Subversive Knitting

Charity Knitting Updates

Yesterday I cleaned out my closet, my sweater armoire, and my box of warm winter accessories that lives in the bottom of the hall closet. I don't need any more knitted clothes. That's what I've decided. I actually decided this when I was putting all of my projects on Ravelry (I'm not done yet) and I realized I was making everything for myself. I like knitting and am often inspired in two ways 1) by a project I would like to have and 2) by a project that has interesting techniques I would like to try. I'll no doubt continue to make one or two things a year for myself, but I just don't have any more room to hoard sweaters and accessories.

As I mentioned on my main blog the other day, I'd like to work on spinning and on knitting-as-art projects, but I also want to do more charity knitting. Sometimes I just enjoy making very simple items that work up quickly, and these are the perfect items for charity donations. I may also sell some of my art projects on etsy or ebay and give the money to charity. I can't help it--I make enough money to pay my bills with enough to spare to remodel my kitchen (with my husband's sweat equity) and to travel to Europe. I just can't get into the mindset that I should do more things to make more money to leave to children that I don't have. Instead, I'd like to help children that are in need right now.

The other day L'Tanya Durante, editor of Black Purl Magazine, and I were talking about how sad it is that we, as a society, just don't seem to care. About anything. L'Tanya said, "Either we don't care enough or we don't believe we could make a difference. But the truth is that if we wanted to stop homelessless, hunger, AIDS, global warming -- we could."

"That's so, so sad," I replied.

Here's L'Tanya's response, wich which I agree completely:

Yep. It is what makes me cry.

I was looking at a Diane Sawyer special a couple of weeks ago. She visited some city in So. Jersey that has 7x the national crime rate and crushing poverty and she told the stories of a few families. People reached out from everywhere and BAM -- some of the kids that were homeless aren't anymore, one family got nominated for the home makeover show, etc.

I was telling my husband that I do believe that people are basically good (sounds kind of Anne Frank-ish, but that's what I believe). So I guess if you tell people exactly what they can do and they can see that their efforts make a difference, they'll gladly reach out. I think that we have been brainwashed to buy into the political system that doesn't give a damn about people and we've forgotten about our own power to make things happen.

I think that the need for personal and private charity is a sign that society and our government is failing us. In a civilized society, there should not be any people who fall through the cracks and who need to receive charity. Our society as a whole -- and that means through goverenment programs that we all invest in with our taxes -- should be working to make sure that all people have a warm home, plenty of nutritious food, adequate medicale care, and a good education. But since American society is failing when it comes to meeting the needs of all of its citizens, we, as individuals, have to pick up the slack. And sadly, we will have to pick up the slack more in the future if the right-wing trends to dismantle FDR's New Deal continue to make this country more about catering to the rich and to corporations at the expense of the rest of us.

Now that the year is drawing to an end, I am making plans to have more time to work on this site next year. I've been so busy this year that I've had to let some of my personal projects sit idle, but I think I've adjusted my workload so that won't happen again in 2008.

To get started, I'd like to kick off with the idea of having a charity knitting party this winter, in lieu of one of your other annual holiday gatherings. If you need help planning a party, I wrote about this in an article in the Holiday Print Issue of Black Purl magazine. This issue is only $4.95US.

Here are some charity and knitting updates to get your creative juices flowing:

Holiday Gift Knitting for Strangers from About.com -- Sarah White asks, "While you're thinking of family and friends you'd like to make knitted items for, might I also suggest you consider doing some knitting for strangers? There are many, many charities that accept hand-knitted items to give to sick children, soldiers, cancer patients, homeless people, and many others who could use a little bit of warmth and comfort." The page has a link to a list of several suggested charities that accept knitting donations.

Knitting for others will warm the holidays for everyone -- Catherine Hollingsworth, columnist for the Anchorage Daily News writes about charity knitting in Alaska. Catherine says, "I encourage you to knit for others during this holiday season. It will give you a chance to work up a simple project, use up that yarn stash and possibly give you an excuse to buy more yarn, that's true. But, more importantly, it's good for the soul." She also lists charities accepting knitted donations.

Holiday Charity Knits? -- Kristie in California blogs about charity knitting and lists an interesting charities she likes to donate to: Knit Unto Others, who holds a holiday charity knitalong every year.

Knit Christmas Ornaments for Charity -- Knitting for charity lists five places that will accept knitted ornament donations. "Want to knit Christmas ornaments? There's lots of great knit Christmas ornaments you can make - easily and inexpensively - for charitable organizations. And what a great thing to do when you're in the Christmas spirit."

And don't forget all of your local charities. Groups in your area are probably collecting gifts for families in need. They ususally get lots of toys, but not very many gifts for the moms and dads who also would like to receive a bit of cheer at this season.

How Dare They!

A guest post by Sarah Rickman

As a lifelong supporter of Choice and the belief that every woman has the right to be in control of her own body, mind and spirit, I am dismayed at the latest Supreme Court decision on partial birth abortions. Worse, I am appalled by the ongoing assault on what I consider a woman’s inalienable right.

From the time I found out where babies came from and how they were made, I became a staunch believer in the childbearer’s right to make any necessary decision about her child’s birth. This was made clear to me as a young teen reading a novel in which a young woman was raped and forced to bear the child that was the result. Even in my adolescent naïveté, I perceived the gross inequity at work here. How dare they! This young woman had to endure the mindless brutality of the act and then was forced to carry for nine months and then deliver in the pain of childbirth that which she had not asked for in the first place. This, I knew, was inherently wrong.

When the Roe vs. Wade decision was handed down in January 1973, I rejoiced in the wisdom of the Supreme Court and thought, in error it turns out, that all of America’s women would rejoice with me. A young mother myself, already I had been applauding the efforts put forth by our local congresswoman on behalf of a woman’s right to choose.

As the 1970s became the 1980s and a strident segment of the population railed and rallied against a woman’s right to choose — a woman’s right to end an unwanted pregnancy — I watched in utter disbelief. Now it is 2007, I am a grandmother, and I am witnessing the potential dismantling of Roe.

All this time, my belief in the right of a woman to choose has never wavered.

This is not really about pregnancy. It’s not about health or when “life begins.” It’s not about religion. The issue is about power and control — the shameful holding of power and control over someone else’s mind and body! Men, because they cannot conceive and bear children, have no understanding of what that can possibly mean to a pregnant woman.

Ideally, the hope is that all children will be wanted children. But what of the teenager who didn’t think she could get pregnant the “first time.” Is she to be punished the rest of her life for one mistake? Can’t we let her grow up? The college girl who needs time to realize that sex and love are two different things. Shouldn’t she be given time to mature before she becomes a mother — responsible for another human being? Or the rape victim — faultless, in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or consider the case of a friend of mine — a co-worker — in my younger days. Already the mother of four — her husband out of a job and trying to go to school— my friend was now the family wage earner. She found herself pregnant again. Desperate, she opted for an abortion.

I believe that we should teach birth control and family planning and safe, responsible sex — and yes, abstinence — to our young so that the need for abortion arises only on rare occasions. I served six years on the board of my local Planned Parenthood organization trying to promote exactly that. But we must keep the option of abortion open for those, like my friend, like the rape victim, like the hapless pregnant teenagers, who need that choice!

