Compulsive Knitting, Pt. 2

Thanks so much to the readers who wrote such thoughtful responses to my last post; I enjoyed reading and pondering each of them.

The reason I started thinking about this was that I recently had a week of horrible TV binging. Have you ever watched TV for so long that you feel like you have a TV hangover by the time you finally bring yourself to turn it off? That happened several times last week. I've always had a major TV addiction, but I think that my knitting exacerbates it. When I'm knitting at home, I usually have the TV on, and when I'm watching TV, I'm always knitting. The two activities seem to feed off each other. I wanna knit, so I turn on the TV; I'm watching TV, so I justify the time suckage by knitting and thereby doing something productive.

But I'm starting to be very wary of our culture's obsession with multi-tasking. My ex-boyfriend used to get really upset with me when I would knit while we were watching movies at home. He felt that I didn't pay sufficient attention to the movie (often when he was trying to show me a film that he loved), but I resented his asking me not to knit. Of course, I had to admit that I wasn't really paying full attention to the movie. But I still wanted to knit.

My friend Allana mentioned in her comment knitting as a way of making productive use of otherwise wasted time spent commuting. I have certainly subscribed to that view in the past - I always knit or read in the subway. But really, who says we need to make productive use of every moment of our days? Maybe it would be fine if I just sat there, or looked around at what's going on around me.

Anyway, I don't think I'll force myself to take a day off from knitting anytime soon. But I will try to pay more attention to whether I really feel like knitting, or if I just feel like I should be knitting.

Comments

[Lorette]

Ah yes, that mindfulness thing. I have the same issues with television. I can sit watching just dumb stuff for hours, so I have to make myself turn it off. I guess it's all about balance, isn't it?

[jessica~]

Hi - late to the party but here is my comment anyway... it's long, sorry!

Lorette mentioned mindfulnes so here is my comment on the subject: I try to be aware of being mindful of the present moment I am living in, but find that our society is, like you mentioned, obsessed with multi-tasking. Look around your home & office and take notice of the people that are thinking ahead, and planning every moment but not enjoying the moment they are in. I too sit and watch tv & knit, or commute into work & knit. Sometimes I wonder if I really enjoy that or if I'm just so used to it it is the norm...

"Living in this marvelous reality ~ living in peace, is something we all want.
But I would like to ask: Do we have the capacity of enjoying peace?
If peace is there, will we be able to enjoy it, or will we find it boring?
To me, peace and happiness and joy and life go together,
and we can experience the peace of the divine reality right in the present moment.
It is available, inside us and around us.
If we are not able to enjoy that peace,
how can we make peace grow? " -- Thich Naht Hanh

[PattiG]

Hey Alison, I can so relate to your quandary. I too have the TV on more than I probably should. I have recently gotten fed up with morning TV (The Today Show etc.) and I just knit on the couch without television. I love it! I have my dogs close by and can hear my husband rattling around in the bedroom getting ready for work and it's very peaceful. I still watch TV too much and I still neglect important but dreaded tasks because of knitting. But I too am not looking to give up knitting for a day or anything drastic like that. Knitting makes me happy, albeit I don't really know why.

Patti

[Georgina]

I often think about this issue myself. Knitting helps keep me sane! After working in corporate America, switching gears to spending 12 hours a day with three toddlers can be mind-numbing! Yes, I love them and all that, but knitting in small gaps throughout the day entertains my brain.

[Tipper]

I take this a step farther - I've gotten to the point where I don't even thinking knitting or spinning is productive. "If I'm not making money, I'm not doing anything worthwhile" seems to be my mindset lately. Since I can't seem to find a job, I'm totally at my wit's end. I'm incredibly annoyed at this; I wish I could convince myself that I'm not being entirely self-indulgent by wanting to play with fiber.

[Alison]

Tipper,
Oh, that viewpoint does seem sad to me. For me, one of the main reasons for living is being creative, and I always feel that if I'm making something - anything - I'm being productive.

But on the other hand, when I was out of work a couple summers ago, after a few very enjoyable weeks I did start to feel like I wasn't contributing anything useful to the world, even though I was knitting up a storm. Having a job is, for most Americans, pretty integral to one's self-esteem I find.

Good luck in your search!

alison: thanks for coming. it is fun to see your commentary on the sew up - you are obviously a great knitter- i saw your sweater on your blog - this is my kind of knitting. pls. stay in touch with me regarding your friend's store and all things knitting. i, too, did not do any squares - but found that hosting and sewing made me feel very involved. i also did a little pr for them - but kay and ann are the obvious movers and shakers in this. i'm trying like crazy to begin to make a living at knitting and teaching so i'm intensely interested in whatt everyone is doing - and so much is happening.

pls. stay in touch. i teach and i mayu be looking for additional teachers in the nyc metro area if i can get one of my new ideas off the ground. best to you, always,
phyllis
(ps: wasn't the energy amazing?)