Blocked issue 2 (February 2022)
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
february/march <strong>2022</strong><br />
The Tricoteuse<br />
How To Survive Being Cancelled<br />
Know the rules and break them anyway<br />
Cultural Appropriation and Knitting<br />
Please, Whatever You Do, Don’t Read This!<br />
Knitting Mojo<br />
Knitting<br />
for Crocheters<br />
The Church of the<br />
Poisoned<br />
Mind<br />
1
Editor<br />
Neil of Uknitted Kingdom<br />
For all enquiries:<br />
blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
Cover Photography<br />
© <strong>2022</strong> Conley Olson, @NantucketStudios<br />
Technique Photography<br />
@Mac.Tlu<br />
Illustrations<br />
Abby D<br />
Neil of Uknitted Kingdom<br />
Articles<br />
The Laziest Knitter<br />
A ‘Cancellee’<br />
Maree Buscke of Skeinz<br />
Natasha<br />
Neil of Uknitted Kingdom<br />
Patterns<br />
Neil of Uknitted Kingdom<br />
Proofreading<br />
Denise Pettus<br />
Cezanne Pellett<br />
Unless otherwise indicated the informaon, arcles, artwork, paerns and photography published in <strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine are<br />
subject to copyright ©<strong>2022</strong> <strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine. All rights reserved.<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine permits the online distribuon of the magazine in its enrety. Distribuon of any of the contents of this<br />
magazine for purposes of sale or resale is strictly prohibited.<br />
2
Acknowledgments<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> has been made possible by the<br />
generosity and goodwill of far too many<br />
people to name individually.<br />
Thank you to all the designers, writers,<br />
photographers, artists, patrons, advertisers<br />
and, of course, you the reader.<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine is a member of the<br />
3
Welcome by Uknitted Kingdom Page 5<br />
Open letter to ‘knitfluencers’ Page 6<br />
List of Test Knitters and Test Crocheters Page 7<br />
The Tricoteuse Page 8<br />
Dishident Knitting Pattern Page 10<br />
How to Survive Being Cancelled by a ‘Cancellee’ Page 12<br />
Know the Rules and Break Them Anyway Page 14<br />
Cultural Appropriation and Knitting Page 15<br />
Please, Whatever You Do, Don’t Read This! Page 16<br />
The Lazy Knitter’s Guide To Knitting Mojo Page 18<br />
MKAL and KCALs Page 21<br />
Knitting For Crocheters Page 22<br />
Slipped Stitch of the Month Page 27<br />
Designers & Indie Dyers Page 29<br />
The Church of the Poisoned Mind Page 30<br />
Vloggers and Podcasters Page 32<br />
Reviews Page 34<br />
4
<strong>Blocked</strong> is a free-to-read online publication. Please freely share each <strong>issue</strong>.<br />
We, at <strong>Blocked</strong>, are not interested in your race, your sex, your gender identity, your sexuality,<br />
your size, your abilities, your disabilities, your religious beliefs, your political beliefs, or<br />
any intersection of victimhood you may align with. All are welcome.<br />
We hope the content herein will delight and offend you in equal measure. When something<br />
does offend, annoy and/or upset you, and it probably will at some point, you don’t<br />
have to read it. You can simply turn the page. Although that particular article or feature<br />
may not be to your taste, it will be exactly another reader’s cup of tea.<br />
We’re at the beginning of <strong>2022</strong>, many of us want to put divisive <strong>issue</strong>s to one side. Many<br />
are tired of the constant battles over subjects that don’t interest us, or that we have no<br />
vested interest in. However, although we may wish for closure, there are others who take<br />
pleasure from targeting, harassing, and destroying the lives of others. Because of that,<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> will always shine a spotlight on those who try to hurt others. This may appear to<br />
be, to some, a perpetuation of the problem. Unfortunately, we can’t sit idly as people are<br />
picked off, one by one. Some manner of resistance has to be visible. Be assured, <strong>Blocked</strong><br />
will always endeavor to ‘punch up’ rather than down and will always put facts first.<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> will only target the bullies and the enablers. ‘Influencers’ who use their power<br />
and privilege to bully, or to support the bullies, will be fair game for critique, ridicule and<br />
satire.<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> will be a refuge for those that find themselves cancelled. When the mob won’t<br />
listen we will tell your story. This may, sometimes, be uncomfortable to read. We may,<br />
sometimes, make mistakes. That’s when we trust our readers to let us know.<br />
As contributions may originate from any part of the world, <strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine will incorporate<br />
both British-English and US-English spellings. Colour/color, fibre/fiber, centre/center,<br />
favourite/favorite are likely to be interchangeable between articles and patterns. A<br />
‘house-style’ and standard spelling will probably evolve as we progress.<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> will contain articles, satirical cartoons, and promotions. Each quarter, <strong>Blocked</strong> will<br />
publish an <strong>issue</strong> that contains patterns provided by designers. Some designers you will already<br />
know, some will be new.<br />
We hope you will make <strong>Blocked</strong> your own. We aim to make <strong>Blocked</strong> as interactive as<br />
possible.<br />
This is your space. Let’s get back to knitting, crocheting and making.<br />
Neil, Uknitted Kingdom January <strong>2022</strong><br />
Email: blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
Patreon: hps://www.patreon.com/join/<strong>Blocked</strong>Magazine<br />
5
January <strong>2022</strong><br />
Dear ‘Knitfluencers’,<br />
Much harm has befallen the knitting/crochet/fibre world in the last five or six years. From the<br />
mass-labelling of good, decent people as racist ‘white supremacists’ and the destruction of individuals’<br />
lives, to the constant policing of our words and our products/projects.<br />
Many of you have stood by, quietly, supported, or in some cases, even joined in or led, with the bullying<br />
and nastiness. This is no longer tolerable.<br />
In the name of protecting the self-declared ‘marginalized’ you have directly or indirectly marginalized<br />
thousands of others. The fate of some of the targets of harassment, hatred, threats, and ostracization<br />
has been far, far more harmful than any of the imagined ’microaggressions’ described by<br />
their attackers.<br />
Fighting racism with racism is not acceptable.<br />
Fighting fascism with fascism is not acceptable.<br />
Fighting white supremacy with black supremacy is not acceptable.<br />
Fighting patriarchy with matriarchy is not acceptable.<br />
Fighting toxic masculinity with toxic femininity is not acceptable.<br />
Our plea to you is to ’stand in the gap’ between the oppressors and the oppressed. Use your considerable<br />
influence to unite rather than divide people. One word from you could have helped Kristy<br />
Glass, Nathan Taylor, Kate Davies, Maria Tusken, and all the others that you watched be figuratively<br />
burned as witches.<br />
As with all the witch-hunts of the past; history does not remember the witchfinders fondly.<br />
You may think that buying gifts for the bullies will gain you favour for now. You may think that<br />
constantly acknowledging their presence in your live broadcasts will protect you. Enjoy your precarious<br />
privilege, earned from the pain of others, while you still can. Someday, soon, you will be<br />
cancelled by those you fete. You are only ever one poorly chosen word or one inadvertent microaggression<br />
away from destruction; subject to the whims of your ’friends’. When that happens we<br />
will be here for you, but it won’t be easy. Many will remember that you were collaborators as they<br />
searched the virtual village looking for transgressors.<br />
Before it’s too late, stand up. Speak out. Do the work. Do better. Use your influence for good in the<br />
name of good, not for evil masquerading as good.<br />
Appeasing the few at the expense of the many has never been a wise action.<br />