Instead of wrapping this issue in sentimentality, religious doctrine, and anger at each other, we must bring this down to the barest of essentials, which is a woman’s right to determine her own destiny — a right that men take for granted.

The issue is the right to control our own identity, our essence, our very self — and the right to MAKE THE CHOICE.

--Sarah Byrn Rickman is the author of THE ORIGINALS: The Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II — the story of the first 28 WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) — and of FLIGHT FROM FEAR, an award-winning novel based of the story of the WASP, the women who flew for the U.S. Army in World War II. Sarah, a former reporter/ columnist for The Detroit News and managing editor of the Centerville-Bellbrook Times (suburban Dayton, Ohio), earned her B.A. in English from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. in Creative Writing from Antioch University McGregor.

Take Back the Blog Day

Hi Everyone. Thanks for reading this month's guest posts about sexual assault awareness. I hope you have all been inspired to take at least one small action to help stop sexual assault. I know you're all wondering where the knitting content is, and it's coming. Tomorrow I'll be posting a pattern for a shrug and this month's knitting lesson.

In the meantime, here's one last guest post because today is Take Back the Blog Day. What is that all about? If you haven't heard, a well known technology blogger, Kathy Sierra, received death and rape threats on her blog comments. Kathy's removed the violent content from her blog because so many readers found it so distrubing, but she saved it as evidence here, if you have a strong stomach. One friend of mine has received rape threats in response to a video she posted on You Tube. So far, I have been fortunate not to have received any threats of violence in my blog comments, even though I blog about controversial topics from time to time. Is that because most of my readers are women? I don't know.

What I do know, is that it is absolutely unacceptable for anyone, male or female, to try to silence bloggers by threatening them with violence of any sort whatsoever. It is particularly disturbing to see that strong women are being targeted in this way, by weak men who obviously do not have the balls to live their own lives without threatening women who don't conform to their deformed standards. If you think feminism is no longer needed. Think again.

Here's what blogger and journalist Lindsay Beyerstein has to say on this topic ( excerpted from this entry on her blog):

It is important to remember that the sexualized threats directed against tech blogger Kathy Sierra were not just the result of the perp’s personal perversions.

Sexualized threats exploit the pervasive low-level fear that women in our society have about being raped. Yes, most of these death/rape threats are pure fantasies from total losers–but think about what it says about the level of fear and shame in our society that anonymous threats can pack such an emotional punch.

Men who haven’t given much thought to their own vulnerability are often too quick to dismiss the apprehension of women who have been trained from childhood that they’re potential targets and that it’s their own fault if they are victimized.

Well-meaning people may inadvertently shame their allies who go public about threats by focusing exclusively on debunking the threat–as opposed commiserating with the victim.

If our goal is to reduce sexual violence, we must not lose sight of the fundamental question: Are we supporting the victim and stigmatizing the perp?

The first step is to acknowledge that the threat itself is an act of violence and intimidation.

So, when someone tells you they’ve been threatened, don’t try to reassure them by asserting that nothing bad is going to happen. Something bad has already happened.

If you have a blog, please consider posting something on this topic before the month is over (or whenever you read this). Blogs give those of us who are ignored by the mainstream media a chance to speak out. "And that," to quote another blogger I admire, "is exactly why the assholes want to scare us back into silence."

A confession

From Post Secret:

A Crying Shame

A guest post by Sue Hartman

It’s been almost 30 years since I worked my last rape case as a crisis counselor in Salt Lake City. I moved to Colorado in 1979, leaving my childhood home and crisis career behind me. It wasn’t until I got across the Continental Divide that I realized how relieved I felt. I still hate the sound of a ringing phone, especially post-midnight. I avoid most phone calls even now, particularly if I don’t initiate them. It’s not until you land in a safe haven where you can finally exhale, that you realize how tightly you’re been wound. Or how wounded you’ve become, without evidence of dripping blood. Empathy is a necessity in service occupations, but it isn’t necessarily healthy. When I left Utah, my next career move was into Social Services: Child Welfare. Burn-out was destiny. Add guilt and shame for abandoning people and agencies who perpetually need help yet demand total devotion. To keep body and soul intact, I turned away from counseling, leaving the stresses of politics and direct services behind for good. No looking back. I became a writer; no one else’s survival depended on it. Besides, you can do it alone. No one judges a writer withdrawing from the outside world; it’s inherent in the job description.

Intentionally or not, I soon forgot names of sexual assault victims, and rightly so, given the absolute necessity for confidentiality. I let specifics float away. Perhaps indulging myself in magical thinking; I half-way believed that if I worked to remember, it would lock victims into their own histories (make that her-stories) maybe delaying healing. It’s easier to deny what’s happened and/or to forget trauma if no one is around who reminds you. Perhaps if I could forget, it would somehow facilitate them to do so, too. My best bet, when I’m feeling logical, is that it is nothing’s ever that easy. Names may be erased, but circumstances and some faces, I’ll never forget. I’ve dreamt about clients, but with less frequency over the intervening decades.

In my dreams, a group of ten girls in gauzy dresses huddle in a corner, shivering near a radiator, in a train station. Most are teenagers; a few appear college-aged. Two are small children. On closer look, one actually is a boy, about five, wearing a bathrobe. Some of the girls sport casts on their arms or wave bandaged hands. Their scars are covered. One slight woman, however, has an angry crimson scar which dashes from her lower right eyelid down over her cheekbone to her chin. Other than where she is scarred, she has the palest skin, almost transparent, and wispy ash-blond hair. She never looks up. Over time, as the frequency of the dreams diminishes, the angular structures of cheekbones and chins blur and hair colors fade. The actors in my dreams begin to blanch like ghosts.

I don’t remember encountering these women in my sleep in the past few years, but writing isn’t as safe as it sounds, either. Over time, I’ve accrued newer nightmares. Be careful about who and what you write.

During Thanksgiving week last November when I was visiting Utah, I went shopping with my 31-year-old niece and her son in the Gateway Center. I wanted to buy her a perfect birthday jacket to wear to her office Christmas party. Her boy’s birthday was also coming up; I bought him a computer game. We were in and out of that tech store in five minutes. By lunchtime, we’d explored nearly every women’s boutique. My ankles were swelling. My ten-year-old grand-nephew slumped to the floor and played games on his cell phone while his mom tried on a dozen outfits. I knew which jacket I wanted to buy for my niece; it was the first one we’d spotted, in Anthropologie, two hours earlier. It was a deep-cut, pale coral velvet jacket that would contrast perfectly with her sapphire-colored sweater. We could’ve bought it then, but she didn’t want me to spend that much on a jacket, and besides, we hadn’t seen everything everywhere yet, so on we trudged, looking for something lovely in her size, zero to two, (sigh).

At my prodding, we entered Chico’s, a store that displayed stacks of colorful merchandise. From the way my niece wrinkled her nose, I could tell that no matter how vibrant, the styles looked matronly to her. No matter they seemed almost juvenile to me (and nearly 60, I don’t want to wear granny-styles myself). I stepped back to see how the one almost-rust colored leather jacket—that she’d indulged me enough try on—looked on my sister’s youngest and pickiest child, when I collided with another shopper. Ouch.

