Knitters attend first Stitch 'n' Bitch of the year
Attendees can vent while improving their skills.
Published Sept. 3, 2010
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Junior Emily Luft teaches junior Christina Leaderbrand how to crochet Wednesday during Stitch N' Bitch in the Center for Social Justice. Because it was the first meeting of the year, the focus of the night was teaching new attendees how to either stitch or crochet.
Stitch 'n' Bitch, the campus group for students and faculty interested in knitting, held its first meeting of the academic year Wednesday night at the Center for Social Justice.
Freshman Gelsey Minnick said she has been knitting for three years and came to the meeting for two things.
"I wanted to stitch and bitch, mostly bitch," Minnick said.
Minnick spent her time knitting a teal scarf with more than a dozen other people teaching and learning how to knit.
"Strangers will meet and teach others how to knit and crochet and then become friends," Women's Center Adviser Suzy Day said.
The weekly meetings are run open-house style, and anyone is welcome to knit and leave as they please.
Day said MU began to hold Stitch 'n' Bitch meetings in 2003 when former Women's Center adviser, Beth Pickens, established the group on campus.
Stitch 'n' Bitch is not an event unique to MU.
The nationwide organization provides knitters with information on how to start their own group, and members can purchase specific Stitch 'n' Bitch materials and knitting books.
According to the Women's Center's new website, Stitch 'n' Bitch "is a national movement to reclaim historically devalued 'women's work' while having radical conversations with friends and new acquaintances and creating fabulous fashions."
Freshman anthropology major Emmie Harcore said she was interested in attending the meeting partially because she liked that it is affiliated with the Women's Center and teaches traditional female values.
"I really like knitting and have for a while," Harcore said.
Day said the Women's Center has been advertising more this year by tabling the group at student events and fairs. She displays the materials they use for knitting to help prompt questions about the organization.
They have also advertised on TVs on campus and through the Women Center's website.
Day said it typically has a core group of students who attend meetings every week, and the average attendance is between five and 20 students and around three to four teachers.
"It's a very initiative-based group," said Struby Struble, support staff for the Center for Social Justice. "People come in with all different levels and skills."
She said she assists group members who are new to knitting and who may not be familiar with the fundamentals.
"As a staff member, I help teach some of the basics of knitting and crocheting to everyone who comes to Stitch 'n' Bitch," Struble said. "I really like seeing people help each other."