Beaker Button
Very well said!
Dear BBC Breakfast team
I have been moved to put down my Knitting needles and email you regarding your insistence that Knitting is 'coming back' and that it is 'no longer something just done by old grannies'. I'm 43. I've been knitting all my life. My child is 13, and does not have children of his own so I am neither old or a granny. I've been knitting since I was 5. I am not alone. Many of my friends are knitters. Some are grannies, some are old, many are just like me, neither old nor grannies. Most of them have knitted all their lives like me.
Perhaps you could look at some of the incredible designers out there, who are not old nor are they grannies, but make a living creating beautiful patterns for us to knit. Kate Davies, Anniken Allis, Ysolde Teague to name but 3. Take a look at Ravelry.com, an international community of knitters and crocheters over 4 million members strong. Look at the demographic of people who attend, and spend a fortune at, the many specialist wool shows around the country. Wonderwool, Fibre East, Unravel, Wool@J13 to name a small selection.
Yes, knitting has changed. It is no longer about making something cheaply because you can't buy it yourself. It's about creating something unique, beautiful and completely yours. It's about sitting still, taking time to appreciate creating for yourself. It's about lowering your blood pressure, beating depression, controlling weight gain or managing pain. It's about making something for a friend that says 'I love you enough to take the time to knit this for you', or for a child so they can be wrapped in nice natural fibres. It's about not being glued to your screen mindlessly watching, eating and letting your brains dribble out of your ears!
Perhaps if you must do a feature about the impact of knitting on modern life you could actually talk to those of us that do it, and have done it for years. Then listen and report what we say rather than spouting the same tired, and untrue, stereotypes. After all, there are a millions of us, and we're armed with sharp and pointy sticks!
Jen Best. Beaker Button
To all my lovely customers, feel free to comment and share. I think it's time to show the world now wrong they are. Let's beat the stereotype! ... See more