“Please excuse me,” I muttered and tried to smile my most appeasing grin. It was my fault; I wasn’t looking.

“Not a problem.” The woman I’d run into was middle-aged, with a ragged haircut that looked trendy and youthful, but her hair was dyed unflattering taupe. Her stylist got that much wrong. Our eyes met, and we froze. I noticed a faint scar, mostly disguised by makeup, running vertically down the length of her face from beneath her left tear duct to her chin. My dreams had always got that wrong; the other cheek. It was a reflection, mirrored backwards, but the same bewildered eyes, with crows’ feet.

Judging by her obvious fear, I knew my former client recognized me, too. Yes, I was the woman who once took her to the ER in a ferocious blizzard, me holding a bath towel tightly to her face. She’d jammed another between her legs. My male back-up from the Rape Crisis Center was driving his own jeep with four-wheel drive; we slid sideways on the icy streets if we slowed down, or stopped at redlights.

I don’t know how she realized it was me. I’ve plumped out considerably since menopause, and my hair is significantly grayer. I used to wear contacts, now I wear graduated bifocals. In no physical way, do I resemble my former self. At least I don’t think I do. But still, she knew. In that moment when we met in the Chico’s store at the Gateway Center, more than thirty years fell away. She was again the terrorized woman who refused to speak to detectives. I was the exhausted Crisis Worker, who along with the exasperated female intern, urged the victim to report, not just to help herself, but to protect other women. The victim could prevent the rapist from striking again and hurting someone else. She refused to cooperate, yelling at the Salt Lake patrolman who had arrived and even at my male back-up to get the hell out of the exam area. Men! Sobbing, she told me she was too scared that her fiancé would discover what happened to her. It would always have to be her secret. Couldn’t we respect that? We could and we did. We had to.

The whole tragic pageant, the cold glare of the exam room, the echoing, cavernous halls of the University Medical Center outside the curtain, the warmth of the plastic surgeon’s voice as he pushed the curtain aside, all came back in a flash. He wore a green mask with turquoise scrubs. There were some small brown stains on his scrubs and you could see dark curly hairs at the base of his throat. He had reassuring long fingers, like a pianist. Him, she would trust, only to sew her cheek back together. Somebody had to do it.

In Chico’s last November, I couldn’t know if she recalled our former meeting exactly the way I did, or with such precision. I knew she had other details, more horrific, to recollect. I hoped she’d repress that much at least. I tried to resist checking the ring finger of her left hand, but I couldn’t help myself, and I hoped at least I was subtle about it. Her finger was bare. I knew it didn’t matter in what manner her life had played out, anymore than it did mine. She was a survivor. Period.

Trying to get out of her way, instead I stepped right into her path again, and fumbled another apology.

“No problem,” she repeated, turned on her heel, and strode out of the store. Gratefully, everyone else in Chico’s was oblivious to our claustrophobic microcosm—just another historic drama, a period piece. Nevermind.

In 1975, when I graduated from the first class of rape crisis center counselors in the newly founded Salt Lake City Rape Crisis Center, it was estimated that only one in seven victims of sexual assault reported the crime to authorities.

By 2005, the US Justice Department estimated that 26% or about one in four assaults were currently reported. That shows some improvement, but hardly the leap of awareness I hoped to discover thirty years later. NOW claims that there are 132,000 reported sexual assaults in the US. If that represents about one fourth, how many total assaults would be represented? 528,000. The entire population of a large city, approximately the size of Washington DC. (522,000 estimate, 2006) Would more be done, would the stigma of being a victim be erased if all American sexual assaults occurred simultaneously, in the same area, such as Washington? What if every Washingtonian was raped? Would society be outraged enough to demand change? Currently, twenty-nine percent of college girls report that they have been assaulted at least once since age 14. One in six American women has been raped, and it’s important to note that one tenth of all sexual assault victims are male.

That’s shameful.

-- Sue Hartman is a writer who currently lives in Boulder County, Colorado. A former social worker, she has worked as a newsprint journalist, free-lance magazine feature writer, essayist, short story author and poet. Her work has garnered mainstream fiction awards, and appeared in literary journals. Her essays and stories have been widely anthologized, including non-fiction appearing in Woven on the Wind and Crazy Woman Creek, collections which celebrate western women's contributions to the world. Her short story "La Loma, La Luna" first appeared in High Fantastic, a Colorado anthology, and was chosen for The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 9th Edition. She has two novels in the process of revision and is co-authoring a non-fiction work about Cold Case murders in Utah in the 1980's, working with a former Salt Lake City Police gang officer.

Bad Girl

A guest post by Leanne Dyck

"Hello, my name is Jenny McLean and I am a victim of incest. These words sound odd to me. For so long I hid the truth. My family was 'normal" I told myself: white picket fence, dog, parents who loved me.

Until one day my Mom discovered the truth.

You see my Dad had this drinking problem. He didn't beat anyone. He just helped himself.

It all started when I was a stupid little ten year old. He told me I was beautiful. He told me Daddy's little girl needed to learn how to be a woman. I was so dumb. I believed him. Before long his night time visits had become routine.

When Mom discovered the truth she wasn't angry. She was hurt. Dad was the breadwinner, I was just the kid. So she made it clear that I was the one to go.

So I became a street kid. I had to find a way to feed myself. So I left school to hook. Believe me it's not the life that a little girl dreams of. I turned to drugs to cope.

Then, one morning I woke up throwing up. Somehow I remembered in my constantly high state that I hadn't had my period for at least two months. I knew that wasn't normal. I prayed it wasn't this."

She points to her swollen belly.

"I needed to find out what was wrong. So I found a walk-in clinic. It was there in the walk-in clinic that I got a real education. You see I had to wait. As I waited I looked around. I saw a mother who had to be 40. She was a mess. Still worse were her kids. Her baby wouldn't stop crying. Her toddler looked like shit. Snot dripped down his face to his chin. His hair was in knots and tangles. He just couldn't sit still. They looked uncared for and unloved. You can't love a habit and a kid. It just doesn't work. You have to choose.

It was like someone gave me a hard slap across the face. I woke up. I realized that I could go on hating myself but I had to love my baby. She needs a fighting chance. She didn't do anything wrong.

So I talked to the receptionist. She directed me here. It hasn't been easy. In fact, it's been damn hard. I'm a user and it's hard to shake the instincts. But, hey, I'm here. I've been clean for five months. The day I walked through those clinic doors is the day my baby got a fighting chance. One thing this program has taught me is to come clean. Admit the truth to yourself and to everyone else. It's the only way out. Thanks for listening."

She sits down.

--Knitwear Designer ( www.oknitting.com) and author (Novelty Yarn) Leanne Dyck's career as an Early Childhood Educator spanned fourteen years. Her final position was in a young family day care centre. There Leanne befriended many teen-age mothers while she cared for their children. 'Bad Girl' was written as a tribute to these dedicated and courageous young women. This story is included in a collection entitled Maynely True.

My hair was raped when I was a sophomore at the University of Redlands.

A guest post by Gayle Brandeis

My hair was raped when I was a sophomore at the University of Redlands.

