Well it’s February now, and somehow January disappeared in a flash. And no wonder, too — a lot has happened. I got a new job, which has been more of an adjustment than I anticipated; I went to Vancouver; I finally succumbed to the cold that’s been looming for weeks; and I’m trying two-at-a-time sweaters, which has been a learning experience.

I want to take some space to talk about a few things that have been happening in the knitting and sewing community over the last month. If you’ve been following me on instagram you’ve seen some posts and stories about it. I’ve also seen conversations like this in other spaces — the library community, the IA community, and in my non-knitterly friend groups.

Folks, it was eye-opening for me. I always considered myself against racism, and I even though I knew that we (as a society) were not “over racism”, I thought that we were still making strides. But seeing some of the vitriol that came out of these conversations and the white defensiveness on display, I can see that we have a lot farther to go. I also realized that there were a number of things that I wasn’t doing, or that I could be doing better.

I wasn’t seeking out diversity in my instagram feed. Like every other well-intentioned white person, I figured the algorithm would do my work for me, when we all know that’s completely untrue. I also wasn’t speaking up. I’m normally a quiet person — I don’t post much, I don’t talk much, and even this blogging thing seems like a lot sometimes. But when an indie dyer spouts neo-nazi sentiments and tries to back it up by saying the ‘silent majority’ agrees with her, or a clothing company actively promotes racist comments and deletes others, silence is definitely not an option. And finally, I have not been doing enough for myself to unpack my biases — because I still have plenty, even with all my good intentions. So I downloaded the Me and White Supremacy Workbook by Layla F. Saad (and became a backer of her Patreon), I bought White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, and I’ve started speaking up more.

I also diversified the heck out of my instagram feed, and I am so much richer for it. I’ve found some amazing new people to follow, and I’m ashamed that I didn’t seek them out earlier. But I know that I’m going to do better, and this feels like a good first step.

Lastly (but not actually lastly, because it’s an unending list), I’m going to participate as best I can in the #buyfrombipoc challenge in 2019, which focuses on buying fashion purchases exclusively from Black and Indigenous People of Color. I’m still working out what my fashion is and what I’m going to buy vs. make, but when and where possible I am going to seek out makers of Color and support them with my wallet.

I want to thank everyone who spoke up, because it was not and has never been easy to do that. I also know that you’ve been speaking up for a long time, and the fact that we (white knitters) are just now noticing is a reflection of how much work we still have to do. In particular, I want to thank su.krita, ocean_bythesea, astitchtowear, little_kotos_closet, transitory, tina.say.knits, and booksandcables for their engagement (and their wonderful instagram feeds!). And fellow white people, this is up to us to work on. Don’t ask PoC to educate you — educate yourself, and support PoC: buy them coffee, buy their products, buy and knit their patterns, sign up for their Patreons. Don’t take their work for granted, or for free.

And finally, I want to say: I don’t have a giant community of people following me and I don’t have a business to worry about. But this space is mine, and I will always, always work to make & keep it an inclusive space that is safe for everyone. Hate has absolutely no place here and I will always remove hateful content from my space, so don’t bring it here. And please, please call me out if I’m doing something harmful — I have so much to learn, and I’m trying, and I will always appreciate you reaching out.