Do you/can you knit when dc are awake?

[DeerMother]

I find myself wanting to be more of a daring knitter, but if I have to concentrate on a pattern I can only knit it when dc are asleep. So any semi-complicated pattern, if knit only when dc are sleeping and not interfering w/ other things I have to do, would give me 30 min-1 hour of knitting a day. I ripped a cabled sock out last night after realizing that it would take me a month to finish at that rate. I find I can only do st st, rib or garter and sometimes inc/dec if I've worked the pattern before. I think the cold is making me want to hunker down and knit. . . it is all I want to do lately!

[Dreamy]

I usually have more than one project on the go - a small and simple knit or crochet project for trips in the car or while DS is otherwise occupied, then sometimes a more complicated project that sits on the shelf until I have quiet time and the necessary concentration. Even if it takes a while to complete, progress is progress! The small projects help me get my crafting "fix" in the meantime

[DeerMother]

Dreamy, I've got a biodegradable potty on order. . . so excited!

[lynsage]

My daughter is 5 and I can't remember the last time I was able to knit more than a row or two of a simple pattern while she was awake...I save anything that's not a garter stitch scarf or dishcloth for after bedtime! I've been working on a spiral-ribbing sock for over a week now

[Juvysen]

yeah... I knit when the kids are awake.

[blizzard_babe]

I can't. DS just doesn't tolerate it. And since DH is the one home with him during naptime, my only knitting time is after he goes to bed. Also, my workout time, and my be-with DH time (he works evenings).

So a month for a scarf is about my pace, though I'm actually a fast knitter.

[Dreamy]

Originally Posted by esaesa

Dreamy, I've got a biodegradable potty on order. . . so excited!

Ha ha, awesome!

[Dreamy]

Originally Posted by blizzard_babe

Your = "belonging to you." "You're = you are." Ur = "City in Ancient Mesopotamia."

Oh my, I LOVE your signature

[kennedy444]

Oh, yes I knit when kids are around.

My 5yo knows that if I don't answer her when I'm knitting that it means I'm counting and to just wait a moment. I am a pretty basic knitter anyway and nothing I do is too too complicated anyway. I think it's good for the kids to see me doing something for myself that I really enjoy.

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by Dreamy

Oh my, I LOVE your signature

Thanks. Can't take credit, though. I stole it from someone whose name I can't remember on a forum I haven't gone to in years. So I can't GIVE credit, either.

[SoCaliMommy]

Yes i knit when the kids are awake.

I also use paper and pen to keep track of where i'm at in a pattern so i dont get lost if they kids need me

[MamaWolfe]

Ha! I have a toddler, and he's quite the trouble maker, so no. I also have trouble knitting around my dog. He's a lab who thinks he's a cat!

[starbright]

When my son was little I could. Now I have a toddler again and she likes my constant undivided attention at all times so I really can't. The other day I did manage to get some stitches in on something. I think I will put my project on the kitchen counter and try to sneak some knitting time in while she eats or plays..

[berrymama]

I do, and have recently even worked on a complicated lace pattern while my toddler plays nearby. We are a waldorfy home, so he has been used to me working on handwork throughout the day since he was a babe. I just have to remember to put the knitting up out of his reach if I need to leave the room for a moment. I once came back to find him jabbing holes in the sofa fabric with my nice pointy knitpicks needles!

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by berrymama

I do, and have recently even worked on a complicated lace pattern while my toddler plays nearby. We are a waldorfy home, so he has been used to me working on handwork throughout the day since he was a babe.

Oh, I knitted like a fiend when DS was a baby. Didn't make a lick of difference... the second I pull out the needles and yarn he's climbing up on my lap trying to "help." I guess it's just a personality thing; he hates when I use the computer, too. Wants to be up on my lap pressing buttons, and lordy knows I've been internet-ing since he was a baby.

[mamavegan]

It comes and goes. I couldn't for a while with two little ones, but they get in longer and longer moments of play when they don't need me helping them. I just sit down with the expectation of getting interrupted. I do tend to keep charted stuff away until after the boys are asleep. I do other patterned stuff while they are awake.

[Jenn_M]

I try. I'm okay if I can complete a whole round/row, not so great if something (or someone!) pulls me away when I'm in the middle. I try to quickly note where I was at in the pattern. For row counting I have a free app on my iPod Touch that works pretty well.

[Ellien C]

Depends on the age of the kid and how complicated the pattern is. Complicated stuff (like cables) not so much with a kid under 3 or 4. But I have a 7 year old now and yes, we can each do our own thing and that includes some complex knitting.

[mkmb129]

I do all the time. I don't do intricate things unless the husband is home to tend to the kidlets if I'm caught up in it and they need something. I've always knitted/sewn with them around, and for the most part they don't mess with it. The oldest is only 3, so every now and then I'll have to tell him, "Mommy's counting, hold on"-- I can't wait until he's old enough to fully understand what that means, haha. And lately he's been saying he wants to do it, too! Is 3 too young to learn to knit? I think it's good for them to see me doing something other then house work and tending to them. I think it teaches them patience (when I ask them to wait a minute, for example), teaches me patience (when I have to stop now because someone needs me). I like that they'll grow up around it, it'll seem natural and hopefully they'll do it, too.

[meco]

I do all the time, and I have ever since my son was a baby. He loves watching me knit, especially now that he's older (newly 7). There were periods where it was much harder to knit around him, and I'd work on smaller, easier projects that I was less invested in. And I saved more complicated projects for when I can give them my undivided attention though.

When he was younger, and even now, my son loved sewing paper or card stock with yarn or blunt needles. I also used to knit a square and let him "work" on it, which is basically playing with your yarn and sticking needles in the project. That way we both have a project to work on together.