It was finals week, and I needed a study break, so I decided to go to a movie in San Bernardino, CA, about 5 miles away. I often went to movies alone—it was a welcome break from academia, from the exciting but sometimes confusing bustle of campus life. I chose a 10pm showing of Crazy Moon, a movie in which Kiefer Sutherland falls in love with an irrepressible deaf girl. The story appeared to be all about expanding our idea of who we are and what we're capable of. It seemed like a good choice during a time when I was feeling overwhelmed.

The theater was empty. I picked a seat right in the center, and settled in for what I thought would be a relaxing couple of hours. After the film started, someone sat down directly behind me. This seemed strange, given the fact that every seat in the place was available—why sit right behind someone who might obstruct your view of the screen? I pushed aside my concerns, though; the person was probably lonely, I told myself. He probably just wanted to feel close to another human being.

A couple of minutes later, I started to feel little tugs on my hair. The pulling was so subtle, I thought that some of my ponytail must have been caught between myself and the chair. I freed my ponytail so it could hang down along the back of the chair. Suddenly, my entire head snapped back—a sharp, violent, yank. I had no idea what had happened at first, but I could turn my neck enough to see that the man was standing behind me, his pants unzipped, his erection deep inside my ponytail. I couldn't see his face; I could only see him from his waist down. He jerked my hair, my head, up and down over himself. I could hear his breath quicken. My own breath seemed to have stopped.

Aside from the forced movement of my head, I was frozen. Finally, I got my wits back and was able to crank myself away and rip my hair out of his hand, away from his body. I ran out of the theater, my legs wobbly. I didn't think to say anything to the manager; I just wanted to get back to my dorm. I don't remember the drive at all; I'm sure I fell back on muscle memory as the streetlights streamed around me. I had to climb through the window into the lobby because I had forgotten my front door key.

It was not a graceful entrance; I was so shaky, I tumbled to the ground in a limp-limbed heap. A friend who witnessed the whole thing started to laugh until she saw how upset I was. After I told her what had happened, she led me up to my room and insisted I call the police while she called the movie theater on another phone.

I sat on the floor of my dorm room, still trembling, and dialed up the San Bernardino police station. They wouldn't take a report. "You don't want your name attached to a masturbation crime," the officer said. "A nice young girl like you." I tried to convince him that yes, I did want to file a report, but he wouldn't hear it. I eventually gave up. My friend came in the room and told me that she spoken to the manager. The guy had already left the theater, she said. The manager wouldn't do anything to find him. I felt a swell of shame and regret. Why hadn't I moved when the guy sat behind me? Why hadn't I told anyone at the theater right when it had happened? Why hadn't I pushed harder to file a report? I crouched, crying, in the shower for a long, long time and tried to shampoo every trace of the man's body away. I considered chopping off all my hair, but didn't want to give the creep that victory. I decided that even if I hadn't used my voice to catch him, I would keep my hair as a sign that he hadn't taken all of my power away.

I look back at my 19 year old self and feel proud of myself for not cutting my hair, but sad that I didn't feel I could fully speak up for myself, sad that I blamed myself. I feel sad that a few years earlier, I hadn't felt I could say no when my driving instructor asked me to lick his finger before he wiped something off my eye, hadn't felt as if I could tell my parents or the driving school about it because I was too embarrassed. As traumatic as those experiences were, though, I feel lucky that I haven't experienced a worse violation. A large portion of the women I know have. And a large portion of them never told anyone until years after the fact.

So much of my work as an adult has been to help others break their silences, to help women reclaim a sense of ownership of their bodies as well as their voices. I think that's partially why I chose to write about a woman forced into prostitution in my novel, The Book of Dead Birds, why I work for CODEPINK, a women's peace organization, now. I don't want women to be afraid to tell their darkest stories. I want to make the world a safer place for women everywhere. I want any woman to be able to go to a movie alone at 10 at night (or, in places like Afghanistan, to go out on the street alone during the day). And I want any woman to feel that if something awful does happen, she can share her story and people—including officers of the law—will listen respectfully and give her the support she deserves. Of course the world doesn't always work that way, but as more of us speak up and educate each other and demand justice, we'll create an even safer world for our daughters and their daughters.

--Gayle Brandeis is the author of Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write, and two novels--The Book of Dead Birds, which won Barbara Kingsolver's Bellwether Prize for Fiction in Support of a Literature of Social Change, and her latest, Self Storage. Gayle was named a Writer Who Makes a Difference by The Writer Magazine; she is a founding member of the Women Creating Peace Collective and writes the weekly national action alert for CODEPINK: Women for Peace.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Please do something this month to

help spread awareness and stop sexual violence against women in your community.

Did you know these statistics ?

The United States has the highest rape rate among countries which report such statistics. It is 4 times higher than that of Germany, 13 times higher than that of England and 20 times higher than that of Japan.

1 in 3 sexual assault victims are under the age of 12.

6 out of 10 sexual assaults occur in the home of the victim or the home of a friend, neighbor or relative.

Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victims of sexual assault.

22% of all women say that they have been forced to do sexual things against their will, where only 3% of men admit to ever forcing themselves on a woman.

Only 16% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police.

Less than half of those arrested for rape are convicted, 54% of all rape prosecutions end in either dismissal or acquittal.

This month, I'll be featuring this topic on Knitting for Change throughout the month, instead of posting just once during the month. So check back for ideas on things you can do, knitting projects to promote awareness of this important problem, articles, and links to other sites with more information.

Knitting Helps Heal Eating Disorders

A guest post by Paulette Lane

Reprinted with permission from the West Coast Knitters' Guild Newsletter.

At the January meeting [of the West Coast Knitters' Guild] Liz McKenna from CHIMO Crisis Services talked about knitting therapy for eating disorders and to inform us of Disordered Eating Awareness Week in February. She explained the nature of anorexia and bulimia and the therapeutic effects of creative activity like knitting to ameliorate starvation's destruction of the brain. (Thanks Lorna). Apparently, the Disordered Eating Clinic at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver is using knitting in their program, although I could find nothing documented at the time of writing.

Disordered eating affects the mind, body and soul and, like the complexity found in attempting to understand the development and maintenance of disordered eating, a single approach in helping someone is generally unsuccessful. An interactive and multidimensional approach that accounts for the many aspects of the disorder itself is more beneficial. Emotional, financial and time commitments are required from all involved. Change does not happen overnight.

Huge behaviour modifications on the part of the individual as well as family and friends are required. Honesty is most important; as well as respect, empathy and consistency. A non-judgmental and caring attitude is necessary and a genuine concern and an ability to instil trust and confidence will help the individual to make the changes required. Additionally, humour, and collaboration or being part of a team or group is very beneficial.

So, how can knitting fit into this monumental undertaking?

Knitting is self-empowering providing a means of actively participating in decision-making and facilitating self-exploration. Something as simple as choosing the colour of the yarn and knowing, as you work with it, that it was the right choice for you. Learning to manipulate the needles and yarn to successfully complete that first row and actually creating something as simple as s dishcloth gives one a huge feeling of accomplishment. You remember feeling that way; the knowledge that you can control the needles and yarn. Yes, there are mistakes and corrections but that is all part of the learning and empowering process. Learning that you can either go back and fix it or carry on and know how to avoid the mistake in the future allows a person to decide the next step, and take control of the project.

