Solitude

I heard someone say the other day that knitting is a very social activity.  And it is.  I have no doubt of that.  The modern knit night is the quilting bee of old.  Women have always loved to get together to do things in a social atmosphere.

But knitting is also a very solitary pursuit.  For every social knitter there are a thousand quiet knitters out there knitting in solitude, valuing it for that quiet.   

I think I knit for both.  I treasure knitting with friends.  Its been a long while now since I have gone to my usual knit nights, and I am really looking forward to it, but I also love the quiet that is my knitting.  

Solitary knitting blocks out the sounds of a busy day. The quiet pursuit of one stitch after another, an unbroken rhythm across a row, the gentle clicks of the tips of your needles as they slip past each other as you move along.  

These are just some of the things you notice more when you are knitting in quiet solitude.  Knitting is rather like a well cut gemstone.  Every time you turn it in the light you see another flash of its brilliance.  Every time you look at it in low light, you see something else again.