I am not sure how many of you know this about me–but despite my inclination toward loud colors, I tend to be a bit shy. It doesn’t help that I am a little claustrophobic in large groups, but even sometimes in manageable situations, I hold back even when I know I shouldn’t.
For instance, last night I went to a high school musical in a small Kansas town with a friend of mine. She had some business there that day, and I was just along for the ride. This friend of mine currently has pink hair. (I am so jealous). We got a some stares. Pink hair in a small Kansas town is somewhat of an anomaly. So, apparently, are Daybreaks. While admittedly my friend’s hair garnered more attention, my Daybreak garnered at least two, prolonged examining stares.
Daybreak in the Wild
I hope it was the Daybreak. I can’t think of any other reason for random women to stare at my neck. On the whole it was a set of triumphant moments for me. I have a lot of fiber arts friends, and I love them, but I only have a couple of fellow Stephanie Pearl-McPhee definition-of-the-word Knitter friends in real life–people who would recognize the Daybreak and say, “Oh my god, I love your Daybreak!” But I had at least two–TWO–stares that said, “Oh my god, I want to talk to you about your knitting, but holy heck I know everyone in this town and you, miss knitter, are a complete stranger!” They were complicated stares, I assure you.
I love spotting hand-knitting in the wild. Yesterday, it was fun to be spotted. I wish these ladies would have stopped and talked. Not only could I have bragged a little bit about how I dyed the yarn myself, but I really love meeting Knitters. Finding kindred spirits out in the wild really is one of the things I like best about knitting–because more often than not, if you see someone wearing a Daybreak (or other pattern-gone-viral) the wearer knit it themselves–and no matter what else, you know you have something in common with that person. So next time, I hope I have the courage to say, “Have you made a Daybreak, too?” when I catch someone’s eyes glued to my neck.