Get Caught Crocheting!

[PJ]

That's fabulous!! Hubster is having trouble with his bank...perhaps we'll try that! Any North Texans wanna join?

[CatsCradleCreations]

Like most of you, I take my hooks and yarn almost everywhere! I crochet at the dr's office (waiting room & exam room while waiting for the dr), dentist's office, vet's office, in the car on long trips~~my crochet bag takes up more room than my clothing bag ~~my mom's house, the hospital, to birthday parties...

 

Last birthday party I went to was at an indoor pool. My aunt and I were using the same color yarn, working side by side on two different projects. It was too cool.

 

As for the strangest time/place, try this one on for size: I was working on a Christening blanket while I was in labor with my 2 year-old son! Talk about distraction from the pain.

[Carol]

Dude, I will definitely take my crocheting and sit-in the next time I have a dispute with somebody like that. That's funny.

 

I made my first doily when my Mom was being treated for breast cancer. Every day for weeks, she had to be somewhere for some treatment, so I crocheted in the waiting rooms. I think of it as my "cancer doily," altho I know that might sound disrespectful to some people; I don't mean it that way. (She's doing very well now.)

 

I was crocheting in an airport on Sunday, and another crocheter sat down next to me to help me untangle some yarn. (It was one of those pull skeins that's nothing but huge knots. Argh.)

 

But I guess the ultimate for me was that I finished a shawl in my hospital bed the morning after my daughter was born. Good thing, too, because it would have been years before I'd have finished it, and besides, it came in really handy when you get up in the night to nurse babies. I'm still wearing it, even tho the kids are in their 20's now; it's getting so ratty that DH hinted the other day that perhaps I'd like to make myself a new one. I just can't seem to give it up, though.

 

Carol

[InStitches52]

Drew's story remined me of the first time I took my crocheting with me to work thirty something years ago......

 

I worked in a manuals department where my job was page layout. I cut and pasted the text to blank pages in preparation for printing. This was in the old days before computers. My job was dependent on the typesetters getting me the needed text. I had hit a lull where I was all caught up and the typesetters would not release any text because there were corrections to be made.

 

I kept busy on day one by cleaning my work area and on day two I even resorted to cleaning the wax machine , but by the end of the day I had no more busy work and was bored out of my mind. So on day three I took my crocheting and sat at my desk in the middle of a very busy office and happily crocheted away.

 

Less than an hour into my day the head of the department came thru and asked what I was doing. I told him I refused to sit around with nothing to do any longer and planned to crochet until the typesetters released text.

 

Long story short, within minutes I had plenty of work. After that my crocheting at work was strictly limited to coffee breaks.

[YaYa Yarnhood]

I take my crochet along to my kids activites. I crochet at my daughter's soccer practice, when I take them to the park, in the car while I wait for them to get out of piano lessons, at the bowling alley during a b-day party once. Definitely good for passing the time and also a good ice breaker for getting to know some other moms. They like to come over and figure out what I might be making!

[chickpea67]

The hubby has forbidden me to take my crochet to parties, or even over to friend's houses where we're watching a football game.--But if he did I might be able to get some of them into it! And then I can have someone to call with questions- or shop for yarn with!

 

 

*L* But I AM able to get away with taking it in the car on the long trips to either or our parent's houses.

[kittylou]

I try to remember to take something to crochet whenever I might be waiting around - dentist, doctor, waiting for my daughter to finish basketball practice, at a restaurant while we're waiting for the food to arrive. I have even taken it to basketball games to crochet during warm-up and half-time. Definitely on airplanes! I hate getting somewhere and then realizing I'm going to be sitting around doing nothing and not having something to work on. My husband thinks I'm a freak, but in a good way:eek

[DesertCrocheter]

Well, went public for the first time yesterday.

 

My students were taking their final exam (the semester is over as soon as I grade them! Yea!!) and they had 2.5 hours to do so. Well, thought me, that would be a great opportunity to get quite a bit done on my sis's sunshine lace afghan. Not only did I get something like 8 or 10 rows done, for the first time all spring they finally put the a/c on. That room has been like a sauna all semester, so I was wearing lighter clothes and I was freezing last night. Not with that afghan on my lap!

 

One of my students stopped to talk after she turned in her exam because she crochets, too--afghans and slippers. And she's only about 23 or 25.

