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October 04, 2005

Knot Lost in Translation

I had a wonderful subway moment on my way home today. I've been working reluctantly on squares for the baby blanket -- which may or may not ever be finished -- with some Rowan Calmer cotton yarn. This is something I like to do on the subway since it's small.

With the last two squares, I've spent the majority of my time untangling the humungous knot that develops, somehow, between the knitting and the ball of yarn. It's endlessly frustrating and I'm not sure how it happens. I've tried all sorts of knot-untangling techniques, but the progress seems to get slower and slower.

Today, I was sitting next to an elderly Chinese woman for most of the ride home. I could feel a few people on the train watching my ongoing struggle and I was doing my best to ignore them, but the Chinese woman was clearly getting more and more involved. She would lean in -- more than is acceptable by any sane follower of the unwritten Subway personal space rules -- squint, and then lean back again.

When I was pulling a long strand of yarn out of the mess, gently, with an expression of extraordinary don't-you-dare-talk-to-me concentration, she started SHAKING HER HEAD. Like she completely and utterly disapproved of my untangling skills. I was in full Subway defense mode now, desperately trying to cling to my shred of knitting privacy. I shoved the remains of the knot in my bag and started knitting with the extracted yarn.

The woman got upset about that, though, and was bold enough to REACH INTO MY BAG and grab the knot. My first reaction was obviously the pick-pocket one, but I realized while discreetly eying my wallet that my next-door neighbor was a perfectly normal woman who wanted to help, but didn't know a word of English.

She took the knotted yarn into her lap, flipped her hand at me, and gave me a quick look indicating that I should keep knitting, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was as if she was frustrated with me for being so inefficient and NOT letting her do the untangling earlier. So I went back to knitting. I felt a little awkward, handing off the hard work and knitting, but she untangled and I knit for four subway stops. I wonder what the other people in the car were thinking. I couldn't help smiling now and then at the whole scene.

True to her earlier criticism, she was better at untangling. I was sad that we had to stop when we got to 7th Avenue. I thanked her many times and showed her the knitting and explained that it was for a baby blanket. She smiled and I stepped off the train. I'm still getting a kick out of it -- I smiled all the way home.

(Note: Clever title courtesy Derek.)

Posted by csageday at October 4, 2005 10:46 PM

Comments

Posted by: kaitlyn at October 5, 2005 07:31 AM

Posted by: Cindy at October 5, 2005 12:55 PM