The Yarnbubble

Just spent my lunch hour knitting in Yumchaa, a cute tea shop near my workplace. It was a lovely way to pass the time, particularly on this cold, busy Monday. I managed to get another 6 rows done, in between bites and sips (chicken pesto sandwich and 'Gentle Giant' tea, a calming gingery concoction). Hopefully I'll be able to get through this first ball of red yarn by tomorrow so I can start on the blue - I'm striping the scarf, oh yes.

I've been meaning to find more productive ways of spending my five lunch hours for a while now. Unless I'm meeting a friend, I tend to window shop (the pitfall of working near London's shopping district) and, despite window intentions, I just can't seem to walk away empty-handed. My purchases are rarely large - we're talking a book rather than a pair of shoes. But even spending "just" a tenner means up to £50 that I could be saving.

So I've decided that my lunch time would be better spent crafting or catching up on reading. And today confirmed that this is a very good idea. As well as making good progress on the scarf, I felt much more peaceful as I headed back to the office to face a long afternoon. I think I might make Yumchaa my regular hangout as it's so nearby and reasonably priced - and it seems like the kind of place where you'd be allowed to bring your own sandwiches as long as you bought some tea or cake.

I'm really enjoying knitting so far (okay, I can only cast on and garter stitch - but I'm still a knitter, right?!). What I love most about it is that, especially when you're learning, it forces you to concentrate. To keep your mind on your task and not worry about what's going on around you. For someone like myself, this is a very good thing. As well as being extremely self-conscious, I'm easily distracted. And these two traits are very unwelcome when you're crafting with sticks and string.

I can't afford to look up when I hear someone laugh or worry about whether I ought to have occupied a smaller table (after all, I would happily move if need be). Doing so means I might forget where I was and botch a stitch. I need to disappear into my yarnbubble unless spoken to. And, as long as it doesn't make me inconsiderate of others' needs, this suits me very well.

Of course, this is just knitting. If need be, I can unravel the yarn and start again. But far more important areas of my life could benefit from this practice of running my own race; of concentrating on the task at hand and not worrying about what others are doing. The latter in particular has been a stumbling block for me, and I shudder to consider the time I must have wasted concerning myself with others' races.

It's time to embrace where God has placed me and start getting on with my own life. And knitting, of all things, is proving invaluable in teaching me this!

On a side note, I rediscovered an adorable blog called My Milk Toof. It's about the adventures of two milk teeth and, as childish as that sounds, it's actually really sweet and funny. The still below links to the blog. There are better ones, but I thought it would be a bit cheeky to copy an entire series here and this is one of the only stand-alones I could find ...

Fair Play!