Do the right thing.<br />
Yours faithfully,<br />
The blocked and the cancelled.<br />
6
TEST KNITTERS AND TEST CROCHETERS<br />
Designed a paern and need to have<br />
it tested?<br />
Contact our volunteers listed.<br />
NB testers are not obligated to test.<br />
If they should decline; please respect<br />
their decision.<br />
Kning<br />
Crochet<br />
Tunisian Crochet<br />
Tang<br />
Quilng<br />
Amigurumi<br />
Brioche<br />
Cables<br />
Instagram Username<br />
1 @mountain_candi ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
2 @mollyOMali ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
3 @stches_by_connie ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
4 @emily_saopraseuth ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
5 @woolycat94 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
6 @thebootlegknier ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
7 @girlcanstchnbitch ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
8 @231bakerst ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
9 @solariEtc ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
10 @wombatofDOOM53 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
11 @koiwood ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
12 @iepure.de.foc ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
13 @loveknotsbycheryl ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
14 @marcellaharville ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
15 @jasminewolverine ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
16 @chickenladyfiberarts ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
17 @blazeknits_ ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
18 @sandyk1ns ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
19 @smiles5712 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
20 @windyhillfarm_ ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
21 @lisa_c_knits ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
22 @mamawantstoknit ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
23 @yarnbender ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
24 @food.gin.travel ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
25 @reneelmt_ ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
26 @CezanneFiberArts ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
27 @raspberrylanestudios ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
28 @knit507 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
29 @sweetmountainfiber ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
30 @morgandailey43 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
31 @micahstches ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
32 @shellehret ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
33 @collinscaoimhe ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
34 @kningmylifeaway ü ü ü ü ü<br />
35 @marianhooks ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
36 @yarnobsessed01 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
37 @raspberrypotpourri ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
38 @cherylb1262 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
39 @spiralout51 ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
40 @luckyjennyknits ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
Email<br />
41 murderknits@gmail.com ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü<br />
Facebook<br />
42 Kansaschickie ü ü ü ü<br />
Double Kning<br />
Intarsia<br />
Fair Isle<br />
Lace<br />
Mosaic<br />
Baby Clothes<br />
Baby / Lap Blankets<br />
Large Blankets<br />
Socks<br />
Gloves / Miens<br />
Hats<br />
Cowls / Scarves /<br />
Sweaters / Cardigans<br />
Toys<br />
7
The Tricoteuse<br />
By Uknitted Kingdom<br />
Tricoteuse /ˌtrɪkəˈtəːz, French tʀikɔtøz/<br />
Noun. One of a number of women who sat and knied while<br />
aending public execuons during the French Revoluon.<br />
"as gleefully as the most ragged and revoluonary tricoteuse"<br />
In October 1789, in the beginning years of the<br />
French Revolution, thousands of working class<br />
women protested and marched to the Palace<br />
of Versailles. The women, hungry and furious<br />
at the inflated cost of food, succeeded in<br />
forcing King Louis XVI to give in to their demands.<br />
The ‘Women’s March’ was applauded and<br />
praised by the wider community and the<br />
leaders of the women, The Tricoteuses, were<br />
exalted and feted by the Parisian Government<br />
and finally invited to The National Convention<br />
(the first French Republic after abolishing<br />
the monarchy).<br />
The Tricoteuse were known to walk the streets<br />
searching for aristocrats and accusing them<br />
of being unpatriotic. They threatened anyone<br />
singled out as privileged, such as landowners<br />
or people with wealth.<br />
The rich and powerful of Paris gave the Tricoteuse<br />
gifts and invited them to events, probably<br />
in a vain attempt to assuage the women’s<br />
wrath and subsequent accusations.<br />
By 1793, the government banned the Tricoteuse<br />
from attending political meetings or<br />
forming political assemblies. The precise reason<br />
for their falling out of favour is unknown, so<br />
perhaps the women harassed the wrong<br />
politician’s wife!<br />
After being banned, the Tricoteuse congregated<br />
in the ‘Place de la Révolution’ with<br />
front row views of the guillotine. Those that<br />
could afford the seats sat knitting in silence, as<br />
victim after victim was decapitated. There are<br />
unverifiable (and unlikely) tales of the Tricoteuses<br />
knitting as they were splattered with<br />
blood from the guillotine. One particularly grisly<br />
report claims at least one woman was seen<br />
to dip her bread into the blood of the executed<br />
before eating it.<br />
As the heads rolled, the Tricoteuses knitted<br />
hats for the Revolution. The pattern they knitted<br />
was known as a “bonnet rouge” and was<br />
usually a knitted red Phrygian cap 1 . The caps<br />
were also known as freedom hats.<br />
Landowners and the rich were so in fear of<br />
being executed they would wear the bonnet<br />
rouge to try to appear to be ‘one of the people’<br />
and hide their links to the aristocracy.<br />
Rules about who was permitted to wear a<br />
bonnet rouge were strict and the bonnet was<br />
seen as sacred. Only those with merit were<br />
permitted to wear them. The bonnets were<br />
even placed atop buildings to dissuade looters<br />
and rioters from attacking buildings.<br />
The Tricoteuse became legendary and have<br />
been infamously depicted in literature and<br />
film. Charles Dickens’ character Madame De<br />
Farge knitted the names of those to be executed<br />
into her knitting. As knitters, we can all<br />
agree that this probably wasn’t based upon<br />
truth!<br />
hps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<br />
Seal_of_the_United_States_Senate<br />
Etching from Harper’s Weekly, August<br />
1881, from a painng by Carl Piloty,<br />
“The Girondists.”<br />
1 Phrygian caps have a long history and were first recorded in the 4 th Century BC. They were worn by those in the ‘cult of Attis’. In<br />
Roman times ‘freemen’ often wore them to show they were no longer slaves. The caps became synonymous with freedom and liberty<br />
and the Seal of the US Senate proudly depicts a Phrygian cap labelled ‘liberty’.<br />
8
228 years later, there was another Women’s<br />
March. This time the march was in 2017 and<br />
was held in Washington D.C., USA.<br />
The women protested against the newly<br />
elected President Donald J. Trump, and arguably<br />
this was the result of them misinterpreting<br />
a private comment he had made<br />
more than 10 years earlier.<br />
The women wore knitted pink ‘pussy hats’ to<br />
reflect the colour of women’s genitalia.<br />
Some wore pink vagina costumes. The reason<br />
for the choice of pink for the hats was<br />
later denied when accusations of racism<br />
and transphobia were levied.<br />
Although the women present were not all<br />
knitters, most of the hats were knitted or crocheted<br />
by hand. The demand for pink yarn<br />
created a shortage across the USA.<br />
The pussy hat became linked to anti-<br />
Republicanism (specifically the Trump Administration)<br />
and, like the Tricoteuse, knitters<br />
