Knitting for good! : a guide to creating personal, social, and political change stitch by stitch PDF
Preview Knitting for good! : a guide to creating personal, social, and political change stitch by stitch
“Knitting for Good! is thought-provoking, asking us to examine our ideas and preconceptions about the craft of knitting and the use of the work of our hands to benefit others.†—Tara Jon Manning, author of Mindful Knitting “Knitting for Good! provides a platform for progressive, forward- thinking knitters and non-knitters alike who are interested in the idea that creativity can be a positive way to change the world we live in. It is chock- full of motivation, ideas, and inspiration to get you going or to keep you on the path you are already on.†—Faythe Levine, director of the documentary, and coauthor of the book, Handmade Nation ABOUT THE BOOK Every time we knit, we have the opportunity to create positive change in ourselves, our community, and in the world. That’s Betsy Greer’s fervent belief, and in this book she shows us how. Betsy explores the ways we can use knitting to slow down in a fast-paced culture, while using the craft to benefit charities in our communities, to advocate for worthwhile causes, and to support individuals and communities across the globe. Filled with insights from knitters and crafters on how they use craft to benefit others, Knitting for Good! will get you thinking about knitting in a whole new way. To learn more about the author, visit her website at craftivism.com. BETSY GREER is the founder of Craftivism.com, where she writes about the role craft can play in activism. Widely known in craft circles, she has contributed to a number of books, including Super Crafty, Get Crafty, Making Stuff, The Crafter Culture Handbook, DIY: The Rise of Lo-Fi Culture, Bead Simple, and Handmade Nation, and has written for Vogue Knitting.   Sign up to receive free projects and special offers from Roost Books.               Or visit us online to sign up at roostbooks.com/eroost. ROOST BOOKS An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc. Horticultural Hall 300 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02115 roostbooks.com © 2008 by Betsy Greer Illustrations © 2008 by Joy Gosney All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Greer, Betsy. Knitting for good: a guide to creating personal, social, and political change, stitch by stich/Betsy Greer.—1st ed. p.   cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. eISBN 978-0-8348-2248-1 ISBN 978-1-59030-589-8 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Knitting. 2. Knitting—Miscellanea. I. Title. TT820.G828 2008 746.43′2041—dc22 2008017179 Your hobby may be pie-baking, playing the piano, or potbelly-stove collecting, and you can sympathize with my enthusiasm, having an obsession of your own. Will you forgive my single-mindedness and my tendency to see knitting in everything? —Elizabeth Zimmerman, Knitting without Tears contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION Part One: Knitting for Yourself 1. Reclaiming Craft 2. Deepening Our Connection to Craft: Creativity and Personal Expression 3. Knitting Some Relief: Craft as Therapy Part Two: Knitting for Your Community 4. Using Craft to Connect: Building Communities through Common Bonds 5. Reaching Out to Organizations 6. Knitting for a Greater Good: Charitable Knitting Part Three: Knitting for the World 7. Making Statements about the Way We Live 8. The Universal Voice of Craft: Using Crafts to Express Emotion 9. Drop Stitches, Not Bombs: Activism and Knitting AFTERWORD ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS BIBLIOGRAPHY FURTHER RESOURCES ABOUT THE PATTERN CONTRIBUTORS E-MAIL SIGN-UP acknowledgments FIRST AND FOREMOST, MANY THANKS TO MY EDITOR, Jennifer Brown, for her eagle eye and enthusiasm. Thanks also to Karen Steib for her keen copyediting skills and Joy Gosney for her wonderful illustrations. Many thanks to Judith Shangold’s knitting expertise as she looked over the patterns included in this book. To all the pattern and sidebar contributors and people who allowed me to interview them: I am so grateful for all of your hard work and wise words. Second of all, thanks to everyone, friends and family alike, who listened and helped and kept me supplied with conversation that had nothing to do with craft when all I could think about was knitting! Thank you for the long walks, short runs, yoga in the living room, pep talks, cups of coffee, cupcakes, bad reality TV, pints of beer, glasses of wine, drives in the country, and late-night, long- distance phone calls. And most of all, thank you for your support and kind words over the past year—they have meant the world to me, and then some.
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