Knit 1, purl 1, dismantle white supremacy

December 30, 2016 6:21 PM

The Knitting Mission of Ferguson, MO
posted by Lycaste (17 comments total)

The Yarn Mission's website
posted by filthy light thief at 6:32 PM on December 30, 2016

There is nothing about seeing someone knitting that compels me to talk to them. In fact it's sort of rude, I think, like interrupting a stranger by asking what they're reading.

But then I remember Gandhi had a thing for yarn.
posted by adept256 at 6:42 PM on December 30, 2016 [3 favorites]

I discovered last night that Netflix (in AU, anyway) has, under "Slow TV", a 5 hour long real-time recording of a Norwegian attempt to break the "back-to-back" world record. ("Back-to-back" means they have to shear a sheep, spin the wool, and knit a sweater to a specific pattern.)

Between that and these amazing women in Ferguson, I feel compelled to cast on a new project.
posted by web-goddess at 7:00 PM on December 30, 2016 [7 favorites]

I want to like this project, I really do, but I was super not impressed by the way its founder treated other people at a conference we both attended, which was a bummer.

(It made me really sad that my friends who were the target of some of the most egregious behavior tried to discuss it with other conference attendees and got closed out... which seems to run counter to what they're trying to achieve, no?)
posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:27 PM on December 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think this is super cool at the same time I'm bummed to hear that the group's founder was not supportive of your friend, bitter-girl.com. Thanks for posting, OP.
posted by Bella Donna at 8:43 PM on December 30, 2016 [3 favorites]

There is nothing about seeing someone knitting that compels me to talk to them. In fact it's sort of rude, I think, like interrupting a stranger by asking what they're reading.

There is, but that seems to have never stopped anyone from talking to someone knitting in public. Possibly more so if the person knitting is not a white woman. But possibly not, it's hard to know.*

*I am a white man who knits. Much of the (usually uncomfortable) attention comes from other people who knit rather than random strangers (there's often an odd gender dynamic where you're simultaneously patronised but your presence is overvalued), so random people may well be more prone to bothering women who are knitting and do so with a frequency independent of race.
posted by hoyland at 5:18 AM on December 31, 2016 [5 favorites]

"Back-to-back" means they have to shear a sheep, spin the wool, and knit a sweater to a specific pattern for the sheep to wear

fixed
posted by sidereal at 6:16 AM on December 31, 2016 [8 favorites]

I love this and especially the idea of going into elementary schools
posted by biggreenplant at 7:12 AM on December 31, 2016

I knit with a group at a cafe weekly. In that context, it's perfectly normal for people to come up and talk to us. Sometimes it's other knitters who want to see what everyone's working on. Sometimes it's people who don't knit but are interested. We invite everybody who to talks to us to join us and bring whatever they're working on (if they're already a knitter) or to learn to knit.

If I knit in public, I expect people to talk to me about it. It feels a lot different from pestering someone who is reading, which is, by its nature, something you can't do while also having a conversation.

The only time I found it annoying was when I was knitting on the bus and had my headphones in, because: headphones, damnit.
posted by BrashTech at 7:32 AM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

an odd gender dynamic where you're simultaneously patronised but your presence is overvalued

As another white man who knits, this is so true and so uncomfortable. I won't knit in public anymore, and it happens so consistently at most yarn stores that I now mostly just knit stupid things for my friends' kids with garbage yarn from Joann's or Michael's, where I can shop for yarn in peace.

Anyway, back on topic, I hope that this project can do some good.
posted by conic at 9:43 AM on December 31, 2016

"Back-to-back" means they have to shear a sheep, spin the wool, and knit a sweater to a specific pattern

And it's five hours long?? Good grief I'll be lucky if I get a sweater out of the shorn fleece I got on Etsy after five months.

This is a neat idea! People have become so unused to seeing others create in real time that it does spark conversation. And this is so sadly true:

“When you see images of women knitting on TV, they’re predominantly white,” she says. “When you go into a local yarn store, everyone is white. The concept of having time for leisure is predominantly white. As a black person you might not want to join an all-white knitting group, you might feel like it’s safer to censor yourself in those circumstances. But I always feel that anyone who wants to come here can. If you want to be the Yarn Mission, then you are the Yarn Mission.”

posted by fraula at 10:28 AM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

"Back-to-back" means they have to shear a sheep, spin the wool, and knit a sweater to a specific pattern

That is awesome! I just got the image of a series of crafts videos similar to those cool vids by the Primitive Technologies guy. No narration or music, just a montage of a craft from beginning to end. Those videos still strike me deeply with their universal appeal and message of shared human development, ingenuity and, er, craftiness.
posted by darkstar at 10:51 AM on December 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

I crochet in public. Most of the time no one seems to notice or care.

The two occasions when someone has taken an interest were very similar. Both times it was a woman who was older than I am/appear (I'm 40 and look it because gray hair around my face). These women both knew it was crochet, not knitting, but neither were practitioners of either craft. They'd both tried it when younger and had not "gotten" it, but their mothers either knit or crocheted.

I don't mention that I'm a crocheter in nice yarn shops unless they have crochet samples, a decent hook selection, or I've chatted enough to find out if they are open minded. The Knitting Superiority bias is alive and well in some places.
posted by monopas at 12:09 PM on December 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

Join me in the 'men who knit' ranks; one of my vows for 2017 is to pick it up again, and to learn how to knit socks. My Ingress habit has me chewing through pairs like you wouldn't believe.
posted by spinifex23 at 4:32 PM on December 31, 2016

Rather ambitious aims for such a low-key project.. "dismantle white supremacy" through knitting at local cafe by talking to a couple of people each fortnight.

Somehow I don't think they are going to have a big impact on the systemic violence and discrimination that permeates contemporary "western" society.

Its hard not to be cynical about this kind of project. I mean wouldn't they be better off running for local office? or you know actually doing something overtly political like supporting local black candidates? ... but no that wouldn't help the knitters feel good about it and often with these sort of things that seems to be the primary goal: generating pleasant "feels" rather than measurable political gains.
posted by mary8nne at 7:56 AM on January 1, 2017

Its hard not to be cynical about this kind of project. I mean wouldn't they be better off running for local office? or you know actually doing something overtly political like supporting local black candidates? ...

Who says they aren't doing that as well? Every good community organizer knows that large-sweeping political change is important and necessary, but tangible, person-to-person advocacy work is key if anything is to come of it. Electing Barack Obama didn't erase racism from the United States, but my father-in-law's biracial grandchild has had a staggering impact on his personal views and decreased his racism by leaps and bounds. Having a racist see with their own eyes the impact of racism has way more of a chance at progressing this country forward than a law.
posted by chainsofreedom at 10:43 AM on January 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

I don't mention that I'm a crocheter in nice yarn shops unless they have crochet samples, a decent hook selection, or I've chatted enough to find out if they are open minded. The Knitting Superiority bias is alive and well in some places.

I always mention that I'm a crocheter. Whether I buy anything from their shop depends on their response.

My resolution for this week is to attend my local CGOA meeting. I think our chapter is run by a woman of color, and I've been meaning to join for ages.
posted by asperity at 8:15 AM on January 2, 2017