furiously created them and demanded yarn<br />
stores, yarn dyers, and others join them.<br />
Since 2017 these modern Tricoteuse have<br />
stalked the internet streets searching for<br />
those they perceive as privileged, of the<br />
wrong political persuasion, of the wrong skin<br />
colour, or simply thinking the wrong way.<br />
Once singled out, their targets are figuratively<br />
beheaded as the Tricoteuses sit, knitting,<br />
dipping their bread into the severed necks of<br />
their victims.<br />
9
dishidents and secquares<br />
by Uknied Kingdom<br />
10
dishidents (dissident dishcloths) and<br />
secquares (secret squares)<br />
yarn<br />
The test knit for these patterns each used approximately<br />
41 to 43g of worsted weight 100% cotton.<br />
gauge<br />
For dishcloths; gauge isn’t particularly important as you<br />
will find your own gauge (or the yarn manufacturers’ recommended<br />
gauge) perfectly adequate.<br />
However, if you choose to knit squares for a blanket try to<br />
be consistent with your yarn and needle choices so that<br />
the squares are the same size.<br />
tips<br />
If preferred, slip the first OR the last stitch of every row to<br />
create a neater edge.<br />
When purling a stitch immediately after knitting a stitch;<br />
pull the excess yarn out of the purl stitch before knitting or<br />
purling on. This helps to reduce loose/baggy knit stitches.<br />
directions<br />
dishcloth/square number three:<br />
Cast on 45 stitches<br />
R1: k45<br />
R2: k45<br />
R3: k45<br />
R4: k45<br />
R5: k45<br />
R6: k45<br />
R7: k4, p37, k4<br />
R8: k45<br />
R9: k4, p2, k4, p6, k4, p8, k8, p5, k4<br />
R10: k45<br />
R11: k4, p2, k4, p5, k4, p9, k9, p4, k4<br />
R12: k45<br />
R13: k4, p2, k4, p4, k4, p10, k3, p4, k3, p3, k4<br />
R14: k45<br />
R15: k4, p2, k4, p3, k4, p2, k6, p3, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R16: k45<br />
R17: k4, p2, k4, p2, k4, p2, k3, p2, k3, p2, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R18: k45<br />
R19: k4, p2, k4, p1, k4, p2, k3, p8, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R20: k45<br />
R21: k4, p2, k8, p3, k9, p2, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R22: k45<br />
R23: k4, p2, k8, p3, k9, p2, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R24: k45<br />
R25: k4, p2, k4, p1, k3, p3, k2, p5, k2, p2, k3, p5, k3, p2, k4<br />
R26: k45<br />
R27: k4, p2, k4, p2, k3, p2, k9, p2, k3, p4, k3, p3, k4<br />
R28: k45<br />
R29: k4, p2, k4, p3, k3, p2, k7, p3, k9, p4, k4<br />
R30: k45<br />
R31: k4, p2, k4, p4, k3, p11, k8, p5, k4<br />
R32: k45<br />
R33: k4, p37, k4<br />
R34: k45<br />
R35: k4, p2, k8, p3, k11, p3, k7, p3, k4<br />
R36: k45<br />
R37: k4, p2, k9, p2, k11, p2, k9, p2, k4<br />
R38: k45<br />
R39: k4, p2, k3, p3, k3, p2, k3, p10, k3, p3, k3, p2, k4<br />
R40: k45<br />
R41: k4, p2, k3, p3, k3, p2, k3, p3, k4, p3, k3, p8, k4<br />
R42: k45<br />
R43: k4, p2, k9, p2, k3, p2, k6, p2, k3, p8, k4<br />
R44: k45<br />
R45: k4, p2, k9, p2, k3, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, k3, p8, k4<br />
R46: k45<br />
R47: k4, p2, k3, p3, k3, p2, k3, p2, k2, p2, k2, p2, k3, p8, k4<br />
R48: k45<br />
R49: k4, p2, k3, p3, k3, p2, k3, p2, k6, p2, k3, p3, k3, p2, k4<br />
R50: k45<br />
R51: k4, p2, k9, p2, k3, p3, k4, p3, k9, p2, k4<br />
R52: k45<br />
R53: k4, p2, k8, p3, k3, p11, k7, p3, k4<br />
R54: k45<br />
R55: k4, p37, k4<br />
R56: k45<br />
R57: k45<br />
R58: k45<br />
R59: k45<br />
R60: k45<br />
R61: k45<br />
R62: k45<br />
Bind Off.<br />
pattern errata<br />
Errata can be reported via email to:<br />
uknittedkingdom@gmail.com<br />
© Copyright <strong>2022</strong> Uknitted Kingdom<br />
All rights reserved.<br />
11
How to Survive Being Cancelled<br />
By ‘a cancellee’<br />
When you find yourself the target of an internet mobbing, it can take your breath away. Hundreds of<br />
strangers “pile on” your social media account with vile accusations and hateful wishes. Those who would<br />
otherwise support you are too afraid to say anything in your defense out of fear of becoming a target themselves.<br />
The self-appointed assessors of righteousness and purity often crawl through your list of followers and<br />
demand your friends denounce you or suffer the same fate. Your business or brand that you’ve worked so<br />
hard to build starts shedding customers— thousands of them.<br />
If you do not own a business, the online attacks can still affect your job. If your personal information is not well<br />
-protected, expect calls to your employer and an attempt to get you fired. Sometimes the mob calls child<br />
protective services and begins that nightmare for you.<br />
What type of offense is worthy of all this effort and contempt? Any, really. In the past we’ve seen that simply<br />
asking for kindness will send the cancel mob into a hysterical frenzy where the goal is the utter destruction of<br />
the asker.<br />
There are not a lot of resources available to help you if you find yourself the focus of the mob. It can be disorienting,<br />
and it feels like the whole world is against you. We’ve put together a guide of coping strategies<br />
should you find yourself ‘cancelled.’<br />
Accept That It’s Unfair<br />
Cancel culture essentially operates as a kangaroo court where an unappointed jury passes judgement and<br />
imposes punishment without giving you the ability to plead your case or be heard. Your attackers are sadists<br />
at heart, and they enjoy the hunt and the kill.<br />
It’s important to know that cancelling is NOT about morality or ethics. It is about power and dominance. The<br />
goal is to control behavior and thinking.<br />
Nothing about cancel culture is fair. Your brand and reputation are forever altered. There is no going back<br />
to the way it was before. However, once you accept this, you can start to rebuild. You may find in the rebuilding<br />
that you have a smaller but more stable customer base – or a smaller, but closer-knit group of<br />
friends – that doesn’t come with the threat of impending cancellation.<br />
Remember Who You Are<br />
Keep hold of your sense of who you are. Accept that others will have misconceptions about you. Being misunderstood<br />
is uncomfortable. However, there is a lot of wisdom in the maxim “consider the source.” Online<br />
strangers, no matter how strong their opinions, are simply strangers. Many of them have mental illnesses –<br />
many self-declared and listed in their bios – and are not people who you would ever consult for life advice.<br />
When you find yourself mobbed by them it’s important to rely on real people in your real life who know you<br />
and whom you trust. You are still the same person you were before anonymous accounts labeled you<br />
“toxic.” You know what is true about yourself. Stay honest and stick to the truth of the matter.<br />
12
Limit Screen Time<br />
Focus on your real life and real relationships. Remember the difference<br />
between real life and social media. The curated feeds of Instagram<br />
are an illusion. People may not realize that the behind-thescenes<br />
of the knitting industry is cut-throat. The smiling faces online<br />
do not translate to friendly people in the real world. Knitting is ultimately<br />
a competitive business. The same can be said for the world of<br />
knitfluencers.<br />
Do Not Apologize<br />
Apologies will not provide any relief from the attacks. They serve only<br />
to embolden the mob and will make it even more difficult for the<br />
next person to stand up. No apology will ever be good enough. It will<br />
be viewed as insincere or lacking or problematic in some way. Apologizing<br />
disheartens those who are willing to stand by you and help<br />
you rebuild. By apologizing, you alienate everyone.<br />
One caveat— if you truly feel like you are wrong and want to clear<br />
your conscience, then an apology is appropriate. Just do not expect that it will alleviate the onslaught.<br />
Stay Calm<br />
Resist the urge to go on the defensive. The mob will eventually go find someone else to harass, especially if<br />
you do not engage. If you do engage, your words will be used against you. Expect anything you say to circulate<br />
across social media and for it to be twisted to make you look bad. The intent is to shame you and to<br />
intimidate others. “Look what will happen to you if you don’t toe the party line.”<br />
One strategy is to post pretty pictures of your yarn or knitting or kittens. Make it difficult for them to find reasons<br />
to create more smear campaigns. Be prepared that if you leave your comments open, your posts will<br />
be filled with attacks from the mob.<br />
Don’t Expect to Change Minds<br />
Studies have shown that presenting sound arguments supported by facts are not effective in changing the<br />
minds of ideologs. These people value their social and moral status above evidence. If you are a person who<br />
forms your world view on the basis of facts, it may be hard to accept that most people fight data to keep<br />
their belief systems intact.<br />
Record Everything<br />
The behavior of some of your attackers is possibly illegal. You may be able to bring your case to court. Keeping<br />
records of the harassment, libel, and slander could make all the difference in a court of law.<br />
Courage is Contagious<br />
Courage begets courage. People will watch you to see how you react. Your choices will either inspire more<br />
fear or they will inspire others to take a stand. The more people who are willing to speak out, the more quickly<br />
we will reach a point where we can cancel ‘cancel culture.’ We can help create an environment where<br />
civil discourse is the norm. They can’t cancel all of us.<br />
I know of a person who was cancelled and went to a<br />
fiber festival anyways. When people saw her and<br />
scowled, she walked right up to them and started a<br />
conversation. She made them acknowledge her and<br />
see her as a person. With another human being in front<br />
of them, they begrudgingly engaged in polite small<br />
talk.<br />
If you find yourself cancelled and alone, please know<br />
that it won’t last. You WILL find a new tribe that accepts<br />
you and appreciates you. Being cancelled is<br />
emotionally difficult but life after cancellation can be<br />
better than before.<br />
13
Know the rules and break them anyway.<br />
By Maree Buscke<br />
Knitting started as a way to create cloth and garments as early as<br />
1000AD in Egypt and found its way to Europe and by the 14 th century<br />
where a trade guild was established to elevate the craft to<br />
improve quality and assure higher prices.<br />
With this elevation to guild status, techniques were recorded and<br />
the ‘rules’ of knitting started to be firmly established from oral tradition<br />
to fully-fledged trades. As knitting spread across the continent,<br />
so did the cultural spin to the craft.<br />
Outside of the guilds, knitting was a vastly more practical affair,<br />
with garments created to fit with the lives and livelihoods of the recipients. Those traditions<br />
passed from one generation to the next.<br />
With the advent of publishing and open access to travel, knitting started the transition from<br />
practicality to pastime and with this you saw creativity expand to whimsies of fashion or the<br />
simple necessity of the environment, supply or situation.<br />
Some of the foundational rules of knitting, whether it be by hand or<br />
machine, have always been set around consistency and predictability<br />
of outcome. This was usually revolved around gauge/tension &<br />
cover factor of the fabric. The first helped determine sizing and the latter<br />
wear and functionality.<br />
Those rules still stand today.<br />
How many times have you sought advice about knitting a garment<br />
and the first question has been “Did you swatch?”<br />
Swatching helps set the ground rules for sizing and shape, a snapshot of how a fabric will look<br />
and perform. Once you know the rules, however, then you can also break them and swatching<br />
is the key to this too.<br />
In our impatience we often think that swatching a waste of time or yarn, but if you want to express<br />
your inner stitching anarchist, swatching allows you to test your ideas, throw caution to<br />
the wind and rewrite the rules to the stitching story you want to write.<br />
This is where you can expand or contract your needle, work out various stitch combinations,<br />
multi strand yarns, even substitute yarns for other materials. Each swatch is then a glimpse of<br />
what could become your final garment. It allows you to also see the positives and negatives<br />
of the new fabric and how best it can be used.<br />
Designers have been doing this for years. The glitter knitter StevenBe is famous for his use of<br />
mixed mediums like wool with lurex, knitted fishing line and even knitted cassette tape! Steven<br />
crafts pieces that are worn as layers to create a statement and have fun with fashion and<br />
your craft.<br />
Personally I love nothing more than taking a single design and adding my<br />
own ‘Maree Modifications’. What happens if I change the gauge, alter<br />
the medium, add extra textures, and play with the length, shaping or<br />
size?<br />
Not only does it fuel your creativity, it also helps you maximise the value<br />
from every design you have purchased and allows you to add your own<br />
stamp of personality to each piece.<br />
The first step, you guessed it, is a swatch.<br />
14
Cultural Appropriation and Knitting<br />
By Natasha<br />
The question a lot of people in the knitting community are asking recently<br />
is, “Does cultural appropriation in knitting actually exist?” The answer to that in simplest<br />
terms is “sort-of.” What I mean by that is cultural appropriation itself does not exist in<br />
knitting, but some people try to stir up trouble where there is none to start arguments<br />
and disagreements because they want attention. Which, to me, sounds very desperate.<br />
Take it from a girl in middle school, it sounds like something a teenage girl would do<br />
for attention. This doesn’t make the knitters behaving this way seem very mature.<br />
An example of knitters using cultural appropriation to start drama is the knitting<br />
pattern “Kochi Kimono.” There is no problem with this pattern being called “Kochi<br />
Kimono” because the overall style, with exception to some details, is very similar to the<br />
traditional kimono. The pattern was actually styled to look just like the traditional<br />
Kimono, with the exception of it being knitted. Because knitters stirred up trouble for no<br />
reason, the designer of Paper Cut Patterns had to change the name to “Kochi Jacket''<br />
and had to apologize to everyone for offending them. This was not the first time in fashion<br />
that some have named a design containing the term Kimono or copied the style of a<br />
Kimono. You have to ask why was this time so offensive?<br />
Another example of controversy is whether or not the “Chinese Waitress Cast<br />
On” is an offensive name. The reason it is called a “Chinese Waitress Cast On” is<br />
because a Chinese waitress was the first one to teach it. I see no reason to change it<br />
because it is just named after the waitress that created it, who was not offended by it being<br />
named after her. So I do not know why other people are offended by it. Why should it be offensive<br />
to knitters to have things named after the persons who invented them?<br />
These are just a couple of examples that<br />
show that cultural appropriation in knitting is<br />
just a means to start arguments and get<br />
attention. Knitting has been developing for<br />
thousands of years across the globe, different<br />
cultures have added new techniques<br />
and construction methods just like artists<br />
and architects have added to painting<br />
techniques/movements and architectural<br />
styles. Would we attack someone for painting<br />
like Salvador Dali or designing a building<br />
like I. M. Pei?<br />
Knitting is just another construction technique<br />
and a skill that anyone can learn.<br />
15
please,<br />
whatever you do,<br />
do NOT read this!<br />
By Uknitted Kingdom<br />
We seem to have caused somewhat of a stir,<br />
haven’t we?<br />
Before the premiere <strong>issue</strong> of <strong>Blocked</strong> was even<br />
released, the usual suspects were already accusing<br />
the magazine of “abhorrent and disgusting”<br />
content.<br />
“I haven’t looked at it,” said one knitter, “but I<br />
know what it contains.”<br />
“It’s a white supremacist burn book!” said another<br />
