It had been a super busy Tuesday. One that felt like a Monday, the workload just kept multiplying, my focus was down to nothing and all I wanted to do was go home, get in my yoga pants and stare blankly at the TV.

Of course, that wasn't gonna happen. I had agreed a month prior that I'd show up to the inaugural Sip and Stitch at my favorite local pub. So it was with hesitation that I grabbed my project bag after having been home for ten minutes, and stepped out the door. 

It seems to always happen this way—the things I find myself dragging my feet on end up becoming the things that I love. This was definitely true of the Stitch and Sip. So I'd had a long day, and my husband was giving me grief over yet another night of leaving the baby in his care.

I also had a glass of zin, and happy conversation about yarn stashes with other people who totally get that there's no such thing as too much yarn. That pretty much made up for everything else right there.

But what is it about knitting (or crocheting, which as it turns out, half of our group was doing) in public that makes it so alluring? You hear of knitting groups everywhere. Our local library has crochet meet-ups. Sometimes on the mega-screen at baseball games they'll show entire sections filled with knitters. (This is called a Stitch n Pitch. It's a real thing and it makes baseball bearable for even the least sportsing sportsfan out there!) There's even a World Knit in Public Day in June. That's right. A whole day dedicated to getting your project out and taking it to the streets. 

So, why?

Why not! Knitting and crocheting, for all of the peaceful moments that they can bring during a hectic day/week/month/life, are incredibly social activities. "What pattern is that?" "Nice entrelac!" "Omigosh, those colors go perfectly together! You have an eye for color!"

Plus, the fiber arts take a certain amount of patience and skill, so it's fun to go out with a bunch of similarly skilled people and totally blow the minds of everyone in the room who isn't holding a skein on their lap.

Personally, getting to know the other knitters in my community was my favorite part of the Stitch n Sip. Some I knew through the internet only, or were friends of friends. Another person in our group I had known since 6th grade and hadn't seen in years. There was even a friend who I thought I'd gotten to know pretty well over the last year, but I had no clue she knitted. It was not a surprise to see her in the pub where all of the downtown Fresno movers and shakers hang out. It was a surprise to see her with a project in hand! 

I'm happy to report that I was wrong to dread leaving the house, and I'll be attending more Stitch n Sip events. Rather than sucking my will to live like I'd imagined any activity keeping me from becoming one with the sofa would do, it invigorated me and made me proud to be part of a community tied together by our love for making things. 

What's your favorite way to knit/crochet/spin/embroider/everything else in public?