The Importance of Being Crafty

As the old adage goes, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Well, not old - pretty sure Janet Jackson sang about it, but still... The week that went by waiting for my wool to arrive is fading into a hazy fevered memory now, but it made me realise just how much knitting means to me. No, this isn't a corny eulogy - more a reflective appreciation of something I now realise has been keeping me anchored when life's choppy seas threaten to hurl me adrift.

My job as a production manager (albeit an assistant at the mo) in a theatre - while having more of a creative element than most jobs - is primarily a technical and logistical one, so my knitting is the perfect creative release. Generally speaking, theatre people are one of two kinds; the Brahmas who create the show, building the sets, finding and making props, designing the lighting and sound, sewing the costumes, bringing it all together for the opening night; and the Vishnus who keep it running for anything between 4 weeks and 40 years. (Not to mention of course the Shivas: the crews who come in at the end and pull the whole damn thing apart.) I am most definitely the former; my patience lasts fine getting all the elements in place but as soon as it's done so am I and I'm looking for the next project to keep me occupied. The longest I've ever lasted as an operator on a show was a five week run playing video, and I was so bored I wrote a novella between my cues. So after a production week, 60+ hours of technical rehearsal, running for last minute set and props and painstakingly picking apart every line of text to fit the cues to it, there really is only one thing that brings me back to earth. And it's Knitted Duck.

I don't imagine I'm alone; everyone has their own little refuge, their own little piece of heaven to retreat to after a day at the office. Some people play 5-a-side; others the XBox; my little skin and blister is a dab hand with pretty much any craft you throw at her. I guess the important thing is to appreciate the little things that make a big difference.

KD x