Or is a hobby just not macho enough unless it needs some hardcore sporting gear or a Black & Decker Workmate?
Josephine Myles: Jamie knows I have a major soft spot for men doing “girly” crafts like knitting and sewing, which is why she chose this title. To me, there’s something incredibly attractive about a man who feels secure enough in his masculinity to go against all the cultural expectations of how he should spend his spare time.
That isn’t to say, though, that I don’t appreciate the sight of men doing more “macho” hobbies like woodworking, welding (is welding a hobby?) or mechanics–especially when they’re covered in grease and sweat. I can do without the noise of power tools, though.
What do you think, Jamie: are the less macho hobbies more appropriate when writing gay characters, or are we falling into another kind of cultural stereotyping? And how important is it for characters to have hobbies, anyway?
JL Merrow (Jamie): How important is it for characters to have hobbies? Okay, now I know you’re deliberately being provocative! A man without interests beyond his job, I would have to say, is a man who shouldn’t be anywhere within the pages of a romance novel. Unless, of course, he’s the soon-to-be ex whose only reason for existing is as a barrier to our True Lovers’ happiness – but even there, I’m sure a good author could find more interesting ways to make a guy dumpable! Unless of course your idea of a HEA is vegging out on the sofa to watch game shows on TV…. 
I have to say, from what I’ve read in the m/m genre, there seem to be fewer characters with less macho hobbies than elsewhere. Perhaps authors are bending over backwards to show that their guys may be gay, but it doesn’t mean they’re girly?
Jo: I think you’re probably right. I suspect much of it is authors realising that they need an explanation for why their guys are bursting with muscles, decide that being a steroid munching gym bunny isn’t all that appealing, and therefore have to come up with a rugged, outdoorsy sort of hobby. White water rafting, for instance, or rock climbing.
There can be a fine line between hobby and job, though. I’m not sure Josh, my narrator in The Hot Floor, really has anything you could call a proper hobby. He makes glass for a living and gets his creative urges fulfilled that way. Outside of that, his only real activities seem to be getting drunk with his best mate and watching porn. Of course, he does develop a real interest in playing cheesy 70s games like Kerplunk, but that has more to do with the company he’s keeping.
What about your characters’ hobbies?
Jamie: Well, in other books they’ve been into karate, which I think is fairly macho, although I poke some fun at it in the current WIP. On the other hand, Tim from Hard Tail loves pottery dragons and Agatha Christie novels, so we’re tipping the scales a bit there.
Tom from Pressure Head is more your average bloke. He’s not sporty, due to a childhood injury. His cats’ names hint at a little closet geekiness, and he cooks, but in other respects he’s really more the average, blue collar pub-going bloke. Which led to a bit of a depressing moment for me, when I realised he was totally a football fan… That’s soccer to the US peeps, and it’s a subject I see and hear far too much about in real life. But characters like what they like!
Talking of real life, do you have a lot of men in your life who aren’t ashamed to buck the hobbies trend and knit on trains, for example?
Jo: Ah, you remembered! Yes, I have a knitter, a tailor, a fire dancer, and a geeky sci-fi fan. I also had the recent disturbing realisation that one of my characters was into football. Of course he was, the inconvenient bastard! I have the same problem with games consoles. Not remotely interested myself, but some of my characters are obsessed by them, and then I have to go researching which games certain age groups/subcultures are into, and which of the various consoles they’re likely to own.
I think my favourite esoteric hobbyist, though, is Rai in The Hot Floor, who is obsessed with collecting retro tat, particularly macrame, spider plants and owl figurines. It’s totally un-macho, but it works for him and the moment I realised that was what he was into, his whole character sprang to life and demanded voice. I love it when they do that!
Jamie – I refuse to hear a word said against owls and macrame! *glares sternly* 
Jo: Ah yes, I should mention here that beta reading The Hot Floor had an entirely unexpected result for Jamie, as it inspired her to take up macrame again, and she’s become obsessed with making owls. Obsessed, I tell you! She sends me photos of them and everything, and has even created one as part of the grand prize for this tour. I’d never get that obsessed. Nope. I’m definitely not planning an embroidered and appliqued owl wallhanging, or anything.
