Emergency Car Knitting

It's every knitter's nightmare: being stranded somewhere without knitting! 

Or at least it's my nightmare. Last week on my way to work (it's a winding 2-lane highway through the hills) I got stuck behind a car accident with no real way around it.

Luckily, I had my current sock-in-progress with me, and there was enough knitting left to get me through the 45 minute wait. But it got me thinking... what if I'd only had the toe decreases left? How would I have managed the other 30 minutes of sitting in my car waiting for the road to clear? I may well have had to rip and re-knit the toe several times... and while I'm all about ripping and re-knitting to improve a project, I don't particularly want to do that just to keep my hands occupied.

Project bag in the glove box

In order to avoid this potentially horrible situation, I have come up with the Emergency Sock in the Glove Box solution: put a set of needles and skein of yarn in a project bag, and store that in your glove compartment. Then, if you forget to take knitting with you, get stuck waiting unexpectedly, or finish your other project, you've got backup knitting!

Sock in progress in the glove box

 Here's a plain vanilla sock in Biker Chick Hot Shot tucked in next to the owner's manual.

 
Of course, make sure the yarn and needles in the glove box are not your absolute favorite, and that the socks (or whatever you decide to knit) don't have a deadline, because once they've rescued you from that particular emergency you'll want to put them BACK in the glove box! Otherwise, you may well end up in exactly the situation you are trying to avoid...

Ever wished you had your knitting when you were stuck somewhere? 

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24 comments

This is a wonderful idea and I will put it in force immediately. I live in the San Francisco Bay area and the traffic is so awful that awful does not do it justice. I always have extra knitting with me and in the car, but that bag is great.

Etienne (Cooky)

Knitting… and a book… everywhere I go. With kids doing lots of activities, there’s always somebody or something to wait for. Don’t actually keep a project in the car, though! That’s a great idea.

Shauna

I always have my knitting bag with me when I leave the house. Doesn’t matter what the project is in the bag. I don’t want to be caught without my knitting!!!

Eva

I always keep a project in the car for emergencies. In all my years of knitting, I have yet to knit a sock. I think its about time. I have, also, been known to knit at red lights.

Mary Lynn

I have a back up for the back up. I may not want to work on the first one…

Laurie

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