Knitting with others creates a sense of community, as we know; knitters nurture each other and share lessons learned, tips and helpful hints. Remember the first time you attended a knitting group? Didn't you feel great afterward? You made a roomful of new friends because you knew how to knit.

We take all of this for granted but to someone who does not have the self-confidence, self-esteem and the support of others, these small steps can be the means to begin making more important decisions.

Knitter's Hand Health

Welcome to 2007 at Knitting for Change --
the year of women's health.

This year, I'll be posting every other month instead of every month, because I'm very busy with writing books and I'll be traveling a lot to teach knitting workshops and to do research for three different future books.

For our first topic this year, I've decided to write about keeping our hands healthy as we knit. Because so many knitters are women, I think this fits into the women's health theme, although it applies equally to any men who knit or do fine work with their hands. Knitting injuries can be as benign as blisters or scratches, and as severe as needle puncture wounds or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but whatever damage we do to ourselves with our knitting should not be ignored! Knitting should be a fun, relaxing hobby. It should contribute to our well being and improve our health. We should never let it hurt our bodies. I've been thinking about writing on this topic for a few weeks, and I decided to stop thinking and stop writing today, when I saw a sidebar on the same information in the Sports issue of Knit.1 magazine. It's obviously a timely subject.

Last December, I spent three or four days in a row doing data entry because I'd procrastinated so much on my part-time bookkeeping job during the fall while I was traveling to Alaska and other places to promote Arctic Lace. After the final day of punching data into Quickbooks, I noticed that my left arm (the cut and paste key hand) started aching. I wasn't finished with the job yet, but I decided that I'd better take a break from full time typing over the holidays. In the meantime, I purchased an ergonomic keyboard and a pair of Handeze therapeutic support gloves to wear whenever I worked on the computer. (I bought these gloves at Office Depot but Patternworks carries a similar product called Theragloves. They also carry velvet covered Comfort Cuffs that can be heated or cooled and worn to soothe tired wrists. Even if you don't feel any pain or stress, these are delightful wraps filled with flax seed and scented with lavender essential oil.)

Then, I took some time off from the computer. I worked for a few hours between New Years and the TNNA show in mid-January, and hoped for the best.

My hand felt much better, even after finishing up the job after TNNA (I broke it into 1 or 2 hour segments instead of trying to finish in one more marathon of a day), but I still am having a little weakness in my wrist and the occasional twinge. I spoke to my physical therapist about it and she showed me some exercises to help strenghten my wrist. Still, if my hand is not totally better in a week or so, I'm going to make a doctor's appointment. I don't want any permanent damage. Why? Not because I really care that much about typing, but because I don't want to risk losing the ability to knit (of course!).

So, with my recent personal experience of what happens when you don't take care of your hands, here are some tips.

Start and end each knitting session with hand stretches

In addition to stretching before and after you knit, you should also take frequent breaks while you are knitting. I know it's easy to get into the groove and before you know it, you've knitted straight through three hours and have gotten up to the armholes on your sweater. But this is not the best way to care for your body. Instead, knit a few rows and take a short break, pick up a glass of water, eat a carrot, scratch your head. Anything to move your hands into different positions than knitting. And don't forget to pay attention to your posture. Bad posture puts stress on all different body parts.

There are several websites and books that include good hand exercises for knitters:

• Hand Stretches from Berocco
• Exercises to Injure-Proof Your Wrists
• Carpal Tunnel Info (scroll down for info about exercises)
• The Pleasures of Knitting by Ann McCauley

Here's one very easy exercise from The Pleasures of Knitting:

Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your little finger. Don't squeeze, just hold them together lightly touching for a few seconds or until you feel the pulse in your fingertips. Then move your thumb to the tip of your next finger, and repeat on all fingers. This simple exercise works wonders when your hands get tired from too much knitting!

Ann is a professional dancer and she teaches dance and movement at the National Theater Conservatory of the Denver Center for Performing Arts. After writing her book, Ann developed a workshop for knitters that "explores how awareness, alignment, body mechanics, and self-help hand care can play a very active role in allowing us to knit or engage in other types of handwork with comfort, balance, ease and well-being. [In the class, students] utilize techniques and acquire take-home skills that dynamically improve posture and the movement of energy throughout the body. Class material is accumulated from experience with many movement disciplines and hands on modalities."

If you ever hear of this class being taught in your area, be sure to sign up! You won't regret it. It's appropriate for knitters of every skill level, so don't be intimidated if you're new to knitting.

Use ergonomic tools

If you crochet, use ergonomic hooks such as Clover Soft Touch Crochet Hooks. These hooks make crocheting much easier on your hands, because they have a large, soft handle. Crocheting is often harder on your body than knitting because of the way you twist the hook to make the stitches, so the availability of these ergonomic hooks is fantastic.

Alas, there are no special, ergonomic knitting neeldes, but pay attention to how your hands feel when you knit with different kinds of needles. I used to love the shiny, nickel-plated needles because they are so fast to knit with. But a year or so ago, I started noticing that my hands hurt when I used these needles. I'm not sure if it's because they are cold or because they are so hard, but I feel much better knitting with wooden and plastic needles now. Even though they are a little slower, the improvement in comfort is well worth it. Most of my needles are from Brittany, because they're economical, but I also love the new gorgeous needles from Lantern Moon. If you knit with very small needles, try bamboo or plastic becasue the thin wooden needles are more prone to break during use. (These hooks and neeldes are great if you have arthritis, too.)

Knitters can also try different ways of holding the needles and switching between Continental and English style knitting to reduce the risk of repetitive stress injuries.

If you have persistent symptoms, see your doctor!

Over and over again on the Knitlist, Knit-U, and other online knitting discussion groups, I see people asking what they can do about having pain in their hands, arms, shoulders and necks. There is only one answer to this question: see your doctor. If you ever have a pain that lasts for more than a short period of time, you should not risk permanent damage. It is better to waste some money on a visit to your doctor than to end up being crippled for life because you are feeling stubborn or because you don't want to spend the money on a doctor visit. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish about your health!

2007: Focus on Womens' Health

In 2007, Knitting for Change will focus on issues concerning womens' health. I have a terrific group of guest designers and writers lined up. Each month, a different aspect of womens' health will be covered in an essay and I'll include links to read more about the featured topic, especially how it relates to knitting. I'll continue to post free charity knitting patterns and knitting lessons every month as well. I'll also post links to interesting news stories about womens' health throughout the year. One important topic I'll focus on all year is how we can wade through all of the information we find and figure out what is real, unbiased medical advice based on solid scientific evidence, versus what is just someone's opinion or, even worse, material that is intentionally distorted or censored to misinform the public.

I believe this topic is one of the most important topics we, as knitters, can address. Because the large majority of knitters are women, I am focusing on womens' health, rather than on health issues in general. Today, while women around the world are suffering and dying from preventable and curable diseases, misinformation is being spread by governments, religious leaders, and others who desire to keep women from being free and powerful. You may find some of the stories I post this year disturbing You may wish you could close your eyes and cover your ears and ignore the ugly facts. But don't. Those of us who are safe and free have a duty to acknowledge the suffering and pain of others who are oppressed, and do do whatever we can, even if it is only a small token, to help alleviate that suffering.

