Portable Domesticity

While our trip to Wellington on the train was something of a novelty for us, in days gone by when cars were a relative luxury New Zealander's tended to take the train. Train travel was much more common.

Knitting also " ... was once an activity of huge popularity that was passed from mother to daughter; women sat in trams and buses, able to simultaneously chat and knit without dropping a stitch." pg 139 'Kiwiana-The Sequel' by Richard Wolfe & Stephen Barnett

I didn't see another person knitting on our train trip - not that I went through ALL the carriages. I liked it cause it kept my hands busy and it was productive toward my peggy square baby blanket - I mean to say, I wasn't doing anything else! I also like that it is a little slice of 'portable domesticity'. If I take my stitching with me when we go places it means I get to take a little bit of 'home' along with me. I like this picture that my darling man has taken cause there's a wee house in the background right above my knitting!

Throughout our married life we have traveled a lot, we have also made our 'home' in lots of different places so having those 'portable' special home-y things with me is like taking a 'home comfort' that links me to our special place in the world that we call 'home'.

My Mum is a great knitter and I have memories of Mum clicking away while we rode along in the car. She always had something on the go... a lot of progress could be made when we traveled from Reporoa to Napier for example! She is much quicker than me and much more able to knit without looking or dropping a stitch. She tells me that her own mother was a very basic knitter but she learnt most of her early knitting skills from her Aunty.

My sister, who lives in France sent me a fabulous book for my last birthday called, 'The Gentle Art of Domesticity' by Jane Brocket. In the book Jane says - "The idea that one's domesticity is rooted in a single, fixed spot, I think is erroneous. Domesticity is not confined to the physical and the concrete, as it is also a state of mind or a way of life." pg 256. Jane chatters on in the same chapter about how her knitting has gone from 'at home' or 'in her room'.... to 'out of the house' and into cafes, theatres, trains and planes. Lovers of the Domestic Arts check out her book HERE It's fabulous!