knitting in the corporate world

I have secret. I knit during conference calls.

Oh, how I love the anonymity of the conference call.

If I pulled out my needles and yarn in the middle of an 'in person' meeting - the looks alone could kill my career. I often yearn to do it and I even have a wip (work in progress) or two in my purse... just in case.

Sadly, that usually just causes the yarn to tangle with twenty pens.

But when I work from home, or when I position myself just right in my office, I can pull out the contraband and at least do a few rows. The relief is amazing.

I mastered the ability to knit and purl in the dark during long car rides. This led to the ability to knit without looking. My non-knitting friends think it is magic. It's not. No different really in my opinion than typing or playing an instrument.

My mother would tell me about knitting in college lectures. NO FAIR! I am jealous every time I think of four luxurious years of knitting and learning. But somewhere, somehow, the perception that knitting while in a meeting, a lecture, is somehow unproductive and disrespectful.

Yet I am sure, if I did the research, my habit is probably statistically correlated with higher retention of knowledge and more creative thinking. Even if armed with this data I doubt that our current corporate world is ready for my ancient, yet innovative ways.

Thus, I have a now not-too-secret secret.