"Cast Off - Diversity wars are raging in the knitting world'

[AncientLights]

I've kept the title from the article in the print version of The Spectator 28 Sept, as I can't improve on it.

It's the most astonishing piece - well, astonishing and yet horribly familiar to us here. I'll summarise as it's not the done thing to do a big c&p job and would also be a kick in the financial teeth of the Speccy, who have done so much, via James Kirkup, to publicise the illogicality of the trans movement.

There is a knitter called Nathan Taylor whose online name is 'Sockmatician' - he sounds an interesting character, shall I say. Sockmatician seems to have cause huge offence (and here I will quote as it's so bonkers) by posting 'a poem on Instagram about 'diversknitty' in which he boasted it was a year since he had founded this hashtag, and asked that people use it kindly, rather than attacking one another'. Seems Taylor was committing violence against Bipoc (black & indigenous people of colour, it says here) by telling them how to make their arguments about inclusion, tone policing from a white man - utterly unacceptable.

The war started & raged on. Sockmatation has MH problems, was hospitalised, messages from his husband held no sway. Things got really bad with the yarn festival: yarn producers & other knitting personalities (who knew?) couldn't believe Sockmatition hadn't been uninvited, someone was glad she hadn't been able to attend after all as she'd have been unable to teach her session knowing he was down the hall. Unsupported allegations online about an assault. His patterns have been dropped from two books, one of which was the first official Harry Potter knitting book - the cover was reshot to remove Sockmatition's work. His business has suffered a 75% drop in sales.

There's a similar story about a Kate Davies who is based in the Scottish Highlands. She wouldn't join in denouncing people for their 'transgressions', so she's been attacked, too.

I read it thinking it must be an allegory but have come to the conclusion it's genuine. It is total, stark-staring madness and I can only keep saying to myself and to anyone else who will listen 'How on earth have we come to this?'

Guessing some of the above are references to Ysolda. I do see her point about making clothes, either knitted or sewn, is how you get stuff that fits if you can’t afford bespoke and you’re a non-standard size. However, having had a look at her books, she doesn’t seem to have taken into account that just scaling things up doesn’t make them flattering. Better to pick patterns specifically designed for a larger shape rather than trying to have the same dainty cropped cardigan in 27 sizes. She also seems happy to draw on Scottish traditions when it suits her, but everyone else should be Elevating! Poc! Voices! and never having an opinion or tradition of their own.

I wonder how much of it is sour grapes because Kate is a competitor and is doing well.

Have just wasted a morning reading Ysolda's twitter feed and blog.

OMG it's tedious.

I wanted to knit one of her jumpers but don't think I will now*

*Have actually been knitting the same scarf for over 2 years so this is an entirely theoretical boycott

Not RTFT yet (but looking forward to doing so later) but I'm part of the instagram knitting community & definitely recognise this shit. People are taken down so fast and there is no balance or right to reply. You're not allowed to ask for explanation (if you're white) as that is demanding more of POC's energy/time (even though most people pushing the agenda seem to be white). I have tried to stay out of it because I fear being called racist just because I genuinely find the whole conversation completely illogical.

On the subject of diversity I've read this article about Kate Davies new book Handywoman - now banned from Ysolda's shop (wish there was an eye roll emoji)

kddandco.com/2018/06/16/making-handywoman/

Apparently her stroke wasn't diagnosed for 36 hours as neurology felt she was too young, too female and had a mental health history So due to gender bias and mental health stigma she missed vital treatment which would have lessened her disability.

Am totally buying the book now.

Oh shit I've read both those Quillette articles, does that mean I'm now infected with alt-right...

You can be as sarcastic as you want. I for one have a real issue backing up the words of a publication who are putting this out there because of inherent racism, not because they’re calling for a more moderate discussion of rights and intersectionality.

If you don’t have a problem with that, that’s your prerogative.

You only have to look at the comments briefly on Quillette to see the anti-feminist, misogynistic, climate-change denial, wage gap denial etc attitude of the readers. Just because one’s take on one subject aligns doesn’t mean that the intention or belief behind it does.

I have serious issues condoning anti-feminist thought just because I think they’re right in this instance.

I object to this because a small number of people have taken what are important and reasonable ideas and are using them to extremes, to destroy lives and livelihoods. The ideology of the writers and readers of that publication is that white privilege does not exist, that racism is in the past, that misogyny is in the past. I don’t feel comfortable elevating a platform like that, and I think it’s damaging.

I don't understand the too female aspect. Women are at higher risk of stroke than men. Surely a neurologist should know this, it's taught on basic fist aid courses for heaven's sake.

I would guess - young, distressed, creative woman on anti-depressants. Very young for a stroke and no obvious risk factors, but not impossible as they should well know.

Gets diagnosed as conversion disorder instead of stroke as clearly hysterical

But we'll both have to read the book to find out.

Again I'm butting in without RTFT but I stumbled into a rabbithole and found this, which says so much about the whole thing. This person (who has previously been very woke) fucked up in an article she wrote (knitting related AFAIK), and here's her self-flaggelating apology. It isn't enough for the people in the comments though. It makes me think once you've put one foot out of line that's IT and nothing you say or do will make up for it.
www.instagram.com/p/B23aY80p_XC/

You know Aravis I really don't care one little bit if you think my comments are crass. I did not say to PoC 'oh you're just so angry and self righteous, why can't you just be quiet' - I wouldn't dream of telling anyone to be quiet - I've had too much of that directed at me. Let people speak. So long as they let others speak also. My comment was about anyone who is so virtue-signalling that they are enjoying destroying the livelihoods and pleasure of many - they are the ones who may self-combust through their own anger & righteousness.

Nor do I care if you consider my tone 'patronising': I will use whatever tone I like wherever I like. I don't consider knitting or any other craft a 'silly past-time for gentle old women who couldn't possibly be interested in politics'. You are revealing way more of yourself by these comments than you probably realise. How do you know I am not an old woman, gentle or otherwise? Why would someone not be interested in knitting and politics?

If you find these boards embarrassing I can only suggest you stay away.

I had imagined that knitting/sewing/whatever groups would be safe havens away from the virtue-signalling insanity that currently infests our society and am very saddened to see I was so very wrong. And I read The Spectator because I am not frightened of being confronted with views I dislike and quite possibly disagree with. I actually don't consider the terms right & left wing to have any meaning any longer, and to anyone who imagines the 'left' occupy the moral high ground, I can only refer them to what happened outside the WPUK meeting in Brighton and the comments made at the Labour party meeting the following day.

That's Ysolda Teague's fiancee. They seem to be the wokest people alive so it is somewhat ironic that she then messed up on what to me seemed a fairly basic thing and had to apologise when she and her partner were busy being the woke police to everyone else.

However it might explain why she and Ysolda are now busy calling out racism left right and centre, as they are perhaps over-compensating.

There's another painful article of apology on Ysolda's blog about plus size patterns and one about exactly how white people should refer to kimonos. It's all just so very very grim and joyless.

Good grief, CrimsonCottage.

Run, Kate! Run like the wind! These people are all mad.

Does anyone know what her original crime was? According to the comments she then went on to compound the offence by hiding behind mental health issues thus causing harm to disabled people

Well, they’ve driven Laine out of business too so that should make them happy. Not that the cofounder of Laine was permitted to mention the distress to her mental and physical health that drove her to ceasing publication.
It’s a hideous pile-on juggernaut.

Crimson
Bloody hell! Just read that Instagram post and comments (had to log in on a friend’s account)
These people want blood. And it’s almost all white people piling in to have a go at her. “Look at meeeeee I’m a special kind of white person!”
Tiresome and weary
I ended up looking at other similar accounts and what struck me was the lack of humour and the need for approval - it was almost painful.

..an interview with Lavanya Patricella, please note that the print version of this interview contained an inaccurate description of the designer's identity and some misquotes and has been replaced with this online version which we'd direct you to read instead.(The author of this piece is a member of our team.)

Ysolda’s fiancee, Kate O’Sullivan, was on the staff of Laine (quite recently, why, if it’s such a hotbed of racism, is something to ponder?). Did an interview with Lavanya Patricella but did not run it by her for approval as she should have done. I haven’t the print version so I can’t say what she wrote initially.

Totally ridiculous isn't it? And she can't do anything right either - mentioning her MH is just an insult to others with MH issues, saying how sorry she is is just "centering the conversation on [her]self" and you can bet if she talked about how much hurt she caused she'd be told off for speaking for POC as well (though it's almost all white people weighing in against her). I'm not defending her original error (which I agree was pretty basic and surprising given that she's SUPER WOKE usually) but what more do these people want from her?

Mostly all this leaves me wondering just how pampered people must be, how few real problems they must have, to have time to expend on this endless navel gazing.

'Mostly all this leaves me wondering just how pampered people must be, how few real problems they must have, to have time to expend on this endless navel gazing.'

And how on earth they find time to knit!

I had imagined that knitting/sewing/whatever groups would be safe havens away from the virtue-signalling insanity that currently infests our society and am very saddened to see I was so very wrong.

I agree with this. Its so sad to see angry controlling people wade into communities and attempt to destroy them.

They should lead by example and build their own, then invite others to join them.

The use of the term BIPOC is also totally bizarre in a British context. The I apparently stands for "indigenous". Who counts as "indigenous" here?

There is something deeply ironic about people criticising others for "cultural appropriation" and "colonialism" while being totally unaware of how their own cultural assumptions don't necessarily apply to people in other cultures.

I can’t imagine living life being such a ball of nerves and having to pander to bullies.
“I’ve caused so much harm”
Get a grip.
Nothing you do or say will be enough for these bullies.

The use of the term BIPOC is also totally bizarre in a British context. The I apparently stands for "indigenous". Who counts as "indigenous" here?

There is something deeply ironic about people criticising others for "cultural appropriation" and "colonialism" while being totally unaware of how their own cultural assumptions don't necessarily apply to people in other cultures.

This, a million times.

There are loads of racially charged words/negative stereotypes in e.g. the USA that don't really exist here/have any connotation. Yet they (Americans, not knitters) happily toss around the word 'spaz' and it isn't considered offensive.

I probably count as indigenous, if having nothing but boring old Scottish ancestors going back a thousand years counts.

Just treat others as you would like to be treated yourself, it's not complicated but it's not always easy either. Those marching in and pointing accusing fingers and acting like the witch finder general may find others struggle to feel genuine empathy and warmth for them.
Just my rather simplistic personal opinion.

I don't understand how they can remain so convinced they are doing good while being so persistently, personally cruel to sometimes vulnerable people.

I think also cut people some slack if they use the wrong words or appear misinformed or have a different opinion. You might be able to change their perspective.