Knitting in spite of myself…

Something to ponder: How would you put words to how you’ve ’stumbled in’ to your own artistic pursuits? What does your art contribute to your life, your family, the community, the world?

“Confession:  I’ve recently found myself to be a knitter.  Somewhat alarmingly, I might add.  Knitting.  I admit to enjoying it.  I particularly enjoy observing reactions to my newfound hobby.   Often, people try to guess what I’m doing (“Is that crochet?”) or share childhood memories of a mother or grandmother knitting.  Sometimes, people gently (or not) mock my old-fashioned choice of hobby.  In each of these encounters the question hangs in the air: “Why are you knitting?”

Why did I begin to knit?

It’s a question I almost can’t answer.  I know why I didn’t knit.  Last winter, my roommates knit.  I did not.  I was glad they enjoyed it, but I didn’t see the point.  I was certain that once I had mastered the stitches, I would grow bored with the repetitive motion and leave my work unfinished.  I lacked my roommates’ drive to accomplish tasks.  That, and I wasn’t keeping vigil next to a sickbed.  And I’m not a grandmother.  And no female in the past three generations of my family has knit.  Knitting was both too old-fashioned and too trendy.

A few months later, something changed.

…

Knitting – even guerilla knitting – isn’t going to change the world.  I’m never going to knit enough to clothe myself or my loved ones completely with my own handiwork. But through knitting I am a part of a tradition that can be shared, that is useful, that is productive.  It brings comfort in its tactile softness and connotations of gentleness.  The very associations I resisted are actually the appeal of knitting.  Perhaps someday I’ll domesticate my urban environment with a bit of well-placed (maybe even subversive) knitting, but for now, I am satisfied that knitting has domesticated a part of me—that I am more willing to embrace softness and gentleness; that I am more willing to ask for help; that I am willing to be considered overly feminine and old-fashioned; that I might even join a knitting circle.”

(Read the full article HERE)