 

Patty

[Harvestar]

Oh, I bring my crocheting a lot of places. I spend lots of time in airports (for myself and waiting for others), so I bring it then. I've never had a problem with any of my hooks. I do make sure not to bring any scissors, and only cut the yarn when I get to where I'm going. I also have the large plastic Yarn-A-Round knitting wheel and take that to the telescope, to our role playing group (hey, we're sitting around for 4 hours, I'm going to keep my hands busy!). I've also brought crocheting to work for long talks and such, though some people make comments (but I think it's far less rude than falling asleep or reading a paper).

 

My fiance never complains, he usually has projects of his own that he's crocheting. He also brings a book with him EVERYWHERE so he can read if he's waiting for me or riding in the car.

 

I've gotten into some great conversations on airplanes by crocheting. One lady was knitting a girl's sundress and another one was knitting her first project (and was just a cool person to chat with). And while waiting for a flight there was a group of professorial types knitting (guy was teaching a woman) and we talked about our projects. I saw them on the flight back too which was cool.

 

Patty, that's very cool! What do you teach?

[DesertCrocheter]

Harvester, I was teaching Anthro 453A at UA South in Sierra Vista. It was a totally different kind of class for that campus, and even though the students said it was overwhelming, they worked their tuchuses off and did just fine. They are offering the second half of the course in the fall, so hopefully it will have enough enrollment to go. The 1.5 hour commute each way is a bear, especially since I have a regular fulltime job on top of it, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a recent teaching job on my cv (especially in this economic climate)...just in case.... Can you tell I'm a worrier?

 

Patty

[Harvestar]

That's very cool! And I understand about wanting to have as much experience as possible nowdays.

[Captain Hook]

I recently went to a local music festival and street fair with someone else. There were two concerts I wasn't interested in that she wanted to see, and there was a very tiny park-like area accross the street from that particular stage. Both times I went and plunked myself on the grass in the shade and worked on a tunisian thread wristband (which was great because it was so small and portable). At the one concert we both wanted to see, we sat back to back on the grass in front of that stage and I crocheted. After a while, I had to frog a few rows and as I pulled, the thread came into her field of view, and she said "I didn't know you were crocheting!" I got stared at all darn day, too. People were very curious about what the heck I was doing.

 

When I first learned to crochet, I crocheted at school in class one time. AVID was an all-grades college prep course, and I was crocheting part of my French project. Another girl, who was a popular senior (I was a freshman) was doing counted cross stitch as part of her senior project, and she worked on it in class, which emboldened me. AVID usually turns into study hall when nothing is going on, so I pulled out a book and read and crocheted at the same time. My teacher had a terrible temper, and she went on a rant at several people, and then she started on me, telling me to stop "knitting" and put it away. I gave her a dirty look and did so. I few minutes later, once she had cooled down, I walked to her desk and informed her that a) it was crochet and b) it was for my French project (which, as school work, means it was perfectly allowable). She was very sheepish and quietly agreed. The hook is mightier than the sword!

[Janie]

Well, I have to say, I've crocheted just about everywhere with the exception of in church! One of the things I love about crochet is that it is so portable. Over the years it's helped to save my sanity while spending long hours at a loved ones' bedside in a hospital and crochet has actually made hanging out in the Doc's waiting room kind of pleasant! Gotta love it, I say, "Have hook, will travel." That reminds me: I like to crochet on those long car trips with DH, he does the driving, I do the stitching!

[NancyCA]

I take my crocheting with me more than my xstitching. It's more versatile and you only have yarn and hook to worry about most of the time!

 

 

I take it with me wherever I know that I'll have more than 10 minutes of waiting time.

[CrochetinClara]

Before I started crocheting, I had seen a woman in the waiting room at a doc's office going to town with hook and yarn. And I thought, 'gee..if I knew how to do that, I would be sitting here doing that instead of falling asleep, or listening to the man in the corner snore..' Of course I had always wanted to learn, that was my little push to go to the store and get a 'how to' book.

 

I pretty much do it everywhere I know I'm going to have to wait for a long period of time (DOCTOR's OFFICE!!!!) and on the trips to Children's hospital when Caden has to have the many tests done. They are never in a hurry about anything, so I have gotten alot done waiting there. Plus it helps keep my mind off wondering if something is wrong, he has spinia bifida, not even 2 years old and has been in and out of the hospital for so many things....<sigh> .

I have caught truck drivers looking down in the van while I work away...lol. Hubby always drives over to Pittsburgh, and I will drive home. It's comical!

Can you believe there have even been times at the movie theater when I wished I had brought it with me! Seeing how they show 15 minutes of advertisements before the movie...I could have gotten a few rows done!