Hobbies: I’ve come to the conclusion they’re highly contagious!
Jamie: *mutters* I could give it up any time I wanted to…
Readers, what do you think? Do real men knit? Or knot?
Comment to win! Jo and Jamie are both offering a choice of a book from their backlist to one lucky commenter on this post, and all commenters will also be entered into a draw for the grand prize (details here), to be announced on 8th October.
About the books:
Pressure Head
Some secrets are better left hidden.
When Tom, a plumber with a talent for finding hidden things, is called in to help the police locate the body of a missing woman, he unexpectedly encounters a familiar face. Phil, Tom’s old school crush, now a private investigator working the same case.
Tom’s attraction to the big, blond investigator hasn’t changed—in fact, he’s even more desirable all grown up. But is Phil’s interest genuine, or does he only want to use Tom’s talent? Meanwhile, the evidence around the woman’s murder piles up…while the murderer’s trigger finger is getting increasingly twitchy.
The Hot Floor
Two plus one equals scorching hot fun.
Every time Josh overhears his sexy downstairs neighbors, Rai and Evan, having loud and obviously kinky sex, Josh is overwhelmed with lust…and a longing for a fraction of the love he’s never managed to find. On the night a naked Josh falls—quite literally—into the middle one of Rai and Evan’s marathon sex sessions, the force of their mutual attraction takes control. But just as Josh dares to hope, he senses a change. Leaving him to wonder if the winds of love are about to blow his way at last…or if history is about to repeat itself.
About the authors:
JL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour.
Find JL Merrow online at: www.jlmerrow.com/
English through and through, Josephine Myles is addicted to tea and busy cultivating a reputation for eccentricity. She writes gay erotica and romance, but finds the erotica keeps cuddling up to the romance, and the romance keeps corrupting the erotica. Jo blames her rebellious muse but he never listens to her anyway, no matter how much she threatens him with a big stick. She’s beginning to suspect he enjoys it.
For more information about Jo’s published stories, regular blog posts and saucy free reads, visit JosephineMyles.com
Boxer picture courtesy of stockimages/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Welder picture courtesy of StockXCHNG
Sarah
I don’t think I know any men who knit, which is a shame as I think it’s very calming. (Except when balling up skeins of wool that are determined to just become one giant knot!).
I did try to coax my male partner into trying it but his response was it looked far too complicated
Josephine Myles
Hi Sarah! I know a couple of men who knit, but not in public. My dad says he used to crochet when he was a boy too. And yes, it is calming… provided you’re not trying to follow a pattern that’s beyond your skill level or poorly written.
jlmerrow
Sarah, I have to confess I’m with your partner on the knitting question – I’ve never managed to learn!
Cole
I hate when I buy a skein of yarn online, or at a shop that doesn’t have a ball winder. I have to go home and unwind it myself and you’re so right, it can be so frustrating! I finally realized the best way was to stretch it around my feet so it didn’t get tangled
Chris
You need to buy a swift!!
Cole
I know *sigh* I just couldn’t justify spending $59-$75 for one when I would only used it maybe a half to a dozen times a year. I don’t usually buy that much yarn that isn’t wound when I get home
Tam
That first picture made me laugh because the free story I had on the UK Meet stick has a knitting welder. (it’s downloadable at GR now)
When I was a child, I remember that my one great-uncle used to knit. He was the only man I knew who knit. Now, I know a lot more guys that knit (and have a lovely winter knit cap to prove it). They are all gay men. Hmmm. Maybe my uncle was gay? He never did marry.
It does seem to be traditionally a female hobby. I suppose because in the “olden” days the man was out chopping wood and clearing fields and providing food for the family while the woman was home making clothes for the family, which included knitting. Now men aren’t working 15 hour days (as a rule) herding animals or hunting, so they can actually develop hobbies that interest them.
jlmerrow
It must have been very frustrating in olden times, for boys with a flair for design and girls who just wanted to be outside! I’m glad we live in more enlightened times.