who hadn’t laid eyes on a word of<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong>.<br />
Many impassioned pleas were made to NOT<br />
look at our publication…<br />
It was the best advertising <strong>Blocked</strong> could have<br />
wished for! Within one week more than 14,000<br />
readers had viewed these “vile” pages.<br />
With every Instagram story that begged followers<br />
to avoid the magazine, more readers (and<br />
Patrons!) walked through our virtual doors.<br />
As our views climbed, our detractors explored<br />
different tactics to sabotage us. A campaign<br />
was organized to report <strong>Blocked</strong> for hate<br />
speech and racism. An automated system<br />
took the magazine offline for two days (over<br />
the weekend) until a human was able to review<br />
it. This person rejected the complaints as<br />
malicious and without merit and the magazine<br />
was promptly placed back online. This time,<br />
however, <strong>Blocked</strong> <strong>issue</strong> one was block-proof!<br />
The platform confirmed it would never again<br />
be taken down by complaints.<br />
Several unsuccessful attempts were made to<br />
break into our social media accounts so fake<br />
accounts featuring pornography were made<br />
using similar names.<br />
Knitfluencers used social media to intimidate<br />
their own followers in order to cripple our magazine.<br />
They demanded that their followers<br />
block all contributors to <strong>Blocked</strong> within 10 days<br />
“or else!”<br />
Rumours even began circulating that cancelled<br />
’knitfluencer’, Kristy Glass, was secretly<br />
funding the magazine. Apparently, a few people<br />
pushed the lie that the magazine had emboldened<br />
her to return to public life and that<br />
we were all somehow conspiring to promote<br />
racism, and other evils, within the knitting community.<br />
There were likely other attempts at sabotage,<br />
unbeknownst to us. However, you can’t stop a<br />
movement whose time has come. The truth<br />
has a way of cutting through all the lies. And<br />
here we still are, 14,000 readers later!<br />
We had anticipated a small readership of<br />
about 2,000. It is humbling that our expectations<br />
were wildly exceeded. We are grateful to<br />
all of you who have turned out to contribute<br />
content, read our magazine, and support us. If<br />
you are one of our many readers who has endured<br />
harassment or threats from<br />
‘knitfluencers’ online, we thank you for your<br />
courage.<br />
So now that the hysteria has quieted somewhat<br />
it’s time to get on with <strong>issue</strong> two of<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong>. We hope that you enjoy the content<br />
on our pages. And we hope that if you are inspired,<br />
you will think about participating.<br />
If you have a pattern, or an article, or artwork<br />
that you’d like to have reviewed and considered<br />
for publication, please email us at:<br />
blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
16
17
The Lazy Knitter’s Guide<br />
to Knitting Mojo<br />
by the Laziest Knitter, Illustrations by Abby D<br />
Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about the somewhat elusive ‘knitting mojo.’ We all<br />
know how it happens; Christmas is looming on the horizon and we spend several frantic weeks<br />
knitting furiously on 20 pairs of wool mittens for friends and family. By the time the New Year rolls<br />
around, we never want to see a knitting needle again.<br />
A new sweater pattern and a yarn we’ve been dying to try helps to restart the mojo. That luxurious,<br />
fuzzy, and hard-to-frog yarn comes together with a misread of the instructions and we<br />
need to unravel back to the cast on. In disgust, we shove our project away and the mojo<br />
evaporates for weeks or months.<br />
If you’re reading this publication, you may be familiar with the occurrence of another mojokiller.<br />
Hundreds, if not thousands of knitters have laid down their needles and headed over to<br />
greener pastures and friendlier communities. Why? Knitting went ‘woke.’<br />
For some, they walked away when Ravelry declared them white supremacists (regardless of<br />
their skin color.) For others, it was the online mobbings and cancel-brigades that drove them<br />
away from their craft.<br />
I abandoned my needles for over a year after Sockmatician was bullied into a hospital. Watching<br />
knitters I knew and admired celebrate the destruction of Nathan’s mental health and career<br />
ultimately soured my feelings about both the “knitting community” and knitting itself. Demands<br />
for statements of fidelity to the ideology that fueled the psychological torment were<br />
everywhere. Knitting friends who spoke of inclusivity and kindness were demonstrating cruelty<br />
and ostracizing anyone who had different life experiences or different perspectives. Very few<br />
knitfluencers were able to find the courage to take a stand against it. Those that did paid dearly<br />
for it.<br />
My beautiful stash of hand-dyed yarn and my half-completed projects became a visual reminder<br />
of the pain of being mischaracterized and the loss of community I felt. It’s difficult to<br />
want to knit when there’s so much emotional baggage attached. Also, I just didn’t want to join<br />
the creepy cult.<br />
18
Why Even Care About Your Knitting Mojo?<br />
If you are like me, you have spent a considerable amount of time and money collecting yarn,<br />
patterns, and knitting skills. You have dreamt about the beautiful finished objects that your<br />
stash will become. And how awesome is it when a stranger asks where we got our sweater/<br />
hat/shawl and we can say we made it ourselves?!<br />
The stress that comes with making a<br />
large investment in a hobby that<br />
goes unused isn’t exactly comfortable.<br />
A sweater’s quantity of handdyed<br />
yarn can easily cost over $200,<br />
not to mention the $10 pattern and<br />
all the classes you took to learn the<br />
necessary skills. It feels incredibly<br />
wasteful.<br />
Find a New Tribe<br />
If your loss of mojo is due to loss of<br />
community, the quickest way to find<br />
your knitting mojo again is to find a<br />
group of knitters that is inclusive— as<br />
in the actual definition of “inclusive,”<br />
and not, you know, a weird cult. These inclusive groups are getting easier and easier to find<br />
thanks, in large part, to the “inclusive” groups shunning and publicly humiliating anyone with<br />
the audacity to question them. (You know, how cults work.) I’ve found knitting groups on FB<br />
that keep politics out of it. There are also knitting groups that cater to those who were expelled<br />
from Ravelry. A community of people who can empathize with your pain and who love to knit<br />
can go a long way toward wanting to pick up your needles again. If you are on IG, search for<br />
#dismantletheknittingcult. You may find kindred spirits there.<br />
Overdye Toxic Skeins<br />
What if a large part of your stash is yarn from a dyer who has participated in the mobbings<br />
and cancellings? Hand dyed yarn is beautiful (and expensive), but yarn dyed by the hands of<br />
someone who has taken part in bullying or doxing doesn’t exactly inspire. What can you do?<br />
Besides the obvious selling/trading/donating the yarn, you can overdye it and turn it into<br />
something new. Magical things happen when you overdye a color you don’t like or want, especially<br />
when you use light color washes which act as glazes. I’ve used this technique on colorways<br />
that I didn’t like and have gotten results that are stunning.<br />
Don’t know how to dye yarn? There<br />
are a lot of free resources available on<br />
YouTube. If you are willing to invest in<br />
classes, the School of Sweet Georgia<br />
has very thorough classes on practically<br />
every method of yarn dyeing under<br />
the sun. Dyeing yarn is not as unapproachable<br />
as you might think. You<br />
can use acid dye and citric acid or<br />
you can use food dye and vinegar<br />
right out of your kitchen. In the same<br />
vein, to inspire your mojo to return, try<br />
dyeing your own colorways from<br />
scratch! Wool2dye4.com is a great resource<br />
for quality bare yarns.<br />
19
Frog Everything<br />
Frogging all your projects may seem<br />
extreme, but to me, it feels like freedom.<br />
Unraveling my stagnant projects<br />
is liberating. The yarn goes back into<br />
stash and becomes fuel for inspiration.<br />
I regain all my freshly emptied needles.<br />
Plus, I can indulge in cast-on-itis, guilt<br />
free!<br />
What does frogging mean in<br />
knitting? It is when you remove<br />
your needles from your project<br />
and pull the yarn out, undoing<br />
all the rows. Frogging gets it’s<br />
name from “rip it, rip it, rip it”<br />
which sounds like a frog’s croak.<br />
Indulge Your Curiosity<br />
Sometimes it’s a joy to work on something mindless, like a stockinette sock. But there is something<br />
intrinsically exciting about a project where you learn a new technique. When I found the<br />
Skew sock, I couldn’t put it down. Watching a sock emerge from a construction that wasn’t intuitive<br />
to me was exciting! In that same vein, using a new yarn or a new pattern can reignite<br />
excitement for your craft. Explore and nourish your curiosity.<br />
Do It For You<br />
Forget the gift knitting and deadline knitting and knit for yourself. It’s a shame that we often refer<br />
to this as “selfish knitting.” Do potters have “selfish bowls” or painters have “selfish paintings?”<br />
Knitting can be practical but it is also an artform, a type of self-expression. All art is inherently<br />
selfish in this way and it should be!<br />
Do It For Charity<br />
It’s often our selfless acts that bring us the most satisfaction. Using your stash and skills to help a<br />
stranger may be just what you need to bring back your mojo. Whether it’s knitting hats for veterans<br />
or lap blankets for seniors, knitting knockers for breast cancer survivors or blankets for animals<br />
in shelters, there are limitless opportunities for giving back. Contact your local hospital to<br />
see if they need beanies for preemies or your homeless shelter to see if they need mittens and<br />
scarves. Want more ideas? A quick internet search on ‘charity knitting’ will bring up numerous<br />
options.<br />
Give Yourself Time<br />
If none of these ideas work for you, give yourself<br />
more time. People throughout history have<br />
knitted for the sheer joy of it long before<br />
knitfluencers existed. I often remind myself<br />
that I loved knitting before I loved podcasts or<br />
IG. While the pain of losing a community is real,<br />
I don’t want it to translate to the loss of my<br />
favorite creative outlet. It’s taken time, but my<br />
mojo has returned in full— reawakened, I<br />
would say. I hope the same for you.<br />
20
Join Two Sisters & Some Yarn with<br />
their latest make-along (MAL).<br />
· Just create and have fun; join in using<br />
the hashtag #TSASYMAL and<br />
tag @twosistersandsomeyarn.<br />
· Start a new project with the ‘Two<br />
Sisters and Some Yarn’ colorway<br />
from @sweetmountaincrafts or any<br />
of her other yarns or ber.<br />
· For details of other indie dyers you<br />
can use contact Two Sisters &<br />
Some Yarn on Instagram.<br />
Join us in <strong>2022</strong> to knit, crochet, and spin!<br />
Quarterly KCALS with fun themes, video chats, prizes galore, no politics<br />
and almost no rules.<br />
It’s time that we bridge the divide created in the fiber community and get<br />
back to the joy of making!<br />
21
Knitting for Crocheters<br />
by Uknitted Kingdom<br />
I was recently asked if I could write a ‘how-to-knit’ for crocheters who have tried to knit and<br />
failed, then tried to knit again and failed again. Those that have failed many times (and given<br />
up for good) may find this useful.<br />
This is a temporary solution designed to acclimatize crocheters into knitting in a more crochetfriendly<br />
way before moving on to a more traditional knitting method.<br />
For me, crochet was far more complicated to learn than knitting. Where knitting has 2 basic<br />
stitches, knit and purl, crochet has slip stitch, SC (single crochet), HDC (half double), DC<br />
(double), HTC (half triple), TC (triple) and so on. This is before learning extended stitches, post<br />
stitches, Tunisian stitches and then learning the difference between USA terms and UK terms.<br />
Imagine if every time you read a pattern, you had to check if the knit stitch was a USA knit<br />
stitch or a UK purl stitch and whether the purl stitch was a USA purl stitch or a UK knit stitch!<br />
Over the years I’ve experimented with different styles of knitting. I began as an English<br />
‘thrower’, however after developing carpal tunnel syndrome I researched different styles of<br />
knitting to try to reduce the stress on my hands and wrists. After trying continental, Norwegian<br />
and Portuguese/Andean methods I settled permanently into the Portuguese style. These styles<br />
of knitting gave me the idea for this technique.<br />
Some, but not all, Portuguese and Andean knitters use hooked knitting needles. The needles<br />
have a hook on one end and a traditional knitting point on the other.<br />
As crocheters are more familiar with manipulating yarn with hooks than needles this technique<br />
could be a temporary solution and a step towards knitting with needles.<br />
Tools<br />
To try this technique you will need two Portuguese knitting hooks. As these are not easily available,<br />
and can be quite expensive, Afghan hooks can be used instead. They are just as useful,<br />
are easier to source and are much more affordable.<br />
You will need 2 hooks of the same size (appropriate for the yarn weight you prefer to use).<br />
Afghan hooks have a crochet hook at one end, a smooth, uninterrupted shaft and a ‘stopper’<br />
at the end of the hook to prevent the stitches falling off. Afghan hooks are usually much longer<br />
than crochet hooks and can be the same length as straight knitting needles.<br />
Your usual crochet hooks will not be suitable if they have larger handles than the shaft, an indent<br />
on the shaft for your thumb, or short shafts.<br />
22
Yarn choice<br />
For the time being choose your favourite weight of yarn. For example, don’t use fingering<br />
weight to knit if you usually use worsted weight to crochet.<br />
Holding the needles<br />
You will probably hold your crochet hook like a pen or like a knife. Whichever way you hold<br />
your hook, apply the same hold when knitting.<br />
Which Knitting Style should a crocheter choose to learn?<br />
As with knitting, crochet can have a number of styles. To my knowledge they don’t have titles<br />
(I’d be very interested to hear if you know otherwise), so for the purpose of this article, I’ll call<br />
them by the names of the knitting techniques that I’m going to compare them to. The reason<br />
for this will become clear.<br />
The Continental Crochet hold. This style is where a right-handed crocheter holds the hook in<br />
the right hand and the working yarn in the left. The yarn is tensioned around the ring or little finger<br />
and the ‘active’ yarn is suspended from the raised index finger. The yarn is then hooked<br />
from the ‘active’ part of the yarn.<br />
The Norwegian Crochet hold. Similar to the Continental style, the Norwegian style is where a<br />
right-handed crocheter holds the hook in the right hand and the working yarn in the left. The<br />
yarn is tensioned around the ring or little finger and the ‘active’ yarn is held over the lowered<br />
index finger. The index finger does not rise at any point. The working yarn is then hooked directly<br />
from the index finger.<br />
The English Crochet hold. This is a style utilized by left-handed crocheters. The hook is held in<br />
the left hand. And the yarn is wrapped or thrown around the hook by the right hand.<br />
First, identify which kind of crocheter you are. If you fall into one of the three styles above I<br />
think you will have some success learning to knit.<br />
Make your transition from crochet to knitting as familiar as possible. For continental Crocheters,<br />
learn continental-style knitting. Norwegian Crocheters, learn Norwegian-style knitting and English<br />
Crocheters, learn English-style knitting. The reason for this is that the crocheter will already<br />
be used to holding and manipulating the yarn in that way.<br />
23
Casting on<br />
For the time being use a crochet chain cast on. This will be familiar to all crocheters and is a legitimate<br />
