I’ve been lucky enough to convince a few of my friends to meet up with me on Sundays for a little communal knitting. I know knitting clubs are commonplace in the US, but in Turkey, no one ever sits in a café, knitting. It’s decidedly strange.

I didn’t get much chance to knit with friends while I was in the UK either, as I was always out in the styx. I can’t tell you how envious I am of the London Stitch ‘n’ Bitchers. :( In short, knitting has always been a rather solitary endeavour for me, & in general, not regrettably so. There are few things (& none of them come to mind at present) that I prefer to knitting with a mug of tea beside me & a good audiobook or Radio4.

But I digress. We had our first meetup yesterday & I taught two of my friends to knit & it was pouring outside & we got to sit & sip our coffees & ohh, it was so delightful! My friends were naturals, too. They sat with my gaudy leftovers & looks of concentration so intense, it was unthinkable that they should fail. By the end of a couple of hours, they had several neat rows of garter stitch, barely a dropped stitch between them, & (I hope) an enthusiasm to keep going. I look forward to next Sunday!

Another advantage of city-living is buses: waiting for them & riding in them. I wish someone had told me a few years ago that I could chart lace or write a blog post on a phone, instead of idling away my commute staring into space. Phones are handy enough & private enough that they make all kinds of work possible on-the-go. I don’t know, maybe it’s just the novelty (the last time I bought a phone was 8 years ago, after all).

At any rate, no commuting today. I am in my bedroom/studio, huddled away from the falling snow & bitter wind. Yes, so much for my attempts to will spring to come with my knitting; winter still prevails. It’s alright though, I have a hot mug of tea, & Radio4, & something new & sunny on the needles.

Needless to say I’m never alone, not with my fantastic online knitting circle! I wanted to thank you for over 400 faves on the Parasol Stole. In less than 2 days too! I’m astonished & utterly delighted so many of you like it. Thank you!

& heaven forbid I sign off without a photo; here’s what’s on my wrist right now: