Saturday Crafternoon in Melbourne and Knitting for Peace

Posted on by Chas Spain

Blokes who chance by this post may tune out here (although I hear there are some knitters among their number and there are certainly peace makers.)

Had a great afternoon with a couple of friends this afternoon – wine, cheese, baclava (from my trip to Turkey), knitting and beads.

So there we were just being women really. Not talking about work or men (much) and taking some time to look at the world we were in and making some time for each other.

Of course this type of conversation is often still trivialised by society. In many parts of the world women associating is still seen (at worst) as threatening to moral society or (at best) somehow marginal and irrelevant?

Yet one of these friends has just won a great photography prize and will have her work exhibited in the nation’s capital shortly. Later this year she’s doing a two girl art show, so hope to post about that too.

The other friend is also a wonder. She’s about to have a little niece or nephew so is making a pretty cute hoodie/cardie. But we talked about politics, racial equality and art in equal measure.

She recommended this article in ‘The Conversation’ on responding to hate by Julian Burnside  – http://theconversation.com/julian-burnside-alienation-to-alien-nation-18290

I snapped this pic in London of the Knit for Peace knitters some years ago.

Just seemed like a great plan to me – perhaps the UN and the new Australian Cabinet could take up a real thread of conversation, instead of spending so much time talking bollocks?

Knit for peace

Knitting for peace, Southbank, London taken a few years ago

13 thoughts on “Saturday Crafternoon in Melbourne and Knitting for Peace”

  1. The very first thing I thought of when I read your Knitter comment referencing men was – That Scene in REDDOG (awesome movie, if you haven;t yet seen it, you should!)

    The toughest guy out of all of the male characters is sitting in his donga, listening to sap music while knitting with a massive red ball of yarn in his lap. Next thing. there is a knock on the door. He jumps up, hides the yarn , quickly puts some AC/DC on and goes to see who’s at the door.

    Low and Behold, good ole red dog grabs the yarn while he isn’t looking and lets the guys at the door know exactly what hes been up to.

    Now.. This is a wonderful post, and I love that picture. It says so much! Thanks for sharing

    Miss Lou
    xx

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    • Hi Lou – yes I did make a little change in the post to say ‘most’ men would turn away rather than ‘all’ because of course the Red Dog knitter was something one must respect as a possibility in the community. My hubby is quite handy at crochet (which he learnt from the nuns as a little lad), This is the only task he can do while talking at the same time.

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    • Hi Hilary – My mum was/is a great knitter and my nanna made an endless lot of blankets from crocheted squares. My aunt and close friend’s mum were also great crafts people. It’s lovely to still hold a conection to these women through the things they’ve crafted – they are really immeasurable gifts of time and love.

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  3. I’m a knitter from way back, ‘tho not done anything for quite a while. Perhaps next time you have a get-together (post my cancer treatments, a few months yet), I’d like to join you and do something useful! I’ll read the Burnside article later (he’s one of my fave legal people). As to women being a threat, well, only by silly men and stupid women who haven’t woken up yet; keep away from those types, they’ll drag you down, trust me on that one! Keeping fingers crossed for Abbott ‘tho didn’t vote for him.

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