cast on for many knitting projects.<br />
Chain 21.<br />
With the Afghan hook SC (USA) or DC (UK) into the 2 nd chain from the hook. HOWEVER do not<br />
finish the stitch. Insert the hook through the 2 nd chain, catch the yarn as usual, pull through the<br />
chain but DO NOT complete the stitch as you would with crochet. Just leave the loop on the<br />
hook. You will have 2 loops on your hook. Now do exactly the same into the 3 rd chain. You will<br />
have 3 loops on the hook. Continue until you have worked all the chains. You will have 21 loops<br />
on your hook.<br />
Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig.4<br />
In fig. 1 to fig. 4, I began with several rows of single crochet (USA)/ double crochet (UK). However,<br />
this process would be the same if starting from a chain.<br />
This is exactly how you would begin a Tunisian Crochet project. However, the comparison with<br />
Tunisian crochet begins and ends here.<br />
Swap the hook with the 21 loops from your right hand to your left hand (Fig. 5). The hook end<br />
should be facing to the right. When crocheting you would now be holding the fabric between<br />
your thumb and middle finger. Do the same with the hook that holds the 21 loops. Wrap the<br />
working yarn how you would when crocheting.<br />
Insert the right hook into the first loop on the left hook through the back loop (Fig. 6).<br />
Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9<br />
Catch the yarn from your index finger (Fig. 7) and pull it back through the loop (Fig. 8). You will<br />
now have a new loop on your right-hand needle.<br />
Allow the ‘old’ loop to slip off the left hook (Fig. 9).<br />
You have knitted your first stitch.<br />
Continue knitting into each loop on the left hook until you have 21 stitches on the right hook.<br />
In Fig.10 you will see 2 rows of knit stitch directly below the<br />
needle. Two rows of knit stitch creates one garter stitch ridge.<br />
Below the garter stitch ridge are several rows of crochet.<br />
Fig. 10<br />
Photography © <strong>2022</strong> @Mac.Tlu<br />
24
Knitting is simply a series of crochet slip-stitches. Purling is similar except you enter the stitch from<br />
the back to the front instead of knitting from the front to the back. Purling is a little trickier so for<br />
now focus on the knit stitch.<br />
When crocheting a slip stitch you would insert<br />
the hook into the stitch from the front, catch<br />
the yarn, pull it back through the stitch and<br />
then, as part of the same movement, you pull<br />
the new loop through the old loop leaving<br />
one loop on the hook. Knitting is almost the<br />
same. You just omit the last stage.<br />
At this point, experienced knitters might possibly<br />
be appalled. Remember, this is a technique<br />
for crocheters that have failed to learn<br />
to knit and require a different approach.<br />
Knitters will recognize that this method produces<br />
an Eastern-style knit stitch. Where Western<br />
knitters enter the stitch from front left, the<br />
Eastern method enters the stitch from back<br />
right. This method has no bearing on the appearance<br />
of the knitted fabric so long as the<br />
accompanying purl stitch is created in the<br />
matching East or West style. The Eastern method<br />
will feel more familiar to crocheters.<br />
Crochet slip stitch<br />
Begin with one loop<br />
on your hook<br />
Insert hook through the<br />
first stitch from the<br />
front to the back.<br />
Catch the working yarn<br />
from your index finger<br />
with the hook.<br />
Pull the working yarn<br />
back through the stitch.<br />
Pull the working yarn<br />
through the loop on the<br />
hook.<br />
One loop on the hook.<br />
Knit stitch<br />
Begin with zero loops on<br />
your right needle but with<br />
the<br />
desired number of loops<br />
(stitches) on your left needle.<br />
Insert the needle through<br />
the first loop on the left<br />
needle from front to the<br />
back.<br />
Catch the working yarn<br />
from your index finger<br />
with your needle.<br />
Pull the working yarn<br />
back through the loop.<br />
Allow the original loop to<br />
drop off the left needle.<br />
Two loops on the needle.<br />
Binding Off<br />
To bind off, work each stitch from the left hook in the same method as before, but this time finish<br />
each stitch as if you are making a crochet slip stitch.<br />
Insert the right hook into the first loop on the left hook through the back loop.<br />
Catch the yarn from your index finger and pull it back through the loop. You will now have a<br />
new loop on your right-hand needle. You will now have one stitch.<br />
*Insert the right hook into the next loop on the left hook through the back loop. Pull the working<br />
yarn through. You will have two loops on your right hook.<br />
Pull the new loop through the old loop (as per crochet). One loop on your hook.**<br />
Continue * to ** until you have one loop left. Finish off in the same way as you would with crochet.<br />
Keep practicing this until you are familiar with the physical movements involved. When you feel<br />
confident try doing exactly the same with knitting needles instead of hooks.<br />
If you have found this useful please let me know and I’ll prepare a ‘Purling for Crocheters’ for<br />
the next <strong>issue</strong>.<br />
25
Email:<br />
blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
26
It seems that just as we knitters and crocheters settle down to our craft; someone else comes<br />
along and causes us to drop a stitch, or worse, causes us to lose our excitement and enjoyment<br />
of the particular project we’ve been working on. So many times I’ve heard that the unpleasantness<br />
surrounding our corner of the world has stagnated creativity.<br />
In ’Dropped Stitch of the Month’ I’ll highlight the latest bad behaviour to cause our collective<br />
and figurative dropped stitches. As with a literal dropped stitch we can’t simply knit on. We<br />
have to ladder that sucker back up and regain composure, and then, and only then, knit on.<br />
This month’s ‘Dropped Stitch’ is:<br />
Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.<br />
Although Trudeau is not a knitter/crocheter his actions and words have negatively affected<br />
many of us.<br />
27
THEY [THE UNVACCINATED] ARE<br />
EXTREMISTS WHO DON’T<br />
BELIEVE IN SCIENCE,<br />
THEY’RE OFTEN MISOGYNISTS,<br />
ALSO OFTEN RACISTS.<br />
IT’S A SMALL GROUP<br />
THAT MUSCLES IN,<br />
AND WE HAVE TO<br />
MAKE A CHOICE IN<br />
TERMS OF LEADERS,<br />
IN TERMS OF<br />
THE COUNTRY.<br />
DO WE<br />
TOLERATE<br />
THESE<br />
PEOPLE?<br />
28
Here, at <strong>Blocked</strong>, we believe that if you see a pattern or a yarn that you love, you should<br />
download or purchase it. We don’t support boycotts, blacklists, or cancelling. No one has the<br />
right to dictate how any of us spend our money or the yarns or patterns we enjoy.<br />
If you’ve seen the pattern or yarn you want to have already, go for it! However, if you haven’t<br />
chosen a specific pattern or yarn and are browsing for inspiration, please start with the designers<br />
and indie dyers listed below.<br />
These small businesses have been boycotted and blacklisted. Or they risk the same simply by<br />
not supporting the cancelling of others or, just for appearing in <strong>Blocked</strong>.<br />
As the months progress, we hope this list will get longer as more designers and indie dyers collaborate<br />
with <strong>Blocked</strong> or choose to advertise in <strong>Blocked</strong>.<br />
If you are a designer and we feature one of your patterns, you will receive free advertising in<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> for 12 months.<br />
If you are an indie dyer, you can advertise within the magazine for as little as $15 per quarter to<br />
appear in the quarterly <strong>issue</strong>s or $10 per month to appear in every <strong>issue</strong>.<br />
Knitty McPurly<br />
Lizclothier Designs<br />
http://www.knittymcpurly.com/<br />
https://www.ravelry.com/designers/liz-clothier<br />
Anne Pinkava<br />
Deplorable Knitter<br />
YankeeRose Creations<br />
https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/user/maker/fdba7e1e-93b6-4b6f-9f82-06ef18d0ec8c<br />
https://galilee-life.com/vendor/deplorable-knitter/<br />
http://www.yankeerose.etsy.com/<br />
