June 16, 2008

World Wide Knit In Public Day (WWKIP)

Posted in Events, Yarn Shop activity tagged A Stitch In Time, Fran's Knitting Boutique, knitting, St. Augustine, The Local Needle, WWKIP World Wide Knit In Public Day at 8:03 am by outdoorknitter

World Wide Knit in Public Day was started in 2005 by Danielle Landes. It began as a way for knitters to come together and enjoy each other’s company.

The Local Needle wanted to arrange a KIP for the Jacksonville and surrounding areas and decided St. Augustine, (where there’s lots of little quaint shops, good food and of course…public), would be an excellent place to do such a thing.

Here we have the first to arrive for the day (perfect timing if you ask me!):

Knitting is such a solitary act that it’s easy to knit alone somewhere and sink into your work without thinking about all the other knitters out there. Neighbors could spend all their lives never knowing that the other knits.

I was privileged enough to meet a neighbor…Fran, of Fran’s Knitting Boutique (standing in the photo above). I had called her to see if she was interested in co-sponsoring this local event and she jumped in with both feet. After a few phone conversations and lots of help from Ann Marie (Thank you!), we settled on The Spanish Bakery on St. George Street. It had picnic tables and lots of shade (message to all-mighty WWKIP Gods…PLEASE change this day to Spring or Fall, some of us live in Florida!).

Another shop in the area made an appearance as well, A Stitch In Time, bringing with them some yummy Kureyon Sock yarn for a drawing along with some free patterns. (Note to self: Next year, remember to take picture of yarn drawing.)

This a specific day to get out of your house and go to a local event (with your knitting in tow) just for you and people like you. Who knows you might even bump into your neighbor! Consider this a spark, to ignite a fire; getting all of the closeted knitters out into fresh air.

I don’t know if they’re closeted or not, but they sure showed up. I think we counted 35+ fellow knitters, with many more that wanted to come, but had prior arrangements.