PSA April 16, 2006
The thought of Welsh Mormons was one part confusing and two parts scary…until this amazing display of knitting prowess.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3713118
Got (knitting) game? January 26, 2006
With so much talk about gender politics (and game) dominating the accidental feminist for the past few months (and my continued inability to figure out how to comment), I decided to look at the topic through the phenomenon of knitting. Though it may be particular to sassy women (OK, and gay/emo men) in American culture, it is not so through the entirety of the world. In Peru and Bolivia, men do the knitting while women dye the fibers and hold the yarn! If men in those countries get yarn holders, then why can’t we American women get our men folk to do the same? Is the fact that these women have to sit and watch in boredom as the men drop stitches of their beautiful wool a sign of subjugation? Is it disrespectful for my boo to reply with “You’ve got to be kidding” when asked to hold my yarn?
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Ring, Ring…. October 19, 2005
Wait a sec…let me get my cell. You see, it is protected by this very fashionable cell phone holder (graciously modeled by my own dear mother)!
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clap if you believe in the knitting blog! October 11, 2005
Everybody! Clap! Louder! Look, look, her light is getting brighter. Keep clapping. Yes! It’s working! Hooray! Tink’s all better! Thank you, thank you.
For the love of fluffy… August 1, 2005
Let us take a step back on this knitting adventure to examine the motivation behind our stichin’. Personally, I believe that knitting is all about love (conceptually). Whether it takes the form of love for thy self or love for others, you are spending your hard pressed time and hard earned cash to make a little somethin’-somethin’ because you care. By its very nature, knitting is about protection—of ears, necks, hands, or even cell phones and yoga mats. Sure, it can be decorative too, but most projects are geared toward keeping our loved ones warm in the winter (or Movie Theater if you live in CA).
For a large group of Americans, visions of unconditional love are often pet-related. In honor of the loving spirit of both knitting and our lingually challenged companions, I thought it apropos to bring your attention to the spinning and knitting of pet hair. Cisco isn’t going to live forever, you know, so why not have a little memento? Saving a pet’s hair has some practical purposes too—someday cloning is going to be affordable for the masses!
What should you make with Sparky’s freshly spun hair? While I think the keepsake heart pattern a bit useless, the picture frame might go nicely with a room already covered in hair.
Choose your weapon July 23, 2005
When I first started knitting, I used metal needles by Susan Bates. I bought them around the time that an American icon, Woolworth’s, was going out of business. Everything in the “crafts” section of the Hyde Park store was on sale, including the acrylic yarn, horrible 80’s sweater patterns and useless how-to books. I just wanted to try it out. I remember casting on a few stitches only to have them immediately fall off my needle due to my clumsiness and confusion. But metal needles are durable, and they stayed with me until the year 2003, when I started to take a more serious interest in my knitting career. In early 2003, I bought my first pair of bamboo needles, and it was the best $10 I ever spent. They were Crystal Palace size 7 double pointed needles, and the stitches seemed to stay on the needle better. I felt more in control of my projects. They were lighter and more flexible. They were also MUCH more pleasant to look at.
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You’re so fashionable, baby! July 15, 2005
Knitting for babies is an entire cottage industry, but I often find myself bored with the options, and yearning for projects that don’t involve pastels and super soft acrylics. Meanwhile, the hip young urbanite knitting scene is filled with what often are essentially baby projects (albeit really hip and cute) worn by adults: butterfly scarves, fuzzy booties, newsboy caps (no matter what you say, Britney did NOT successfully bring this style from paperboys to adults), and yes, honeycomb-bumblebee-buttoned hats. There are so many cute projects in the stitch and bitch series that I would not personally wear, but would be perfect for a child. But wait–the pattern is for an adult head! Much like transposing in band camp, it does take a bit of ‘da maths skillz to rework adult patterns into baby patterns, but it’s so worth it.
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Get knitty wit’ it July 7, 2005
Hello readers of Rachel’s blog! Are you ready to knit? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!! I thought I‘d begin this foray into the land of (many, many) knitting blogs with mention of the resurgence of knitting among hip urban (white) women. In case you haven’t seen that punk rock girl knitting on the El or the Pacific Northwestern hippie girl knitting at the beach (or coffee shop), I’m here to tell you that knitting is IN. It feels as if, in fact, to be a late 20s/early 30s single gal and not knit is like being in college without a well developed sense of irony. Thank goodness I was able to GET IN on the coolness (in both ways) in my college days. By now, I know enough to not embarrass myself in front of knitting hipsters.
Knitting has come a long way since your grandma’s sweater. Not only is it a symbol of COOL, you can also produce a highly fashionable product. There are amazingly funky yarns and cutesy projects like cell phone holders and yoga mat bags that make the perfect gift for that special anti-materialism-pro-organic-homemade-crafty person in your life!
To christen this knitting blog, I have painstakingly typed in a passage from my favorite knitting book, Debbie Stoller’s “Stitch and Bitch”. I believe this passage sums up why this blog is at home with the accidental feminist:
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