Do You Read While Knitting?
Wednesday June 20, 2007
Knitting and reading are right up there as my two favorite hobbies, and I've often wished I were better at combining the two. I can read while knitting if I'm working on a basic pattern, and reading something like a magazine that doesn't need to be held open.
I've heard of knitters who listen to books while they knit so they can "read" and knit at the same time, but I've never tried it. It seems like a good compromise, if you can find an audio version of the book you want to read.
Do you read while knitting? Have you tried and failed? Or do you listen to books while you work? I want to hear from you about your favorite way to multitask, or why you'd never do it.
Poll: Do you read while knitting?
View Results
I've heard of knitters who listen to books while they knit so they can "read" and knit at the same time, but I've never tried it. It seems like a good compromise, if you can find an audio version of the book you want to read.
Do you read while knitting? Have you tried and failed? Or do you listen to books while you work? I want to hear from you about your favorite way to multitask, or why you'd never do it.
Poll: Do you read while knitting?
View Results
Comments
There are many wonderful literary classics available on-linewhere the full text may be viewed and read for free. Just one of the several websites where you can access books is:
http://www.gutenberg.org
I have sometimes read a book on-line while knitting. If you don’t mind reading from a computer screen, it is an easy way to read while keeping both hands free for knitting. Currently I am reading Willa Cather’s My Antonia on this website. When I have finished a session of reading and knitting I save the page I’m on in my “favorites” so I will be able to pick up with the story right where I left off.
You know, that’s actually brilliant. And I do that when I knit at work but never think to do it at home (probably because I have a laptop)
I read your standard paperbacks while knitting. I use a large, heavy ladle to hold open the book. I do have to take the time to turn the pages, but I’m so engrossed in the book and knitting that it doesn’t even register with me or break the flow. It took some time getting used to it, tho.
Actually, my husband reads to me while I knit. It is the best of both worlds.
I wish I could! I find it so unwieldy to try to hold the book open and knit at the same time. Like you, I can do it with magazines, but not books–and yarn and books are my favorite things.
I don’t read while knitting but I do have the TV on. I’ll listen to that and if something catches my ear I’ll look up ai it.
I use a book holder or cookbook stand while knitting. Easy to do and it confounds non-knitters!
watch the telly and knit all the time
I never even thought about reading and knitting at the same time. I probably couldn’t do it, but I’ll never find out because I would never try it.
I do enjoy knitting in front of the TV, if I didn’t knit I would fall asleep.
I LOVE to bring my “mindless knitting” to the baseball games. I find I get ALOT of knitting done in between plays and innings and never miss a beat of my sons’ plays at ball games.
I also listen to audio books while knitting
My major passions have always been reading and knitting, so do them both whenever possible. I use large clamps and hold both sides of the book open. Unfortunately I also read very fast so do my best to get hardback books so I don’t have to stop work and turn the pages so often. Now if I could just get someone to stand there and turn the pages like the spoiled rich people of ages gone by, life would be much nicer.
I was taught to knit by two TV knitters. As a child I travelled 1/2 hour each way to and from school and found if I looked down to knit or read I became car sick but I could knit without looking and enjoy the scenery without being sick.
I am studying as a post graduate student and find it helps to keep my hands busy while I read text books.
I also knit while watching my son play soccer if my knitting is not evident at a game other parents will ask where it is, almost like a constant companion.
Levenger (NAYY) makes a great bookmark with lead weights in both ends. It’s designed to lay across the open book; that’s how I do it. Sometimes at work I’ll read, knit, and eat lunch all at the same time
but mostly I knit at night while watching whatever Netflix has sent us.
I read e-mail sometimes when knitting but what i do most is knit and watch tv at the same time.Drives my husband crazy. HeHe
I could never read and knit at the same time because I only read printed material, not audio. I do watch TV and knit, tho, and like that. It’s really amazing how much knitting you can accomplish during commercials–they seem to go on and on and on…
I used to be able to read and watch football while knitting…that was 50 years ago! Now, if I am doing “auto pilot” knitting like kitty blankies, I can watch t.v. but with something intricate, I can’t. My GS has all foreign subtitled movies he has given me on DVD so I can’t watch the subtitles and knit at the same time as they are all Swedish or Polish movies.