Why yes, I am a totally geeky knit nerd.

I'm so utterly proud of myself. I can now drop spindle and walk at the same time. I actually managed to do 1 1/4 miles on the walking trail while spindling, and I only dropped it (off the roving and onto the path) three times. Which is about my average while sitting still. And by the end of the walk, it was a pretty good-looking (but slightly over-twisted) single that will ply nicely into a fingering weight.

I wish I had a picture, but I still haven't figured out how to add photography to the walk & spindle action.

This came about because I forgot to pack an extra skein of yarn this morning. I only had the cashmere gloves with me, and the fingers (which is where I'm at with them) are too fiddly for the bus. Yes, I did say "for the bus." I'm sure I've mentioned that because I'm sharing my new car with my son, I now have to walk 15 minutes after work to catch the public transit bus, then walk another 20 minutes to the car. Then I have one hour until it's time to pick up my son (provided I've caught the correct bus; otherwise I get to sit at the VA center and wait until he comes and gets me because I've gotten on the wrong bus... but that's another story!). So instead of driving home and turning right around to get him, or running to Starbucks like a sane adult, I go to the local park and walk while knitting.

So anyway, I got to the bus stop this afternoon and realized that I didn't have anything to knit while on the bus. I did have the CD drop spindle and some roving with me. So I pulled it out at the bus stop and proceeded to get in a little practice with it. I did pretty well. I really like the CD spindle so much more than my first drop spindle. This thing spins forever. Now I KIP (knit in public) all the time, and I've pretty much grown immune to all the odd looks it can bring. However, spindling in public -- and especially while sitting on a bench next to a major intersection -- teaches you what "odd looks" really are. Two motorcyclists nearly crashed into each other trying to figure out what I was doing. (And then they blamed me!)

When the bus arrived, it was too crowded to keep my spindle out. I probably wouldn't have even attempted to knit, it was that crowded. (Oh, who am I kidding. I would have knit.) But as I sat there, I remembered that someone mentioned seeing people walk and spindle. And by the time I got to my stop, I was determined to mange it.

It actually isn't as difficult as it sounds. It's like knitting and walking: as long as you can knit (or spindle) without looking at your work constantly, and you're in a place that you can walk without worrying about walking into or falling over something, then it's just a matter of putting the two together and taking turns which one you pay attention to. And not to brag or anything, but I even managed to add a third component of listening to an audiobook on my ipod while spindle-walking. (Yeah, I always have to go it one better. It's a sickness.)