29
The Church of the Poisoned Mind (Fleecing the Disturbed)<br />
by Uknied Kingdom<br />
We face a new religious cult. The religion of<br />
“anti-racism.” One of the high priestesses, a<br />
knitwear designer, states, with authority, that:<br />
· all white people are racist, but some are<br />
working towards being less racist.<br />
· That she, as a black woman, cannot be<br />
racist.<br />
· That black women should be believed at<br />
all times.<br />
· That facts and evidence are tools of<br />
white supremacy.<br />
· If you don’t admit to being a racist, guess<br />
what? You’re a racist!<br />
Not being racist isn’t enough. You have to be<br />
actively anti-racist. This entails harassing, reprimanding,<br />
and reporting perceived instances<br />
of micro-aggression. If you aren’t actively antiracist<br />
you must, in their view, support racism.<br />
Each week she delivers her sermon, and after<br />
the release of <strong>Blocked</strong>, she led her flock in a<br />
minute’s silence for all the black women that<br />
were ‘harmed’.<br />
At the close of each sermon she allows white<br />
and non-black worshippers to communicate<br />
with her for 10 minutes and 10 minutes only in<br />
a form of public confessional. Confessors are<br />
encouraged to “sit in their discomfort” and<br />
profess their racist sins.<br />
After the confessional, ONLY black people are<br />
permitted to speak to her. Whites, Asians,<br />
Jews, Latinos, and any other non-blacks are<br />
strictly verboten. However, they are all expected<br />
to put money into the collection box<br />
via her tip-jar or ‘badges’. Contributors and<br />
contributions are noted.<br />
The religious metaphor took another step closer<br />
to reality this month when the high priestess<br />
<strong>issue</strong>d an encyclical stating that “Black life is<br />
sacred.” A caveat was included to make it<br />
clear that unborn black babies’ lives were absolutely<br />
NOT sacred and had no value except<br />
as an extension of the uterus owner’s body.<br />
Deliberately excluding the lives of all other<br />
races/ethnicities from being perceived as<br />
equal/sacred is the first step on a path that<br />
has been well-trodden by race-purists since<br />
time began.<br />
For those of us that believe ALL life is sacred<br />
this should cause some concern.<br />
The church of Anti-Racism preaches that:<br />
· White people are raised to have no empathy,<br />
especially for black people.<br />
· That white lives are less important than<br />
the sacrosanct black lives.<br />
· That white people kill black people and<br />
that white people are inferior but also<br />
have privilege.<br />
Recently a gay, white man sent the priestess a<br />
private message to talk about some anti-racist<br />
resources he had enjoyed. She exploded with<br />
anger, humiliated him and instructed her flock<br />
of minions, as she calls them, to scorch the<br />
Earth of his presence. His crime? Daring to<br />
speak to a black woman. His white privilege<br />
and power wasn’t enough to save him from<br />
excommunication.<br />
This religion is not about equality. If it were, its<br />
disciples would call for equality for all. Instead,<br />
they call for power, exclusivity, privilege, and<br />
wealth at the expense of all others.<br />
There is no point defending your position as a<br />
reasonable human being. To this church you<br />
carry the original sin of white skin. The shame<br />
of your nakedness. The mark of Cain. Unless<br />
you are baptized into the cult you will always<br />
be considered the most racist of the racists, at<br />
best a heathen, worse a blasphemer, or worst<br />
of all, a witch.<br />
30
There are even ‘witch-finders’ under the command<br />
of a handful of white, witch-finder generals.<br />
They scrutinize Instagram, Facebook and<br />
other social media platforms for evidence of<br />
witchcraft. Association with other witches is<br />
enough to get one denounced. If those denounced<br />
do not confess, prostrate themselves<br />
before the altar of Anti-Racism, and perform<br />
their penance, they are tried in the ‘Court of<br />
Hysteria’ and inevitably burned.<br />
Throughout history. witch-finders, religious dogmatists,<br />
and cultists, have never been remembered<br />
fondly.<br />
In 1647, after personally overseeing the execution<br />
of approximately 300 ‘witches’, Matthew<br />
Hopkins, the original ‘Witchfinder General’,<br />
died, aged 27. He is rumoured to have<br />
drowned undergoing one of his own<br />
’swimming trials’ after being accused of witchcraft<br />
himself.<br />
Sadly, as ironic and satisfying as this rumour is,<br />
it is more likely that he died of tuberculosis.<br />
Either way, his legacy is not one to be envied.<br />
[T]O HAVE BLACK MAKERS FEEL<br />
SAFETY DO I NEED TO<br />
SPECIFICALLY SAY, “I'M<br />
HAVING A ZOOM MEETING<br />
WITH BLACK PEOPLE ONLY”?<br />
I WAS THINKING ABOUT<br />
HOLDING A ZOOM GATHERING…<br />
[T]HE POINT IS NOT TO HAVE WHITE<br />
PEOPLE OBSERVE, TO HAVE WHITE<br />
PEOPLE BE ON THE OUTSKIRTS…<br />
ERM, I ALSO DON'T WANT<br />
NON BLACK PEOPLE IN MY DMS<br />
TALKING TO ME ABOUT HOW<br />
THEY FEEL… SO I, I, I DO NOT,<br />
I DO NOT WANT NON BLACK<br />
PEOPLE IN MY DMS TELLING<br />
ME ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL, I<br />
DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE<br />
TIME OR THE ENERGY.<br />
AT THIS TIME THE<br />
CONVERSATION AND THE<br />
QUESTION IS NOT FOR<br />
WHITE MAKERS, IT IS<br />
NOT FOR WHITE PEOPLE.<br />
I CHARGE $60 AN HOUR.<br />
SO… IT’S BEEN 90 MINUTES.<br />
SO THAT’LL BE $90.<br />
31
Vloggers and Podcasters<br />
If you’d like your channel featured here please email blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
Click on the tles to visit the channels.<br />
Adventures With Yarn<br />
Presented by Louise<br />
Child friendly, fun, quirky and full of energy.<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbFHj9k5Uxc44g1pnlgiQjg<br />
<strong>Blocked</strong> Magazine<br />
Presented by Neil (Uknitted Kingdom)<br />
Not really child friendly.<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAY880IYHF8gJ8b-UdEWAxQ<br />
Herd knitunity<br />
Presented by Treecurtis<br />
Not child friendly. Shepherd and ‘woolfluencer’, a sheep to<br />
sweater kinda gal.<br />
https://herdknitunity.locals.com/<br />
Knitty McPurly<br />
Presented by Devin<br />
Very child friendly, a virtual saint!<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyIInmPUQGqoohNgUj0Zmow<br />
32
Murder Knits<br />
Presented by Tabitha<br />
If your children watch, they'll become serial killers!<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbrSeXmJuT0_BglI_pzi1jg<br />
Politically Incorrect Knitters<br />
Presented by DK and Anne<br />
Mostly child friendly, they’ll learn a lot!<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm8CME6h72cFfQ7ZBNGCj5w<br />
Skeinz Diaries<br />
Presented by Maree<br />
Child friendly. Take off your ‘gummies’, put your feet up and<br />
prepare for a ‘tiki tour’ of yarny goodness!<br />
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCswGNOSxnHlPZsQMCC2YHxQ<br />
Two Sisters & Some Yarn<br />
Presented by Amy & Denise<br />
Mostly child friendly, especially if they’re little wiseguys.<br />
https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoSistersAndSomeYarn<br />
33
34
35
Although <strong>Blocked</strong> is free to read, it isn’t free to produce.<br />
There are overheads that need to be met including subscriptions for software, the<br />
magazine online platform, a future website, and time.<br />
If you have enjoyed this <strong>issue</strong>, please consider becoming a patron.<br />
Patrons receive the magazine a week before general release, see exclusive content,<br />
get to vote on future content, and may receive exclusive offers.<br />
Each quarter patrons have a chance to win 1 skein of TuskenKnits’ yarn. More details<br />
available on the Patreon site linked below.<br />
Without the generosity of patrons, <strong>Blocked</strong> would not be possible.<br />
Patron Checkout | Patreon<br />
hps://www.patreon.com/join/<strong>Blocked</strong>Magazine<br />
Please email pattern submissions for the May <strong>issue</strong> to:<br />
blockedmagazine@gmx.com<br />
by no later than April 18th (Easter Monday)<br />
Thank you!<br />
36