To ignore the plight of others less fortunate than ourselves is selfish and immoral.

This story from the AP shows how the United States is not exempt from such policies of misinformation:

The study, examining how sexual behavior before marriage has changed over time, was based on interviews conducted with more than 38,000 people—about 33,000 of them women—in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002 for the federal National Survey of Family Growth. According to Finer’s analysis, 99 percent of the respondents had had sex by age 44, and 95 percent had done so before marriage.

Even among a subgroup of those who abstained from sex until at least age 20, four-fifths had had premarital sex by age 44, the study found.

Finer said the likelihood of Americans having sex before marriage has remained stable since the 1950s, though people now wait longer to get married and thus are sexually active as singles for extensive periods.

The study found women virtually as likely as men to engage in premarital sex, even those born decades ago. Among women born between 1950 and 1978, at least 91 percent had had premarital sex by age 30, he said, while among those born in the 1940s, 88 percent had done so by age 44.

“The data clearly show that the majority of older teens and adults have already had sex before marriage, which calls into question the federal government’s funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for 12- to 29-year-olds,” Finer said.

Under the Bush administration, such programs have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

***

It's time to stop wasting money on policies founded on ideology instead of fact.

It's time to implement policies that positively impact womens' health

insted of catering to the false morality of religious & political extremists.

Join me in 2007, as I explore various issues of womens' health with guest columnists and designers, in the hopes of spreading real, scientific information that can change the lives of those at risk and help stop the spread of disease, illness, and suffering around the world.

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Peace on Earth

This month I'll be featuring Knitting for Peace in my charity knitting column. Below you'll find a review of Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time by Betty Christiansen and Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chödrön. Betty's written some great articles about charity knitting that I've read and I couldn't wait to get a copy of her book. I was not disappointed when it arrived. When I started writing about charity knitting online, I was thinking that at some time I would convert my stuff into a book. But with Betty's book out there and selling well, I may leave that project on the back burner for the foreseeable future, but I'll continue to work on this blog (with some new features and a new focus next year).

But back to Knitting for Peace. At first I was thinking about knitting to promote peace politically and I still am interested in that. But this past week, I've been overloaded with work and I got a cold. While crunching on editing jobs, waking up in the middle of the night worrying about knitting deadlines, and just feeling overwhelmed by everything on my calendar for this fall, I let myself get over extended and my immune system couldn't keep up. Last night, instead of knitting on a Kitty Knits project or reading a crochet manuscript I have to edit, I gave in to my own need for peace and stared a new lace shawl. Since I've learned to knit lace, I've discovered that it is the most peaceful and relaxing form of knitting to me. Whether it's simple dropped-stich openwork or more complicated lace patterning, the rhythm of the stitches and texture of yarn and finished piece gives me more rest than any other knitting I've ever done. It's weird, because lace knitting is "supposed" to be hard, and to require intense concentration. Maybe the concentration forces me to forget about the other things on my mind. I don't know, but for whatever reason, I find it peaceful.

I was attracted to Practicing Peace in Times of War by the title as it was sitting and calling out to me on the new books table at my local bookstore. I looked at the back flap and recognized the author from an interview she did with Bill Moyers on his recent Faith and Reason series. This little book contains six essays edited from speeches the author gave. Each one contains grains of truth that can help us stop reacting in fear and anger to situations around us and instead to embrace patience and refrain from acting (or reacting) rashly, thus stopping the chain reaction of violence that seems to be swallowing our world. Although I am not a Christian (and Chödrön is a Buddhist, as a commentor pointed out), this book seems to reflect the core teachings of Jesus when he advised his disciples to "turn the other cheek," "go the extra mile," and when he encouraged them to realize that the person who needs the most help is our neighbor, not the person we feel most akin to.

Although I strongly believe that anger can be a positive force for change, it must be channeled through a more rational and peaceful place in our hearts, or we will be part of the problem instead of part of the solution. We should never lash out in anger without counting to ten, as our parents taught us. It sounds childish, but it truly gives us power over the rashness of raw emotions. Like the Vulcans (yes, I'm a sci-fi junkie), we must learn to control our emtions instead of letting them control us. That does not mean that we supress or ignore our emotional side, but rather that we refuse to be led around by feelings that change depending on what we eat, what color paint is on the walls, the type of music on the radio, the hormonal cycles in our bodies, the weather, or what's on TV or in the papers. There is a popular bumper sticker that says, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." I think there is some truth to this expression, but we must sit back and look calmly at what makes us angry, so we can figure out what we can do to change the situation that makes us angry--to stop the poison at it's source, rather than to induce vomiting after the poison has already been swallowed.

This little book has the potential to change your life (and mine) if we simply read the text and allow its messages to sink into our hearts.

And while we are practicing patience, we can use our knitting to channel those emotions into concreate projects that can visibly help those in need. This is the core of Betty Chrstiansen's book, Knitting for Peace . Because I want to get this post finished, and because I can't really say it any better than this, I am going to quote a review by armchairinterviews.com from Amazon:

For as long as people have been knitting, they have been knitting for other people. Often called "charity knitting," "community knitting" or "knitting for others," knitters have been bonded by a desire to make the world a better place, "through handmade gifts of love and peace."

In Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time, Betty Christiansen has interviewed knitters across America to find out how knitting was helping people around the world. She sets out to find the stories behind the movements and to collect them into this unique volume, sharing how "we can, stitch by stitch, inch the world in a more positive direction."

In each of the first four section--Peace and War; Peace on Earth; Peace at Home; and Peace for Kids--Christiansen delves into the organizations making a difference through knitting. She explores their history, how they are being part of the change they wish to see in the world and how knitters can assist their efforts.

Some are organizations such as Lantern Moon and Peace Fleece, companies making a difference by providing employment, income and self-reliance for producers. Others are aid organizations such as Afghans for Afghans, an organization providing warmth to families in Afghanistan. Scattered throughout are patterns appropriate for knitters to make and donate to the featured organizations.

The final section, "Knit for Peace," provides helpful hints for finding projects not covered by the author, for individuals and for groups. Knitting for Peace has projects sure to appeal to everyone and is the perfect gift for the compassionate knitter on your gift list. Since a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Knitting for Peace will be donated to charity, this is the gift that gives twice.

This month's other posts include:

• An essay by Alison Hyde about how knitting helped her find peace in a very stressful medical situation.

• A pattern for an easy but gorgeous lace scarf by Alison Hyde.

• Lessons on blocking lace and an easy stretchy bind off technique.

Enjoy!

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Knitting for Peace - a guest post by Alison Hyde

Having abruptly lost part of my sight (a problem that thankfully turned out to be reversible), I was scheduled for one of those eye appointments that you know will go on and on, and I brought a knitting project on big needles for dilated eyes to be able to deal with. Note to self: next time shoot for a greater contrast between yarn and needle color, though.

Towards the end of the afternoon, the retina specialist looked at my quick lace scarf, which had grown 35" since I'd gotten there, and remarked that he had learned how to knit when he was younger. He'd done one row on a scarf. His mom hadn't ever taught him how to turn it at the end of the row, so that was all he'd done, but he was awfully proud of his one row! He struck me as suddenly quite shy in the moment he said that, as he smiled at the memory, and it wasn't till later that I put two and two together and realized he must have somehow felt he was being a complete amateur in the presence of an expert: I'd already told him about my left-eye vision loss in terms of how it had affected my knitting, that I did a lot of knitting, and (as if I needed to somehow justify that fact) that I was writing a knitting book.

How funny to have a doctor treat me as the expert. To be so shy about his pride in having learned and tried something new. It held all kinds of echoes for me of how reticent we patients can be about telling doctors, the experts who know so much more than we do about our own bodies even when they've never even met us, about our symptoms, a little afraid of being dismissed if what we say doesn't fit in the parameters of their expectations.

Hey, it's okay. We all start at the beginning. And I bet it was a great row.

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Gone AWOL!

Hi All, sorry that I've been AWOL for the last couple of months. I have been really swamped with the Arctic Lace book launch tour and deadlines for my next book, Kitty Knits. I do have some new patterns and materials lined up and I will be putting several things up in November. Please bear with me while I catch up with my paying work!

Thanks!

Donna

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There's a chill in the air... time to knit some mittens!

It's been cool the last few days here in Colorado. 70s in the daytime, 50s at night. Last night actually dipped down to 49. I'm hoping for a late frost, though, because I still have a lot of canning to do and I'm not ready for my tomoatoes to die. 90s are predicted for September, so there's hope that summer's not over yet. Fall is so unpredictable here, it's impossible to guess. Sometimes it can be 85 one day, and snow the next!

Regardless, winter is on the way. But I'm still not ready to knit large, wool sweaters, shawls, or afghans! So this month I'm featuring mittens. There are always people who are cold in the winter. The homeless and the poor, adults and children, in the US and around the world. Regardless of what charity knitting causes you support, mittens are a great contribution at this time of year.

According to an article on Forbes.com, "The nation's poverty rate was essentially unchanged last year, the first year it hasn't increased since before President Bush took office. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 37 million Americans were living under the poverty line last year - about 12.6 percent of the population."

That's pretty embarassing for the "world's greatest nation," isn't it? Poverty hasn't declined since Clinton was sitting in the Oval Office. Although there's a lot of talk about a recoving economy in the US, the only ones who are "recovering" are those who are already rich and phoney corporate "persons." New jobs have been created, but many of those are low wage retail and service jobs, which are not an equivalent replacement of the high-tech and union manufacturing jobs that have been sent over seas.

Those of us who live from paycheck to paycheck are still scraping by as best we can, and unfortunately that means that many people are what is considered "working poor," not homeless but still not making enough to keep their kids' bellies full or hands warm.

According to Sylvia A. Allegretto of the Economic Policy Institute, "The U.S [leads] the 16 developed countries in child poverty." She says, "The contrast between the great wealth in the United States and such appallingly high child poverty rates is quite stark. The United States needs to make a strong commitment to reduce child poverty."

In the long term, we need to make our votes count to get people who really care about the common man and the poor into office so our government can stop catering to the rich at the expense of the poor. But in the meantime...

a weekend's worth of knitting can

bring a smile to a mother's face

and a bit of warmth to her child's chilly fingers.

---

Guest columnist Ann from Pennsylvania

Are you ready?

MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS! MITTENS!

It gets cold in the winter, and little kids (and big ones, too) need warm hands! Warm hands for walking to school, warm hands for doing chores, warm hands for playing outside.

This is a GRAND OPPORTUNITY to use up odd bits of yarn and fleece and try out new patterns.

What shall we make? Mittens and gloves! Sizes for toddlers through large teens. Plain or fancy. Stripes, checks, flowered with little animal faces embroidered on. The only restriction is that they must be WARM!

Where to direct the finished mittens? Is there a place in your area where children from low-income families gather? A Head Start unit, school, or daycare? What about an after-school program or a Boys and Girls Club?

If no local kids come readily to mind, and you'd still like to make mittens, hop on over to http://sheepshots.blogspot.com and check out the June 11 or July 24 archived entry. Ann is gathering mittens for the Cheyenne River (Lakota Sioux) Reservation, located in Eagle Butte, SD. Contact Ann at amcmanus@ptd.net for the mailing address. Even though the contest is over, mittens are still needed.

There are lots of mitten patterns in magazines, books, and on the Internet (Google is your friend). Links to two good ones: http://users.adelphia.net/~mariella46/Child%20sideways%20mittens.htm (the pink ones pictured, knitted flat in garter stitch) and http://lovetoknitandsew.blogspot.com/2006/06/mindless-mittens-pattern.html#comments (the blue ones pictured, knitted in the round in stockinette stitch).

Both are ripe for embellishment.

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Handmade Dishrags are Hot? Are You Kidding? No!

It’s too hot to knit a big project or think about serious topics in July (then again, since it is so hot, you might want to check out Al Gore’s flick or book, An Inconvenient Truth, if you haven’t done so already).

But in the dog days of summer, none of us want heavy, wool sweaters hanging in our laps. Summer is the time to read light books, to relax, and to enjoy some ice-cold lemonade on the front porch. I even lighten up on my blog reading in the hot months, because I don’t want to sit with my laptop burning my legs.

So, to get my blog fix, I’ve been reading books written by knitting bloggers: Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters’ Guide by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, and Wendy Knits: My Never-Ending Adventures in Yarn by Wendy D. Johnson.

It was for purely selfish reasons that I picked up both of these books. The first has several rug patterns in it, and since I started working on The Knitted Rug, I’ve been collecting patterns for rugs. Kay and Ann include several projects using traditional rug making techniques that inspired some of the projects in my own book, so I was hooked immediately. I used yarn for all of my rugs, and they use fabric strips, potholder loops (remember those things from when you were in first grade?) and some yarn. They even have a rug made out of a bunch of knitted dishcloths sewn together. I had to get this book, even though I figured I probably might never make anything in it or even read all of the text. I was wrong.

And then a couple of weeks ago, my editor told me that Wendy Knits talks about qiviut. Oh my! My favorite fiber, the oh-so-soft under down of the musk ox, not to be resisted, regardless of the insane cost. So, feeling an immediate affinity for the author, I had no choice but to take a look at her book. As I was flipping through, I found a couple of projects for cats, and I headed straight for the checkout. When I got home and looked at the book in more detail, I was pleased to find that there are patterns scattered throughout the book, including socks, several sweaters, and a lace shawl. The garments are photographed on beautiful, real-sized women instead of emaciated models, which is a feature I always appreciate. The photos are black and white, but they are clear and you can easily see the details of the knitting.

Both of the books turned out to be fun summer reading, and they both include projects and technical tips for knitters. I wouldn’t say they’re literature, but they are like getting together with a good friend for a cup of coffee and a couple of hours of knitting. The writing is light and easy, and will make you chuckle as you compare your own knitting adventures with those of the authors. Those of you who are new knitters, will discover that the knitting universe is larger than you could have imagined!

