Of course, there's the inevitable backlash, this time from Steve Wells. "The knitting craze is the death of both alternative culture and feminism. But it's even worse that that," Steve writes. "Scratch a knitter - discover a Knit Nazi. Like the Nazis, alternative knitters have no sense of humour."
It would be rather nice, I think, if knitting had the power to bring down a whole sub-culture. But I think Steve may have added a couple million unwitting cross stitchers and other crafters to our midst – and we all know they're not as radical as we are...
"The last time I claimed in print that the concept of radical knitting is as absurd as radical dusting or radical toilet cleaning, I received hysterical and barely literate death threats from the ferocious, fanatical, froth-gobbed and swivel-eyed knit Nazi massive," he notes. "This time I suspect I might not survive."
Knitting, like toilet cleaning, is largely seen as a feminine pastime. And perhaps that's why Steve feels that it can't be radical. But to trivialise both of them simply because they're feminine – well, that's why feminism is still here: whether we're blogging, knitting, playing guitar in a band or having a fight in Bournemouth what we do has as much value when we do it as when a bloke does. Would Steve tell these guys or these guys that their hobby can't be radical, or is only us girls who are causing the death of alternative culture and feminism by picking up our pins?Knitting isn't just my hobby, it's my job, so I'm kind of used to people thinking I should start doing something useful, like stamp collecting, or playing World of Warcraft, but by definition a hobby is something you do for fun which makes everyone outside the inner circle shake their heads and say things like "Wouldn't it be easier to just buy one?" I don't know anyone who cleans toilets for fun, but perhaps Steve does. That would be kind of rad, enjoying the mundane to that extent.
And that's kind of the point. It's knitting – just knitting, not the second coming of the fifties – and you can do it anyway you like whether it's goth baby wear, part of an anti-consumerist lifestyle, all lace, no lace, pastel cardigans or all of those, depending on the day.
And sure, if, like Sid Vicious, we all had a Vivienne Westwood on hand to design our fabulously freakish knitwear, knitters would be edgier and punkier. But in the meantime, wouldn't you rather be knitting?
