WWKIP Day reminder

Oh cool...thatnks!

Donna

DAB spun a FINE 'yarn':

You're welcome! The main WWKIP Day site is here:

If you are going to do something well, practice, practice, practice. Knit in public every day.

Let us share ideas on how to do this better!! Please post your best ideas and how to knit in public better!Below is a first cut.

What is the Ideal Project for knitting in public? Socks? Mittens? (The virtues of small and transportable) Toys/doll clothes (to generate interest by children) Sweater/Gansey (Can't be missed : D) Hats? Scarves? Bikinis?

What does the ideal kit for knitting in public contain? For me it is: Yarn (in Ziplocs) 5 DPN needles (knitting on 4 needles can be folded for transport) OR Circs! knitting sheath (pocket) tape measure darning needle crochet hook cable needle pattern hand cream/ sun block/ sun screen very small Swiss Army pocket knife rubber bands to hold stitches on needles clue

How do I carry all that stuff? If it is a sock project, in a vest with lots of pockets. If it is a sweater, in a canvas brief case or laptop case. What is the best knitting bag? I'm not really happy with either solution. My backpack is terrible, and the camera bag is no better. The knitting totes that they sell at Michaels do not look $40 better than my back pack : (

What am I missing? What can I skip to cut down on bulk and weight? Is it a good idea to rewind the balls of yarn around bottles of beer to keep the beer cold, or should I just stop a pub every so often? I do not want to be carrying my sea trunk into the pub just for a bit of knitting. Do those yarn bracelets really work?

Aaron

Does it count if I crochet in public instead?

:-)

Erin

Erin spun a FINE 'yarn':

YES, it's included! :D Noreen

I'd leave out the darning needle, since you can use the crochet hook for most practical purposes and anything that takes a darning needle can usually be postponed until you're home again.

KIPs ought to be small enough to carry easily and inconspicuously; the act of knitting is noticeable enough, so you don't need to carry all the skeins of yarn for a sweater projct, etc. The pocket tape measure I carry anyway.

As for what to knit: something small is best. Dpns are impressive and the way I knit with the short ones they are not likely to injure anyone. I like to knit small Fairisle-style pouches because they are a simple tube until you're done and ready to work a 3-needle bind-off across the bottom. The tinier the needles, the better, for getting stunned reactions, though you may not want to use such fine needles that people think you're embroidering a woven cloth - that wouldn't provide the education point we'd be trying to make.

Some people swear by them.

=Tamar

I do, as much as possible. I've been known to take my current sock with me in the car to knit at stoplights.

Heh. I grab whatever I'm working on at the moment. I always have socks on the needles, plus at least one other more "major" project. When I take my daughter to kung fu class or an orthodontist's appointment I take my latest socks; there isn't much room in either waiting area so my sock pouch is perfect. When I take her to choir practice and have more room to spread out I bring my current sweater project. When I went to get new tires for my car I took the felted bag project I was working on with me, and a nice older gentleman commented that he rarely sees "young" people knitting any more, and told me to keep up the good work; I thanked him for calling me young

Whenever I'm KIPing I get lots of comments, and I encourage and enable every chance I get. There's a gal who's been coming to the choir practice lately, a friend of one of the other members, and she's a new knitter herself. So far I've handed her yarn and needles to make a fuzzy scarf plus my old copy of the Knitter's Companiion, and I plan on dishing off more stuff to her as I find it.

Knit Picks has a nice set of KIP bags that are reasonably priced. I bought myself the medium bag plus the gadget bag (kind of small, but okay to keep a tape measure and extra scissors in), and I keep my major project in that to take with me. I think I'm gonna get the largest bag for bulkier projects; the medium one is good for the lighter weight cardigans I'm currently into.

If you're talking about the little bracelet things that hold a ball of yarn, yes, they do work but take some getting used to.

I recommend just stopping at a pub every now and again; don't need the extra weight of the beer bottles

Now that I've gotten the KIP bag and am forcing myself to only have one major project going at any time - and this is truly difficult for me, as I tend to have ADD when it comes to knitting projects - I've stopped using any tote bag/backpack/shopping bag that comes into the house to carry knitting projects. My KIP bag holds my gadget bag (not the little one that I bought but a larger one that holds all my gadgets), my circular needles (again, all of them in a separate case), my Knitter's Companion, and my current project including pattern book. When I need to go out I just grab it and go. The bag is also large enough to carry my wallet and keys so I don't need to take my purse in addition.

I would think that everything you need would fit into a standard daypack and be wonderfully portable.

The Other Kim kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom