of the sport, it's vital to have something to focus on other than their nasty comments. The same goes for committee meetings filled with folks needing an attitude adjustment. Just KNIT, however--don't stab. See below.
7. It's best NOT to stab people with your knitting needles. This is true for several reasons: a) They aren't cheap and if you get them...dirty......you'll want to replace them; b) If you stab someone with knitting needles, you face the prospect of jail time without knitting, since you've proven you can't be trusted with sharp pointy things; c) You could drop stitches!
8. You're never as prepared as you think you are. This is why there are all those tips out there on how to make knitting needles out of a No. 2 pencil. No matter how hard you try to plan ahead and cover all your bases, there will be innumerable times that you sit down to knit and only find you're missing your scissors AFTER the dog has gotten comfortable in your lap. Also, vacations WILL be spent looking for yarn shops to buy more yarn/needles/patterns because what you thought would work while traveling, didn't.
9. "Knitting is addictive" isn't as cute as it sounds. You may say it with a chuckle, but deep down, you know the truth: until you get your knitting time every day, you are twitchy and uncomfortable. Your yarn stash is out of control (though hidden, because you'd rather your family didn't know the extent of your addiction). If the time you spent browsing patterns on Ravelry were spent reading literature, you'd be a tenured professor embarking on a lucrative lecture tour about Victorian symbolism in Dickens' early novels.
10. There is no known cure. I've heard rumors of a 12-step program for knitting addiction but I am quite sure it won't work, because no addicted knitter will ever recognize that he or she has a problem. And since I don't personally have a problem with knitting addiction, there's no point in even talking about it.
What has knitting taught you that you didn't expect to learn?