THE END OF KNITTING?
SAY IT ISN'T SO!
There we are, having a lovely dinner on Saturday night. Discussing plans for Sunday brunch and a stop by The Point... thus the topic of KNITTING came up.
We all know that knitting has come and gone as a hobby of choice in the past...
Dan tells me that he thinks in 18 months knitting, as a favoured way to spend ones crafting time, will once again be a flash-in-time. Gone. Replaced by macrame or crochet or quilling (ok, so I added quilling...) because crafters can be fickle...
I told him that now it had become more than just a hobby, but a lifestyle to boot... and that I thought in 18 months it would still be thriving.
Then it happened.
We put money on it.
In 18 months -- January 2008 - I believe knitting will be kicking at it's current rate or better.
Dan thinks it will have fallen...
The question is -- what will be our scale?
How do we know? Dan thought sales of knitting books, but I wonder how much more will be available online and how that might sku the information. (This also feeds into the "should I continue to write the knitting book I've begun or will there be no more knitters by the time it's published??)
Here's where I need your help!
What should we use as a scale?
What shuld we use as a scale?
I don't know if Dan knows the amount and power of all of your voices...
He thought it would be a great idea to throw this out to blogland and see if there is a response... so... pass it along to your friends... show your response.
Are you all planning to quit-the-knit??
No more casting on? No more frogging to get it just right?
Will there be no more SnB's?
Will the population suddenly stop approaching those KIPing to ask questions of how and what?
Wow -- if you are - let me know what your plans are for stash distribution!
3pm UPDATE:
In an effort to clarify Dan's view... (ehem):
He writes, "I have no doubt there will continue to be knitting and that as a trend it has been rising, but the key word is trend. When you see in 2004/5 knitting being the hottest thing you know your in trouble and the end is near."
...and yes, he provided the link too...
Time will tell! Keep on knitting on!
posted by The MacKay Way at 10:42 AM
9 Comments:
That's an easy win for you in my book, pal...in 18 months, we should be gearing up for the Summer Knitting Olympics with the Harlot and 10,000 of her closest friends. Knitting is here to stay!
I know you're too busy for much TV, but last week on Everwood, a couple of characters even shagged in a yarn shop! Stitch n' Bitch hit primetime!
11:45 AM
Unless LCD microchip fabric gets invented, knitting is staying put. It's generational - I'm sure none of our kids will like to knit, but our grandkids will embrace the nostalgia of our lifestyle as we are doing with our grandmothers'.
How about tracking yarn store openings and closings?
1:36 PM
Yeah, I'm with Melanie on this one, it should be an easy win for you! I think women have been knitting, like, FOR ALL OF TIME! His grandpa would have gone barefoot is some kind woman wasn't knittin for him!
2:25 PM
Considering that knitting has been around forever, first with men knitting, women making the fiber, then changing roles with women taking over the entire process: make the fiber and then knitting it. I believe knitting will still be in a high peak in 2008. The demographics say that those whom are picking up knitting right now are in the ages of 28-30+, meaning if they embrace it, they will be knitting for the rest of their lives.
It will be interesting to see how everything pans out. You can count on me to continue on knitting ;)
2:44 PM
hmm not sure about the trend i know it's something i do to relax, create, and be a part of something. i'd say the best way to gauge it would be to check out the knitting blogs and see how many people are still going strong and those that've gone away...
i hope you win that's for sure!
7:35 PM
Maybe you should do a headcount at Stitch n Bitch! One now, one in 2008... some of the faces may change, but I think we'll still be there. :) BTW, I was the Jessica sitting across from you tonight, nice to see you!
11:59 PM
While I can understand Dan's thoughts about "trends" I think he isn't drawing a clear line between the "trendy" knitters and the true heart and soul knitters. Sure, there will be those who pick up needles to see what the fuss is about and to say they knit, but they don't make up the knitting community we know. They aren't the ones looking at their WIPs wondering which ones to blog about. They could care less how much time went into spinning, or why someone chose Wilton dyes over Kool Aide.
I don't know if yarn shops or book sales or blogs are a fair gauge (pardon the pun). All of those things are transient, and aren't indicative of who's knitting and how often. Online sales numbers can skew brick and mortar sales. Book sales are more about who is writing stuff knitters want to read, and just because there may or may not be good books out at the time can't be counted as clean data. Bloggers come and go, and giving up a blog isn't a guarantee the knitting has stopped.
I propose that the buzz (which I think is what Dan is referring to when he says trend?) may dissipate over time but the actual knitting won't change.
7:45 AM
No waning on my part, nor the 500 or more new knitters that took lessons at my lys - - and that number was just in the past 12 months!
11:43 AM
I am pretty sure that you can't call something a trend that has been around for thousands of years. And considering Julia Roberts is knitting on stage in her new play I think it is here to stay. Not to mention SnB's own soap star convinced her director to let her knit in a shot, now that's impressive. When I re-started to knit about 5 years ago, I was lucky if there where 10 books at Barnes and Noble on Kntting. Now there is a whole section. I don't see the "trend" slowing down anytime soon.
Claudine
6:28 PM
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