A STITCH IN TIME Unemployment means you now have plenty of time for new hobbies.

1. Shopping is easier when all those other suckers are at work.
Sarah Wynn, an unemployed former customer-service manager, replaces company-sponsored health insurance with good nutrition…lots and lots of fresh-from-the-farm food. “One of the perks of being jobless in the city is that I can hit up the Green City Market on Wednesday mornings,” she says. “I avoid the yuppie Saturday crowds, so there’s always seats to watch the cooking expo, and the produce pickings are better.” Open from 7am to 1:30pm Wednesdays and Saturdays, Green City Market (Lincoln Ave and Clark St, 773-435-0280) sells organic produce from local farms and offers free cooking demonstrations from local chefs.

2. You have time to learn how to knit.
Don’t let the fact that you have no reliable source of income threaten your fashion sense. Every Friday from 3:30 to 5pm, free knitting classes at Lincolnwood Library (4000 W Pratt Ave, Lincolnwood, 847-677-5277) teach newbie knitters how to make home accessories and clothes, perhaps even something for a future job interview.

3. You can rock out instead of punching in.
Now that you don’t have to spend your days in a cube, you can put those hours toward living the rock-star life. Old Town School of Folk Music (4544 N Lincoln Ave, 773-728-6000) lets guitar gods of all ability levels rock out together for free in Guitar Study Hall every Monday and Wednesday at 5pm. Open to Old Town students and nonstudents, Guitar Study Hall offers the chance to perfect your skills and get your questions answered.

4. You never have to say, “I can’t, I gotta work in the morning.”
Some of the best (and most affordable) shows in Chicago start at 9pm or later on weeknights, perfect now that you and your alarm clock have parted ways. Go guilt-free to late shows at the Empty Bottle (1035 N Western Ave, 773-276-3600), like Handsome Furs and D*R*I, 10pm on Sunday 17 ($12 advance; $14 at the door). Sleep it off and you’ll be recovered just in time for Sonotheque’s (1444 W Chicago Ave, 773-226-7600) free “Space Boogie” on Tuesday 19 which starts at 9pm and features DJ sets into the wee hours.

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