[dixieredhead]

I crochetedon our road trip this weekend. While the kids played in the pool I was crocheting and talking to another lady about crocheting. One time I had went fishing with hubby, being bored out of my skull I found a spool of thread in his SUV, and was so pent up to crochet I fashioned a make-shift hook out of a wire clothes hanger. LOL. it actually worked pretty well too!

[knuckles]

I take my crochet bag everywhere with me. I hate waiting and it keeps my hands busy.

 

Probably the weirdest place though is a local bar that I sometimes go into to have a glass of wine on the weekend. My husband died little over a year ago and there is no way I'm ready to start dating yet (if ever). But this place knew both of us and so when I need to get away from the kids..... The bartenders are really nice and always ask what project I'm working on. the other customers too.

[Terri/LadySorce]

My husband is a Vet, so on his days when he has appointments, I bring along a tote with what-ever I am currently working on. If anyone knows the VA, you know you will be there for HOURS.

Someone always asks me what I am working on. The older ladies will sometimes tell me about how their grandmom/mom/aunt/cousin would sit and crochet for hours too. I love hearing stories like that. It warms my heart

[kazily]

Gotta love it, I say, "Have hook, will travel." That reminds me: I like to crochet on those long car trips with DH, he does the driving, I do the stitching!

 

I love that quote! Can I borrow it for a blinkie quote?

 

I bring my crochet bag with me whenever I think I might be waiting for 10 min or more. Any less than that & I pass on it because I don't want to stop in 5 minutes. I need to make up a bag just to store in my minivan in case those times pop up unexpected.

[crochet mama]

I have a large tote bag that has my bible and a notebook in it. I cram whatever WIP I may have and my box which has my hook, scissors, and needles in it. I take it with me anytime I go out as I never know when I'll be able to work on my WIP.

[Piper0110]

I've definitely crochetted in traffic before. I'm always tempted to take my stuff with me to the movies - lots of time, I crochet entirely by feel, so it wouldn't be hard at all. But I feel I might get strange looks.

 

I used to take crochet with me everywhere. Doctor's office, dentist, coffee shops, movie nights with friends... Once I started law school, though, the crochet got replaced with law books (except for during movies, of course!).

[Stephanie]

I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for decades and have crocheted just about everywhere. Do you know, I have NEVER seen anybody else crochet or knit in public? Airports, busses, doctor's offices (and I've been in many as I chauffer two medically fragile relatives several times a month). This is supposed to be one of the 'craftiest' areas in the country, yet I never see this. Weird. It's not that I don't meet others who knit/crochet. They always comment on whatever I am working on. It's just nobody does it in public, which is surprising as the selection of magazines in doctor's offices is very poor these days.

 

My personal strangest area to crochet was in the Metrodome during Twins games. I can finish a washcloth by the 7th inning (bottom of 8th if I get a beer).

 

Stephanie

Who crocheted through Montana while on the Amtrak Train a decade ago.

[magdiego]

I've been doing a lot of crochet at softball and basketball games and practices, which probably isn't that weird. But I've also been crocheting while waiting in the car to pick up my son at school. There's always a big line to get into the parking lot, so I'll be sitting in this traffic jam crocheting like mad!

 

Mary

[LibiLou]

While I've only been crocheting for a while, I have been knitting longer. I knit and crochet anywhere. I have an angel bag that has my Bible, a notebook, pens and pencils and whatever project or two I'm working on that's portable. Today, I have an open shell baby blanket (my first big crochet project) and a knitted washcloth.

I've been seen crocheting in line, in the car (not driving) at the mall, dr's office, dentist's office, my volunteer "job" and at church. Pastor picked on me at first, but I informed him that 90% of everything I make goes to charity and he left me alone. I also pay attention better if I'm doing something with my hands.

[dhaunae]

Even though I didn't get around to it, I had a hook and some cotton yarn in my bag at the hospital when my son was born. I was a bit too occupied, but I had tossed it in the bag months before thinking that if the labor was slow I may as well give it a try! Riiiiight!

HA, another one! I finished my son's blanket while in the labor room; it actually helped calm me down I think. He was premie and I was freaked out, and for some weird reason I convinced myself that if I just finished his blanket before he was born it would all be ok. I crocheted through pains, through examinations, you name it, I was a woman with a mission ... and y'know, I finished the blanket, he was born, and everything was fine. The power of positive thinking I guess

 

Other than that, let's see .. anywhere I have to sit and wait. Airports, on planes, long car trips, doctor's office, vet's office, sitting in line at the drive-thru when it's taking forever, if I have to wait I'm going to pull out something to twiddle with.