this is not a life of leisure

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The other day I came across the article Domestic Hiss, where Jeanne Jackson discusses some criticism of domestic blogs.

The entire thing just irks me, particularly the bit where domestic blogs are dismissed as the province of those with “money and leisure.”

Now, clearly, I write a knitting/crafting blog. Which is generally classified as a domestic blog and let me tell you, this is not a life of leisure. Or money.

Like any number of craft bloggers out there, I am not a stay at home wife or mom. In fact, if you were to profile what you’d expect from the stereotype of a craft blogger, I am very likely none of those things. I am young (24). I am single. I work–I work a lot, actually, and most of the knitting you see on here is done on the weekends or my commute because that’s all the time I have. I am a pop culture junkie and kind of a geek.

I don’t know where people get the idea that crafting is the province of those with time and money. Or those with kids. Or who are married. Or older. Whichever stereotype you’d like to pick, fill in the blank here. I, like many people, do this because it’s fun. It’s fun, and it’s relaxing, and it feels good to have something finished, something physical that I can hold in my hands in a world where most work consists of more and more ephemeral chunks of information and tasks (like answering email) that repeat themselves in an endless cycle.

Personally, I think the world would be a better place if we all took some time to sit down, relax, and knit our own pair of socks.

Commuter Sock Gussets

Like the commuter sock. It’s zipping along on the needles. I even tried an eye of partridge heel this time, for variety.

Eye of Patridge Heel

I like it, and can’t wait for it to be finished.

  • caroline

    On Money: Knitting does eat up a lot of money, but really no more than any other activity. You might spend $50 on needles and yarn for a project, while someone else might spend that money on going to a football game (and really, you get more bang for your buck with the knitting since it provides more hours of entertainment). Until I moved in with my girlfriend I didn’t have a TV because there were things I’d rather spend my money on than cable. So it all evens out.

    On Leisure: The knitters I’ve known tend to be Renaissance women (or men!) who manage to squeeze all kinds of unrelated activities into a very productive lifestyle. A great example of this is my aunt, an environmental law professor who travels extensively, is always dabbling in some new hobby, has an active social life, works out every day, maintains a beautiful home, adopts dogs from rescue groups, has a black belt in karate, (I could go on and on), and still finds the time to knit very impressive things. I could rattle off a similar list of various hobbies and accomplishments for myself, as I’m sure you could too.