Josephine Myles
A friend of mine’s granddad used to knit when he was in the armed forces. Back in the day, I think most soldiers made their own socks and the like. Not much else to do in the trenches.
And a knitting welder?! When I get a moment I’m going to have to read some of those stories…
Chris
I don’t know any straight male knitters, either. *sigh* Straight male FAIL.
andreanook
I’ve never known a man to knit or at least they’ve never told me they do. I do know a couple of guys that sew and they’re both gay. Most of my guy friends are the welding, wood working, mechanic types. They don’t do well with small, delicate hand crafts. I would love to try to teach them to knit.
jlmerrow
*g* Maybe your male friends are all closet knitters, meeting in secret to discuss yarn and patterns? ;D
I wonder if many men today prefer more “macho” hobbies because they don’t have jobs that are physically demanding?
Cole
Well, I know that I like to build things and do woodworking and it makes me feel manly
I’d love to learn leatherworking. I keep reading all these BDSM stories about guys who make like, floggers and whips and instead of thinking how hot it is I keep thinking that I’d love to see how they made that!
Josephine Myles
Oh yes, I’m with you on the leatherworking, Cole! It looks like quite a tough craft at times, and the hide is expensive, but think of all the amazing things you could make. Errr, like bags and belts and stuff. Nothing kinky, honest ;D
Josephine Myles
I suppose there is that argument that men’s fingers are too thick to do delicate stuff, but I’ve never really seen it as a barrier. I mean, you can get really chunky yarn and needles these days. They’re just using it as an excuse, I reckon ;P
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Liam Grey
I love knitting. It’s relaxing, it’s mathematical (yes, I’m wired that way), and I’m a guy. I’ve also been known to cross-stitch upon occasion.
I’ve never had anyone say anything to me on the occasions I’ve knitting in public. Before my recent move, I had a regular knit group, and some of us would go out to breakfast on Saturday mornings. That was “safe” because we would all be in a group, knitting.
I did knit in the airport once (and on a flight) and only one person said anything to me, and it was really positive and not orientation related at all.
I think there is a perception that certain activities are masculine or feminine, and if someone from the other gender enjoys that activity that they might deviate from the “gender norm” in other ways. (Girl in shop class? Lesbian! Boy in Home Ec? Gay!) But that would mean that a) an activity is somehow inherently masculine or feminine*, and how the hell could an action have gender? and b) that being homosexual means you are “less masculine, more feminine” (for boys) or “less feminine, more masculine” (for girls) and that somehow whether or not you love musical theater is tied into who you like to have sex with. Which makes no sense to me.
But every time I do go out on my own and consider taking my knitting, it is in the back of my head “what if I see someone I know?” *I* have the expectation that they’re going to take this ‘feminine’ hobby and equate it with “gay!” so as much as I despise that correlation, it is internal to me, too, and something I need to work on. (i.e.: be confident in who you are and fuck them if they don’t appreciate it.)
And as a parting note, something I thought of a while ago, for that potential situation when I was knitting in public and someone called me on it: Knitting consists of taking a hard shaft, often literally made of wood, sticking it into a tear-drop shaped hole and pulling it out again, over and over and over and OVER until either you’re worn out or the project is finished, and usually you get worn out long before the project gets completion. Sounds like a *very* masculine thing to me ;-]
jlmerrow
*dies*
Liam, your description of knitting is a classic!
You’ve *almost* persuaded me to give it another try! ;D
More seriously, I think you’re right about all the weird ideas people have about gender and sexuality. Rigid enforcement of binary gender roles by society has a lot to answer for – misogyny and homophobia, for a start – and as you say, what exactly does fitting neatly into one particular gender stereotype have to do with who you might love?
Liam Grey
I’m so glad it was good for you, too, JL! ;-]
Cole
Thank you Liam! You described my very favorite reason for knitting — it’s relaxing to me because it is all about patterns, structure and math. Creating patterns is so fun, or even just tailoring them, because it isn’t just busy work and doesn’t just satisfy the creative parts of my brain. It is applicable math, something I wanted when I was suffering through high school Calculus and no one could show me real life applications of what I was learning, lol.
