Activism: Knit/Crochet in Public

Around here Thursdays are devoted to green tips.  Usually this takes the form of a discussion on using fewer chemicals, greenwashing, modes of transportation, etc.  This week we’re going to talk about activism.  Saturday (June 11) is knit/crochet in public day.  At first glance this event sounds neither green nor activist, surely it’s just an excuse to take your crafting outside and maybe meet up with fellow crafters.  But the intention of the day is to increase awareness and educate some bystanders that crafters are alive and well.  Hopefully this will inspire others to create something themselves that they could have purchased mass produced, or to buy handmade.

Activism really can be as simple as modeling something in public.  Last week I started losing my voice in class, so I grabbed my water.  I have one of these:

My students asked a couple questions, I shared about my choices (easy to carry, light weight, reusable) and we moved on.  Yesterday one of my students arrived to class and told me all about how she and her friend had been at the store and her friend bought one of the bottles!  They showed it off to their friends (she even got the same color as I have) and talked about how it was reusable, BPA-free (I hadn’t mentioned that fact) and totally worth the $10 she spent on it.  It was a great experience to see the immediate results of a simple action.  And I thought all I was teaching them was geometry!

So, if you knit or crochet, get outside this weekend and share your projects.  If not, take a walk around town and see if you can find anyone knitting or crocheting in public!  (If you want to make the scavenger hunt a bit easier, check out this website of meet ups.)  I’d love to hear what you find!