A few years ago, there was an explosion of young people doing crafty things. Stitch & bitch circles were popping up all over North America and Europe and everyone seemed to be sporting crafty wares from head to toe: funky cat-ear hats and alligator mittens became all the craze. Reviving a traditional way of making garments is a great way to keep history alive…it’s not only for your great aunt Hilda anymore!
There are a great many things of good that come out of a knitting frenzy. You can make anything from your own dish cloths, baby shower gifts, pillow cases… you name it. You do the labor yourself, which cuts down on slave-type condition clothes manufacturing and you have the added ingredient of love for every stitch that passes through your fingers.
Knitting can also help pass the time during long lectures, and give you something warm and snuggly while you watch a good old hockey game at the pub. Learning how to knit when you’re a bit older also helps build new synapses in your brain, which keeps you young.
The “knitting” movement has been a steady part of an ongoing shift in how people want to live their lives. You can call it a bit of a getting-back-to-basics, locavore, community type of thing.
Like any high school economics class will teach you, the law of supply and demand is a large part of how our economic system is run. With the rising fad in knitting, crochet and other do-it-yourself activities, there was also an increase in demand for yarns, knitting needles, crochet hooks knitting patterns, and so on. So what of it?
Most of the yarns on the department store shelf are acrylic: artificial materials, possibly genetically modified, possibly dyed with harmful chemicals, possibly shipped to us from China, etc. The best way to go, as always, is locally made, organic yarns.
Not only will you be supporting farmers in your region, you will also be walking the talk. Many knitters today are more conscientious and aware of their impact on the earth, so if you can afford it for more of your projects, then that’s the best way to go. This blogger has a lot of great things to say on the subject.
In the Montreal region, you can find organic yarn at Mouline and Ariadne. They’ll be your portal for great sources and information of the craft and get you in touch with the right side of your brain, and knit and purl your way to inner sanctity.