Oddly enough, both of these books include several patterns for dishrags. I didn’t think anyone made dishrags any more. They seemed like something someone’s grandmother might have made in the 1930s or 40s. But here they were, right in the front of two popular knitting books in 2006. Go figure.

Dishrags, washcloths, facecloths, whatever you want to call them and however you want to use them, these little projects are no longer dorky pieces made from cheap yarn. There are some really cool designs, and they make great gifts (especially with a bar of hand-made soap), and would be hot sellers at craft sales or bazaars. So if it’s too hot to be knitting scarves, baby blankets, sweaters, and other cold-weather charity knitting projects, whip out a pile of dishrags and sell them for your favorite charity. If you make them up into a pretty package with a bar of soap, you can probably even sell them on E-bay.

I’ve included my version of the old-fashioned dorky dishrag pattern here. It’s actually very nice and even trendy if you make it out of a high-quality organic cotton yarn, in linen or hemp, or even in a cotton-chenille or terrycloth novelty yarn. If you get addicted to this technique (which is very possible!), check out the vest made with the same technique in Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New.

I’ve also linked to several other patterns on the web, you can check out the designs in the books I’ve mentioned, or you can just cast on and knit away in an interesting pattern stitch, and bind off when your piece is the desired size. That way you can practice a new stitch and not feel like you’re “wasting” time “just” making a swatch! In addition, you’re making a reusable resource that helps save trees that would otherwise be destined for the paper-towel factory.

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Why I don't care if men knit...

Update: I'm thinking about changing my mind about men knitting. I just saw this thought provoking quote: "If more men knitted, we would have less war."

There are a lot of knitting charities out there, and I will continue to cover a variety on this site. But my main focus is on women's issues and charities that help women improve their lives and overcome oppression and discrimination.

When I as about 10, I thought I had to change my name to a boy's name, cut my hair short, and wear boy's clothes to acheieve "women's lib." When I was a teenager and in my 20s, I naively thought that the women's liberation movements of earlier decades had succeeded and that we women were actually equal to men. It wasn't until recently that I realized how far from our goals of true equality we actually are. Reading my regular news and blog sites this morning, reminded me about why I want this site to focus on women's issues.

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women ages 15-44.

There are nearly three times as many animal shelters in the United States as there are shelters for battered women and their children.

37% of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related injuries in 1994 were injured by an intimate partner.

Nearly 1 in 3 adult women experience at least one physical assault by a partner during adulthood.

During the Vietnam War 58,000 American soldiers were killed. During the same time, 51,000 American women were killed by the men who professed to love them.

45% of battered women live in households with children under the age of 12.6.

Boys who witness their fathers' violence are 10 times more likely to engage in spouse abuse in later adulthood than boys from non-violent homes.

50% of homeless women and children are fleeing domestic abuse.

As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy.

On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day.

Only about 15% of all domestic assaults are reported to the police.

Female victims of domestic violence are 6 times less likely to report crime to law enforcement as female victims of stranger violence.

(For more info and sources for this information, see the full article on Daily Kos.)

For these reasons and more, I really don't care about men who knit (even though it's quite a hot topic these days and I'm tech editing a drop-dead gorgeous book on the subject). I don't think it helps knitting one iota to have men knitting. If there are some men who want to knit, fine. But, really, who cares? Knitting is just as wonderful without them and it has been for centuries. We don't need men participating in our craft to validate our stitching.

Knitting is a wonderful craft because it is women's work. I celebrate that fact in my own writing and design work, and I hope that you will join me in celebrating and revelling in the womanliness of knitting. Get out there, knit in public, and let the world know that you are proud to be a woman and to take part in a craft that has often been put down because men don't join in. As if only the silly things that men do are important! Make something feminine, make something lacy, make something sexy, make something outrageous, make something with a message, make something that turns "women's work" into a statement of pride and power.

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Comforting Ourselves and Others

This month, I'd like to talk about comfort shawls, sometimes also called prayer shawls. These lovely garments are hand made by knitters as gifts for those who have recently been through a crisis or who have lost a loved one. With each stitch that is made, the knitter incorporates thoughts or prayers for the recipient. More than simply a garment to be warn in bad weather, these shawls are gifts from the heart, meant to be a symbol of the love that is knitted into each stitch.

In the movie Shadowlands, C.S. Lewis (played by Anthony Hopkins) tells a young boy whose mother has just died, that we don't pray to get what we want or to ask God to do something for us, as if he were a big Santa figure in the sky. "That's not why I pray, Harry;" Lewis told the boy, "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless; I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God; it changes me."

We pray to change ourselves. I love this sentiment, because I believe that prayer is a form of meditation that puts us in touch with the strength and compassion deep inside our own hearts. Although I personally don't believe in gods or the supernatural, I definitely believe in the power of prayer. It is a force that can bring love and goodness into the world because prayerful meditation makes us shut out the bad news and stress of every day life, and puts us in a position to allow our own compassion to come to the surface. I particularly love comfort shawl ministries because I see shawls as tangible representations of this compassion. What better representation of love, than a warm, cuddly hand-knit shawl?

Two of my favorite knitting books, Mindful Knitting by Tara Jon Manning and Inpsired Cable Knits by Fiona Ellis, both touch on this power that we can acheive through mindfulness. In Mindful Knitting, Manning writes, “The smallest action can send out a breath of fresh air to everyone we encounter. The world lightens up a little. As each person feels that little bit of relief—that little encounter with basic goodness and compassion—the world begins to lighten up a lot.”

What could be smaller than a single knit stitch?

And yet, by making one stitch after another,

we can bring peace to our own hearts and joy and lightness to others.

I hope this month's postings encourage you to take some time to knit mindfully, to touch the compassion in your own hearth, and to touch someone else's life with the gift of a hand-knit comfort shawl.

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Knitting for Our Furry Friends

Most of the charities I support and feature on Knitting for Change are engaged in helping people. But this month I'd like to change the focus a little and talk about our furry friends in need.

When I was in the 6th grade, Mr. Tamborino, our teacher told us that memorizing a poem could change our lives. I didn't really believe him, because I'd memorized a poem and nothing had happened to me. A few years earlier, a close family friend and the school nurse, Phebe Downs, had made me a decoupage plaque with a picture of a teddy bear and a poem by Emily Dickenson. I had the plaque hanging in my bedroom, and I'd read it to myself so many times that I'd memorized it without even trying.

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

When I was young, I thought the only way to make a difference in the world was to be "important." I dreamt about being an astronaut, a missionary, even the president. But my life didn't take me in any of those directions. I never learned to fly, I am no longer a Christian, and I have decided to leave politics to those who can stomach the compromise that is required to win an election. Over time I came to realize that the little things are the ones that count. Buying a friend a bag of groceries, planting a flower, comforting a puppy or kitten in an animal shelter. While we celebrate the big days in our lives, it is not the weddings and funerals who make us who we are, but the Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout the year. The little moments when we are not even thinking about anything important are the times when we are most ready to experience enligtenment and change.

So this month, I am including links to several knitting charities that aim to help pets. With the small act of comforting an animal, maybe we can bring a few spots of sunshine to dark corners of the world. I still have the plaque that Mrs. Downs gave me, and I still love the words preserved under the layers of shellac. In some small way, I think memorizing a poem has changed my life after all.