Amtrak Knitting

I do like to plug in my ipod, listen to an audiobook and knit on train trips. The trip from Philadelphia is only 90 minutes--but--I did at least an hour of knitting. Started something new:



So far, the yarn is happy!

Amtrak Knitting Circle

Another weekend. Another train ride on Amtrak.



This time, hubster and I went upstate to Albany, NY for a dinner. Since the train follows the Hudson River, this ride is exceptionally scenic. Here's one sight: (Photo was taken through a tinted window on a moving train. It's really much prettier than this.)



On the left side of the photo, notice the island. That's Pollepel Island. If you click on the photo to make larger--you'll see what looks like a ruined castle. That's Bannerman Castle. It was built around 1900 to store munitions.

On our return trip to NYC, there was a couple sitting in front of us. I was knitting my secret project, listening to an audiobook, enjoying the scenery when I saw the woman raise her hand above her head and in her hand was. . . YARN!

I looked at her reflection in the train's window and saw



Do you see what I see? A knitting bag, hands and dpns!

I scrunched over to the side so I could get a better look and the woman was knitting a sock!

I called out to her and held up my knitting. I asked and, yes, she's a member of Ravelry and so suddenly two strangers on a train became knitting buddies! Through the opening between our seats and window we had a fun conversation about yarn, needles, alpacas, NYC and upstate yarn stores, the 2009 NYC Yarn Crawl, Stitches East, Rhinebeck.

She held up her sock so I could take a photo --the yarn is Heritage. Very nice!



The train ride can be bumpy at times and I was quite impressed that the knitter didn't drop a needle or a stitch!

Amtrak being Amtrak, our trip was delayed by an hour. I can't say I welcomed this extra hour of knitting since I really wanted to get home. But knitting helped ease my anxiety about the delay. And, though I didn't ask, I'm sure the other knitter felt the same way. This is something that knitters just know.

Chugging Along

Haven't reached the destination yet.

I've Been Working on the Railroad

This song has been going through my head for the past few days--only with different words:

I've been knitting on the railroad
All the live-long day.
I've been knitting on the railroad
Just to pass the time away.

Don't you hear the whistle blowing,
Rise up so early in the morn;
Don't you hear the captain shouting,
"Mary, knit your shawl!"

I'll be spending a long weekend in Boston. The Marathon. My niece is running. It's her 4th. I'm getting there via Amtrak and have the shawl packed and ready to go.

Run. Run. Run. Knit. Knit. Knit.

Back on Track

My recent 6 hours and 50 minutes on Amtrak produced more knitting than I’ve been able to accomplish in a month.

Tinked back a row of the Forest Canopy Shawl:


It’s still looking like a pile of bleccch

After the successful tink and re-knit, I wanted to shout and sing “Alleluia!”

But, since I was in the Quiet Car and the conductor had warned us if anyone violated the Quiet Car rules he’d call the cops and have us arrested at the next stop, I decided I better not.

Though I think the “Successfully Tinking Lace On a Moving Train Defense” would have kept me out of Quiet Car jail.

Worked on the first Tabloid Sock



And to avoid the Dreaded Second Sock Syndrome, I also started the second Tabloid Sock



Plus I finally finished the Wearing O’the Green / Limerick / Camo Socks



I may be going to DC in a few days--6 more hours of train-knitting! YAY!