Liam Grey
Absolutely. You get your whole brain engaged, so while it’s still relaxing, there’s also engagement involved.
Josephine Myles
Liam – it’s great to meet another proud knitter! And yes, that description is superb
It does seem crazy to gender activities in the way we do, but it’s so deeply ingrained. I remember when I was at school we had one boy in Home Ec, none in Textiles, and there was only one girl taking Craft, Design and Technology. And I was supposed to be at a progressive school…
Liam Grey
I have enjoyed your stories where you involved knitting! ^_^
I think it is really deeply ingrained in the culture. Regardless of whether the school was progressive or not, there was probably some bias on the part of the parents on whether they allowed their kids to enroll in those sort of classes.
The University is going to be running a film series this year on Masculinity, the first session is next week, that I’m really looking forward to.
If you couldn’t tell from my smidge of a rant above, this is a bit of a hot button issue for me. When I was in High School, I got labeled as “gay” because I was in band and choir, I wasn’t interested in sports, and I was (and still am) introverted and bookish. I was a bit of a late bloomer and didn’t have myself really figured out at that point (still working on that bit, actually…) But I do have to wonder what shape my internal coming out might have taken if I hadn’t had that label pushed onto me, and therefore I wouldn’t have had (as much) psychological push back on accepting that part of myself. Something to think about, anyway.
Josephine Myles
Those “what if…” questions are fascinating. I often wonder whether I’d have realised I was bisexual earlier if I hadn’t grown up in a Southern Baptist style church (yes, we do have them in the UK too). Even if my parents weren’t too outspokenly homophobic, many of their friends were. We are all influenced by our culture and our immediate society, whether we like it or not.
Marion, Keeper of the Knitronomicon
I think you’re all going to the wrong places. I know several men who knit, and at least two who crochet too! Mind you, it does depend on how you define ‘Real Men’. Do you include M, who always wears shorts, whatever the weather, and services knitting machines as his day job? Or D, who does crochet and photography?
And then there’s my brother-in-law, who is mostly into photography these days, but who used to do excellent tapestry-work, and taught me how to make tapestry/cross-stitch/etc keyrings…
jlmerrow
Perhaps as a non-knitter myself, I just don’t have the right vibes or the secret handshake that might inspire a confession of yarn-loving from a guy!
And all your guys sound like real men to me, Marion!
Josephine Myles
Hehe – I don’t define “real men” at all. We’re all real at being whoever we are. That was just us being deliberately provocative
Good to hear about the guys doing tapestry too. That’s another craft due a revival at some point.
Cole
I think I was perhaps in the right place at the right time, as I lived in Williamsburg (Brooklyn) when the knitting craze hit about a decade ago and came back into fashion, so I was around a lot of hipster guys who took up knitting. Although it was just a passing interest (after all… hipsters). It was mostly straight guys too. I don’t know why the straight hipster guys seemed to have an androgynous librarian vibe… anyway.
I learned to knit in 2003, while I was away at college and the first time I came home and knit in front of my grandparents I caught some flack for it. My grandfather is a real conservative (Southern Baptist) man’s man. He’s the kind of guy who made all the decisions in the household and my grandma had none, and to him knitting is a woman’s job and not a man’s — simple as that. My grandma was really cool about it when he started making comments (something I’m used to, sadly). She told me, and reminded him, about these friends they apparently have. They are three old men who go fishing every weekend and when the fish aren’t biting they sit in their boat and knit socks. I loved that! My grandfather didn’t like being put in his place, but then I liked that as well
It brings to mind the origin of knitting, which was actually (if I’m correct) the process first developed to create fishing nets (along with elaborate knots, I think), and as such was considered a “man’s job.” Over time, as it became more sophisticated, knitting moved to the home and became a domestic chore. Some of my very favorite patterns are the old patterns you can still find online from several centuries past, especially the beautiful scandinavian color work. They’re sometimes difficult to understand unless they’re translated, because measurements and things were so different. They also often knitted with a yarn and gauge so small that they would have 500-1000 stitches in a round. Can you imagine that? My eyes and fingers would bleed. And they had to outfit their whole families.
