Where I Knit

• Posted on 3 June 2026
• By Anne
• 0

Needles, hooks, lovely yarn. They go pretty much anywhere. With Knit (and Crochet) In Public Day coming up, I reflect on a few favorite, most memorable, and most unusual places where I've indulged my passion.

My goodness, I'm rarely anywhere without a project at hand. In the car, on an airplane, waiting in a doctor's office - it's an essential item, like a book, coat or sunglasses. I must admit that long car rides with my favorite person (hubby Jay) are my absolute favorite. In fact, we have one planned for this summer. After dropping our son off at camp, we'll be spending time driving around Olympic National Park. It's a toss up - watch the scenery outside the car window or look at the pretty string on my needles. Hmm? Definitely will spend time perched on the cliff overlooking the beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca, and knitting a pair of socks.

But there are a few other memorable, as well as unusual places I've been seen by others knitting away. Here's just a few:

An airport in French Polynesia. Years ago, shortly after opening For Yarn's Sake Jay and I spent time scuba diving, lounging by the pool, and taking in the amazing sites of French Polynesia. After a week long cruise, we spent a couple nights in a hotel on a small island. One of those resorts where the rooms are little huts on stilts over the water. So cool to have a window on the floor and watch the fish swim by. To get to this little slice of heaven, we had to take a very small plane from the mainland. No one was looking at the locals who were using there coolers wrapped in duck tape as suitcases. Nope, they were looking at the funny lady playing with wool and long wooden toothpicks. The security people actually laughed and pointed at the image of my project bag as it passed through the x-ray machine. Guess they haven't seen many knitters in that part of the world.

On a tour bus in Sicily. Another cruise the two of us took (Jay and I like cruises ALOT - another story for another day), this one to the Mediterranean brings back happy knitting memories. With many cruises, the ship docks some distance away from the tourist attractions. On the island of Sicily, we had to take a lengthy, winding bus ride to the top of a hill to see the sights. Long bus ride? Knitting time! I was working through a mystery sock. No clue which one or who the designer was, but I do recall it used 2 colors and had some fun, unusual design elements. I use the magic loop to knit socks, which looks unusual to folks not schooled in the ways of knitting. Lots of interested fellow cruisers, wondering what I was doing. "I've never seen knitting needles like that." "Those needles are so tiny." "What's a mystery? How do you know what you're making." It was so fun answering all the questions, but not a lot of knitting accomplished.

Western Colorado. Jay and I flew to Denver to celebrate our 35th anniversary at a Mariners vs Rockies game, then drove over the mountains to a lovely spot south of Grand Junction. Spent the days exploring the surrounding parks (Arches Nat'l Park was amazing), and the evenings watching the sunset by a roaring fire. And knitting - me at least. It was so beautiful and relaxing, surrounded by red rock mountain peaks. I was working through Joji Locatelli's first ever (I think) mystery KAL, Starting Point. It was a doozie! 5 skeins of fingering weight yarn / 1750 yards. Joji's idea of a weekly clue was interesting, to say the least. No way to get through a clue before the next came out. But I did happily finish the project, and it's quite stunning. Bonus - it brings back memories of our wonderful anniversary trip every time I look at that gorgeous wrap.

Hawaii. My absolute favorite place to knit. Not sure if you can call it 'knitting in public,' as there's no one around but me. We have a favorite condo on Maui, just north of Lahaina. Not one of those high rise complexes, but individual 2-story buildings with a lanai that stretches the entire length overlooking a private beach. My daily ritual is to get up early as the sun is rising, grab a cup of coffee, and knit while watching the island wake up. Boats going out, paddle boarders passing by, locals throwing balls into the surf for their dogs to retrieve, and usually a fisherman just outside. I love watching the sun begin to filter through the palm trees overhead. It's vacation, so the rest of the family is sleeping in, giving me an hour or two of peaceful time to enjoy my hobby. So many different projects have enjoyed that lanai with me. Headed back this fall - can't wait!

There you have it. My favorite and most memorable knitting spots around the world. With many more to come in the future, I have no doubt.