As part of her signing events, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee - aka The Yarn Harlot - gives a talk about fiber craft. In many ways, she has become an ambassador for things knitted and fibercraft in general. After I heard her speak, I came to the conclusion that she does us a great service as a spokesperson.
The main topic of Madame Harlot's lecture was the fact that the world at large does not take knitters seriously. Some of this is the result of material being published about knitting, but the majority of the cause relates to ignorance and prejudice. The more she spoke, the more I realized that a kindred soul stood behind the podium.
Many of us are aware of the Socks that Rock Sock Club debacle. A friend of mine multiplied it out and the amount of business the sock club generated was roughly 400K. Basically, their bank couldn't believe there could be that much business in knitting. Of course, if it had to do with the stuff needed to hunt the needle nosed aardvark of outer New Queensland, it would seem reasonable - if such an animal existed.
I have thought a lot about the whole disrespect for knitting thing. One of the issues I keep returning to is how many of the knitting publications today infantilize knitting and knitters. This is not to say I am against books for beginners or the trendy, although if I see one more knitted tube top pattern I think I will barf. (Tube tops were a bad idea when they were made from spandex in the 70's. They are an even worse idea knitted into a stretchy material that stretches when worn, but only relaxes after it is washed. I still believe that boob flashing, the Paris Hilton crew included, is not socially acceptable in most circles and won't get you invited back to dinner - back to his place maybe, but not back to dinner.) I am bothered, however, by books that imply knitting today is so very different from knitting 100 years ago; that the goal of knitting today is not the same; that knitting is better if it isn't inter generational; and that knitting imbues one with an air of utter hipness. Crap, stone cold crap, monster mound of craptabulosity, and crapfabutastically unbelieveable.
Knitting is knitting. The biggest difference in knitting today vs 100 years ago is the availability of some many different types of yarn and tools made possible, in part, by the internet. When I learned to knit, the only yarn available to me was acrylic, carpet fiber reject. When I learned to knit, the only needles I could get were aluminum in a variety of colors. The stitches, same old knit and purl. This is the beauty of knitting. The media and tools may change, but the foundation does not. To pretend that because a pattern uses soy silk on bamboo needles to knit a cute little camisole is so very different than our great-great grandmothers knitting silk stockings 150 years ago, seems a bit deluded to me.
The goal of knitting is so very different today than 500 years ago. Think about it the next time you are standing naked in your bathroom after having stepped out of the shower. Few of us have a natural, all body encasing fur coat. Now, consider walking out your front door completely stark, buck naked. You can stop screaming now. My guess is our ancestors knit because knitted fibers are so much more comfortable than fig or grape leaf underwear. At its most basic level, knitting provides us a way to cover ourselves and the ones we love. The fact that we look hip or trendy a side benefit at best. To my mind, knitting is trendy in the same way a Chanel suit is trendy.
What I find most offensive is the whole idea that we don't want to knit like our grandmothers, that somehow knitting before the 21 century was so very primitive. I think not. What offends me about this marketing strategy is that it divorces modern day knitters from the craft and technique that are so important to creating garments that fit, look great, and show skill and creativity. On the other side of coin is this implication that perhaps our grandmothers and mothers knit like crap and we wouldn't be caught without breath knitting like they do. Knitting is a skill best practiced in a group. Most of knitting technique is not learned from books or videos, but from another human being. In my case, my mom taught me to knit. My apprenticeship didn't end with her, but continues with every knitter I meet. It is rare the knitter who has knit a project that I don't find intriguing enough to want to learn. If they do, they probably don't knit like my mother.
1 comment:
Hear! Hear!
Post a Comment