I do not consider myself a trendsetter. I suppose being that I work in digital media and content creation I am always in the know of new trends as it relates to business or social media but when it comes to my personal life and hobbies? Not so much. I like what I like, and I do what I do with very little regard to whether or not I’m an “early adopter”. However, when I end up being an accidental trendsetter, I do smile a little brighter.
Take knitting for example. I’ve been knitting for five years. Which was also about the time I started noticing more and more younger women picking up the knitting needles. I’m sure that was just coincidental though, kind of like when you buy your first minivan and then you start to notice all of the other people who have minivans just like yours. I’m sure that’s it.
Anyway, a couple of things that I like to do when I knit is either listen to audio books or binge watch television.
If you’re not clear on the definition of binge watching, the urban dictionary describes it as this: “the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.”
The audio book listening is fairly new. I now listen to audio books when I’m driving (because local radio on the southern Kenai Peninsula stinks), cleaning, cooking or baking (because again, local radio). It just seemed logical that listening to audio books while I knitted worked its way into my life and it was the only way I could solve the problem of my two favorite loves, reading and knitting at the same time, not getting along.
As for binge watching, I’ve been doing this almost as long as I’ve been knitting. I will find a television series that I’ve never watched before or maybe missed a season or episode or three and knit while I watch. Most of us knitters already do this with movies – either in a movie theater, at home through online streaming or with our massive DVD collections (thank the hubby for that one).
It wasn’t until recently though that I learned there was a name for binge watching and knitting.
Welcome to “Knitflixing” and I like it.
While I don’t think there is a definitive definition of “knitflix”, the best I can describe it or have seen it described is this: “the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming while knitting or crocheting.”
I know you see what I did there (just adding in the “knitting or crocheting” part at the end but that’s as simple as sounds. You knit or crochet and binge watch the crap out of something.
And check any Facebook knitting/crochet group or Ravelry group and you’ll see countless discussions by members asking what they’re “knitflixing” or what they should knitflix next. (say that three times fast.)
For instance, you might start out with Seinfeld and half a sock and end on season two of Friends and finished socks. (I’m guessing. I really have no idea how long it would take you to knit a pair of socks and get through the entire collection of Seinfeld because some people knit socks really, really fast. However, I am not one of them.) Maybe you reserve a project for a particular television series.
I started working my Show Me Yours Shawl to Downton Abbey (you can buy just the shawl pattern on Ravelry). (Don’t judge me. I know I was late to the Downton Abbey craze but now I’m fairly hooked on it. This simple but gorgeous shawl seemed like the right project for the show.) My Toasty fingerless knits are reserved for my weekly Hulu watching; I watch all of the week’s television while knitting the mitts. I just started the mitts but already I’m farther than I thought I would get. I love the way they knit up so much that I just started a second toasty pattern on some Noro Shiraito yarn (which was part of my first knitcrate and was supposed to be a different pattern but a few too many stitches got dropped). I’ll keep you posted on how those turn out.
I guess you could argue that I was knitflixing before I knew it was a thing or it was cool. Now though, knitters and crocheters are knitflixing hours away in the evenings and on the weekends.
Yes, you can even knitflix through your favorite (losing) football team. GO BROWNS!
Of course it would figure that I was doing something cool long before it was in trend and didn’t even know it.
Are you a knitflixer (or crocheter)? What are you knitflixing now?
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