So it shows you that really, knitting only recently became about the process and before was about the product, and depending on the product it was considered either a man’s or woman’s job and depending on the needs of the community. Now that we’re in the age of the global community (or the Age of the Individual, more like), I like that it can be anybody’s job. The men who knit proudly are real men, in my opinion
Josephine Myles
You’re absolutely right, Cole. Anyone who bucks the gender expectations thrust on them by society in order to do what they enjoy deserves to be applauded
I’ve often noticed that many of my favourite knitting patterns are designed by men, and I wonder if that’s down to a generally more mathematical approach to knitting? It seems to be more about the stitches, less about the yarn, if you know what I mean.
jlmerrow
You know, I’m sure I’ve heard of a connection between fishermen and knitting before, too.
I also love Scandinavian knits – trouble is, it rarely gets cold enough in southern Britain to wear them! We saw some lovely sweaters in Iceland and I was sooo tempted!
Cole
I’m so jealous that you’ve spent time in Iceland!
jsidelinger
My first exposure to someone other than a woman knitting was in the 1970′s when Rosey Grier an American professional football player disclosed his hobby on a talk show or something like that (memory is a little sketchy). He was part of the “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line on the Los Angeles Rams and I remember thinking that no one would dare tease him. He’s huge and could crush them like a bug. I also had a friend (average guy) that took up crochet and knitting when his college level accounting & economics courses started stressing him out. It helped him relax and his friends started receiving some pretty lovely scarves.
lawless
Rosey Grier did needlepoint (and macrame, according to Wikipedia, although I don’t remember that). Similar to knitting, but not exactly the same.
Josephine Myles
Well, being a Brit I’ve never heard of Rosey Grier before, but I think that’s fantastic! Also, your friend had the right idea. It can be really soothing when you’re lost in a pattern.
jlmerrow
*g* that’s the way to stop people dissing your hobby – give them the fruits of it!
I’d never heard of Rosey Grier either, so I googled him – damn, that’s one big guy! ;D
Great to see people in the public eye who aren’t embarrassed to share their hobbies.
Trix
Rosey Grier! I didn’t know he knits, but he’s definitely been a groundbreaker in subverting gender cliches for a while. I was just thinking about him singing “It’s All Right To Cry” on the FREE TO BE YOU AND ME album long ago (it was the endpiece to a story about a boy who started to cry when he got sent to the principal’s office wrongly, and felt like a sissy because of it). I don’t know any male knitters offhand, but I remember a lot of guys in college enjoying sappy movies and TV shows…
vitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Josephine Myles
Hi Trix! You’ve just reminded me–I was first introduced to The Princess Bride by a beerswilling, macho guy. It was his favourite film and he insisted a whole group of us watch it. I swear I saw a tear in his eye during some of the more romantic scenes!
suze294
I dont know any knitters though I bet there are some male knitters and crocheters somewhere here! The kids do get to do sewing at school, my son made himself a pencil case.
TV here doesnt help as it satirises the home made gift (Darcy’s reindeer jumper in Bridget Jones) but I like to see people doing things outside their gender norm and if those sunspots short the electric, well I’ll have to get the kids to Knit my woollies!
Josephine Myles
Good idea – put the nippers to work making clothing! I love the fact they teach all kids to sew in school these days
helenajustina
Cole has already made the point about fishermen and knitters which I was going to make. One of my favourite series of books when I was a child, Monica Edwards’s Romney Marsh books, had a very fierce old fisherman / ferryman who knitted his own jumpers. I taught my younger brother how to knit, and he did make a scarf, but he didn’t keep up with it (or sewing – we wanted him to know how to attach his own buttons).
But otherwise, I haven’t know any men (real of otherwise) who knit.
jlmerrow
I have a suspicion there are a lot of men who mysteriously lose these skills just as soon as they find a woman they can con into doing their mending etc for them!
