Throughout our readings this week, I felt drawn to view the Dorothy Noyes article “Group” from a material culture perspective. Many groups develop around the pursuit of making things whether they are craft groups, like the “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch” sessions Black Squirrel in Berkeley, or weaving (loom-based) classes offered for free at City College in San Francisco. These groups remain porous and permeable allowing folks to join as they like. In the Bay Area, the intention set within these meetings is that they will be open to all and discourage hate speech and attacks. Interactions generally occur face-to-face and sub-groups may grow as members of the overall group become closer and get to know one another.
Online forums allow for similar groupings to form. Ravelry, a virtual fiber community, is a space to document patterns, projects, one’s yarn/material stash, get-togethers, queries, etc. In this online realm folks discuss material, physical objects and I believe we should consider the levels of engagement that present themselves here. The yarn itself, or knitting needles or crochet hooks or the stitch markers, are all made for a purpose. These tools are produced en masse or in small batches. Fiber is cleaned, processed, dyed or left natural, and washed once more. Needles are cut and shaped if they are wooden or formed and molded if they are metal. Some are made of ebony and others brass. The maker is tasked with choosing their materials and tools and works with a team to create these goods. The individual then procures their own projects and yarn before beginning to follow a pattern or to design their own piece. The group is responsible for disseminating knowledge and techniques, swapping tips and excess yarn, and observing ethical and responsible means of consuming and creating goods for their family, friends, or customers. The online space itself is another layer of use in that it connects people from Iceland and Northern California, from Peru and Ireland, from Japan and India, and so on to draw lines between folks the world around participating in fiber arts. The folks who run the website themselves add another level to the group, deciding how to make it user-friendly and accessible. They also set guidelines. For instance, in the fall of 2019, Ravelry banned hate speech and required that users refrain from engaging in conversations about the current political climate in the US.
As I’ve become a part of the fiber community myself, I’ve started to question how to discuss the space and the folks who inhabit it. How do I engage with the problems in the industry of producing yarn and textiles? How do I discuss the methods that cause the least harm to the environment? How do I encourage people beginning to experiment with fiber to support local shops and makers? There are plenty of independent dyers and pattern designers in the community near and far raising sheep, alpacas, llamas, rabbits, cotton, hemp, flax, and the list goes on. Some folks are part of the Fibershed in Northern California and shops in the Bay Area work to support these individuals.
The network here allows for the exchange of tradition in the form of conferences like Stitches West where folks get together for courses, lectures, food, demonstrations, and a market. The social network within this space opens to include the novice and the pro alike as each stall is home to someone who knows the yarn or fiber or needles intimately and may make helpful suggestions. In these interactions, a transaction takes place where knowledge or goods are traded for money and a brand or story of the artist and maker. That narrative often draws certain buyers and creators to certain sellers. I want to regard this as a positive interaction, but I question it in the context of Noyes’ discussion of trading goods and knowledge for money. In the case of some makers at Stitches West, they are made up of a team of BIPOC and queer folks whose methods are eco-friendly and local. These are the makers I seek out to support. The intention in their mission is solid and supported by the goals of Ravelry too as to cultivate a constructive, positive realm for makers of all groups.
Word Witch 