I was playing around with my violin last night, and it occurred to me that I wasn`t thinking about what position I was in- I was just thinking- "ok, it would work out best if I played this note on this string with this finger".
Do other people do this? How long had you been playing when this sort of thinking set in? (I`ve been playing for a little over a year, maybe even a year and a half by now.)

any place you put you finger is a position...you just may not have learned that specific position yet....
THis is a very good quality to have!!!

Melissa.
You seem to have misunderstood the question.
I KNOW what all the different positions are. I just don`t think about them when I play. This makes things A LOT EASIER.
I did not say that I wasn`t playing in an position, because obviously you have to be in some position. It`s just become automatic so I don`t think "ummmmm....should I be in 3rd or 4th position?", I just make the choice of string and finger. Which is much quicker.

I tend to not think about positions if I don`t need to. Just follow the fingering.

I`m glad someone understood the question.
It`s amazing what breaking your top string and not being able to afford a new one does for your shifting ability.
Does anyone find it more awkward to shift down than up?, because I do.

Only on Baroque where I`m afraid the violin will fly out from under my chin.

fingering eh ?

I think that after playing in different positions for a while it is natural to not think about them any more, if that makes sense. It is easier to think of where the note is in relation to whatever note you played before it, and what the easiest way to play it is. It is still good to be able to recognize what position you are in though.