Juliana
I only know one man that knits (well used to), my favorite college professor! We’ll call him Frances since I don’t know what blogs he reads(!) the naughty boy. He’s in his 70s and said he met his first girlfriend at college while knitting before class. The girlfriend thing didn’t stick but the knitting did.
He’s much better suited to having ladies as friends anyway, the flirt! I suppose it was more practical for a poor college student to make his own socks way back when… Gosh I hope he never reads this, I need to stay on his good side, he pays the best compliments (supposedly I have been looking fabulous whenever I see him!)
OceanAkers @ aol.com
jlmerrow
Your professor sounds like a great guy! There’s a lot to be said for mischievous older men.
Michelle(MiMi)
I say real men can do anything they want to… just like us wemmins!
chellebee66(at)gmail(dot)com
jlmerrow
Hear, hear!
tmadamski
I have heard that some athletes use knitting for physical therapy when their hands or arms are injured. tmadamski(at)msn(dot)com.
jlmerrow
Awesome! One of those things I’d never have thought of, but now you mention it, makes perfect sense.
Cole
Wow, and to think that knitting makes my hands hurt! Actually, I could see where that would help, I’m just a whiner
Gigi
I only recently learned to knit, from youtube no less, and only because my 9 year old little man wanted to knit! He has since (a couple of weeks after we started!!!) given up on it, while I am hooked! Darn it, another of my many hobbies!!!!
Josephine Myles
That’s so cute! I definitely think all kids should learn to knit. They do in Steiner schools. Even if they don’t keep it up, it really makes you appreciate store bought knitwear because you KNOW how long it would have taken you to make by hand. Handmade is always better, though
Elin Gregory
I’m loving your posts, ladies.
Male knitters – Kaffe Fassett takes the palm, I think.
My uncle was in the merchant navy in the 1950s. He was taught to knit by a shipmate – fairisle patterns, arran, guernseys – and they used to swap patterns and buy yarn for each other. I think anyone who might have suggested that it wasn’t a manly pastime might have got a black eye.From what he’s said, it was a useful thing to do, didn’t cost much at the time, and was quiet so you could do it without disturbing people off watch who were asleep.
Josephine Myles
Kaffe Fassett does beautiful colour work, but I’m not always so keen on the shape of the garments. There are some great male designers I follow on Ravelry.
I’m getting this image now of all those burly, tattooed sailors lying back in their hammocks, knitting. Yeah, that’s a cute picture. Thanks, Elin!
Penumbra
Yes, real men knit, I think it’s rather sexy
Maybe it’s because I have a thing for guy’s hands when they work on projects, because can you imagine what they can do with those talented hands? *wink*
I like the idea of men knitting and wish I knew one who’d knit sweaters for me! lol.
Josephine Myles
Hi Penumbra! Oh yes, manual dexterity is definitely a desireable trait
And God, yes, having someone else to knit for me would be great. I’m after a perfect winter cardigan and I can’t find one in the shops anywhere. I know I’m going to have to make one myself, and I know it’s going to take me all winter. Should have started months ago, shouldn’t I?
arella3173
Haha! of course “real men” Knit! Simply crafty stuff isn’t what determines a man.
to me anyways.. lol…
His Character does.
If he’s a sniveling little shit, then he’s a sniveling little shit, a snake, and not a man. If a man is a man of honor and willing to do anything to protect his loved ones and family, that is a man.
So yes, my answer is yes. A real man can and probably does knit in his spare time. ;D
Judi
arella3173_loveless(at)yahoo(dot)com
jlmerrow
Absolutely! You’ve clearly given the matter some thought, Judi!
(And now I have a curious desire to read about a guy fending off danger & defending his loved ones armed only with a pair of ninja knitting needles!)
Ellie
Haha, makes me picture a spy who uses ninja knitting needles for weapons because no one would suspect something so deadly from something so…not.
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yganoe
Sure real men can knit. One of the teachers at my work had a crochet club and she has just as many boys as girls…high school kids! The boys are even more proud when they crocheted their scarves.
Yvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
Josephine Myles
Oh, that’s fabulous, Yvette! I wish there’d been something like that when I was at school
yganoe
I think we need a lot more of that in school so we can break stereotypical barriers.
Yvette
Ellie
That’s awesome. My school didn’t even teach that stuff to us girls. Good for them. I find it so encouraging to see more acceptance and tolerance towards both genders for blurring the stereotypical lines.
yganoe
I agree completely…the boys love it!
Yvette
Avalie
What is shibari but another form of macrame…?
avaliereads(at)aol(dot)com
Josephine Myles
I couldn’t agree more! Definitely a huge crossover between those two crafts. To my mind, the main difference is that shibari is only intended to be temporary, but otherwise it’s the same technique.
Urb
I don’t think ANYONE should knit. I’m bitter because I am unable to use two long pointed sticksto turn one really long thread into a three dimensional garment. That said, it takes a real man to do any hobby usually associated with women. It means he’s secure himself. Rai could unravel his macramé owls to knit socks for everyone!
Josephine Myles
Aww, sounds like you just need to find yourself a good teacher. Or try crochet instead, perhaps. And yes, I think it’s that courage to fly in the fact of gender expectations that makes male knitters so sexy.
Let’s just hope Cole doesn’t think I’m flirting with him now ;P
Stevie Carroll
I have a character who wants to learn knitting, and can list all the great warriors of the past who were great knitters. I like to think that once he’d finished facing off with monsters from Greek mythology, his new friend started teaching him.
Josephine MylesJ
Hehe. I bet loads of warriors were, because they’d need new socks to keep them comfortable in battle. Can’t fight properly if your armour’s chafing
Melissa
Hi, I came here via Stumbling Over Chaos. I don’t know any men who knit, but my swift and ball winder are some of my son’s favorite toys. I think he could just sit around winding yarn for hours (which occasionally has its advantages). He’s been bugging me to learn how to knit, but his motor skills aren’t there yet. We tried a knitting board last year, but it’s just not as fun. My husband never learned to knit, but I had him trained well enough that he used to bring me back yarn on his business trips to Hong Kong – I have a lovely Japanese mohair blend in the closet in progressive colorways that I’m too scared to actually knit, so I just get it out and pet it periodically…
Cole
Oh nice! I wish I had someone sending me yarn from different places around the world! I used to travel a lot and I wish I had been a knitter then, I could have gotten some Japanese yarn myself at one time
Melissa
I have this impression that you’re in Okla. – is that right? I grew up in Norman and my folks are still there so we visit occasionally. There’s this great knitting store in downtown Guthrie called Sealed with a Kiss. I remember they used to carry all of this hard-to-find Noro yarn, really beautiful stuff. I don’t know if you know it and are in the area, but it’s a great store.
Cole
Hi Melissa! Yes, I am though I’m from Muskogee, so a little way away from there. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Guthrie actually. I’ve never really had a reason to drive North of OKC. But I’ll keep it in mind because I love great LYS finds! Thanks
Josephine Myles
Hi Melissa! I’m waiting for my daughter’s fine motor skills to get there too. She’s definitely showing an interest, though–bit annoying at times when she pulls my knitting off the needles
And yay for well trained husbands buying gorgeous yarn. Clearly I need to have words with mine
Melissa
Oh, I know what you mean! Kids are like kittens that way. My son used to want to wind yarn around his neck really tightly and then try to jump off of furniture – I had to put away the knitting completely for a while, it made me so paranoid.
By the way, I learned to knit while living in England, so the two are always rather fondly associated in my mind.
Ellie
I wish that I knew how to Knit or do anything like that. I think it is so important in any story for the characters to have a hobby. If that hobby is quirky and different and makes us see a new level or layer to a character all the better.
Josephine Myles
Ellie–I bet you could find someone to teach you if you ask around. There are an awful lot of us knitters out there, and we always love welcoming newbies into the knitting family
And yes, more interesting hobbies in fiction can only be a good thing.
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