World Wide Knit in Public Day

World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWWKiP) was started in 2005 by Danielle Landis. Her idea is to get knitters together in public. "WWKiP Day takes now takes place from the second Saturday to the third Sunday of June each year; making it a week long celebration of knitting and other fiber arts." (www.wwkipday.com ) Knitting is often a solitary act, but anyone who has been to a knitting guild meeting, a stitch and bitch, a class, or a gathering at a local yarn shop, knows how much fun it is to knit with others. Share stories and get help. Relax and have fun in the company of other knitters. The response of the public who happen by the happy knitters is often funny and frequently touching as they reminisce about family members knitting. They are probably a little hesitant, if you have ever knit in a coffee shop or on a plane, you know what I mean. The uninitiated public won’t know what to make of the public knitters. I suspect they will be surprised at the variety of ages of the knitters. Many knitters are young, old, black, white, active, couch-potatoes, men, women, tattooed, pierced, prim and proper. The local group in my town also brought extra chairs and supplies for those who wanted to learn or re-learn to knit. People sat down, picked up the sticks and had fun with knitting.

There is a website World Wide Knit in Public Day that has a list of spots where knitters will be gathering. Each spot is run by a volunteer, some in conjunction with a yarn shop, but many not. The gatherings will be as unique as the person who organizes it and the knitters will be gathered in goodwill and a spirit of fun. Knitting is often often about giving, since many knitted items are gifts, but finding the time to share the enthusiasm of knitting doesn’t often come up.

In spite of its name not just knitters show up, there will be spinners, people crocheting, those with needlepoint, and many of the rest of the fiber world. The fun is contagious and new fiber enthusiasts are born on this day.