One of the nicest things about being a knitter is that knitting connects me with other knitters. Seriously. All I have to do is sit down somewhere with some needles and yarn and pretty soon some other woman is walking by, stopping and asking me what I'm making. Invariably, other knitters will ooh and aah over my project (just as I do over theirs), no matter how simple the pattern or how many mistakes I've made. This is because most knitters want genuinely to upbuild one another. I think that's because the practice of knitting is a kind of meditation, so any knitter is going to be calmer, happier, and more positive than the average Jane, simply because she's meditating all the time.
I moved to Philadelphia from New Jersey (and before that, from upstate New York) and when I got here I didn't know a soul. But I've met many people, and I've deepened connections with others, through knitting. What a surprising delight. Thank you to all my new friends.