My review of Knitting for good

Knitting for Good!: A Guide to Creating Personal, Social, and Political Change Stitch by Stitch by Betsy Greer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first read Betsy Greer's work in the anthology she complied called Craftivism. This earlier work show the origins of her later one. This book is her personal story of coming to knitting and discovering the connections which can be made with it, connections to many people, including a previously difficult to speak with relative, connections to strangers who see her knitting in public, and connections to activism, or craftivism. This personal story shapes the narrative, but does not overwhelm it. The author has been very proactive in using her knitting to connect to others, and made me think that I should make a few changes around how publicly I knit.

Interspersed within this work are the stories of others, told in their own words about how crafting has connected them more deeply to their community either nearby or to be able to help strangers who they may not meet. There are also knitting patterns which can be used for different works of craftivism/charity knitting. When reading this, I kept thinking about the many knitting groups in public libraries across Australia who knit for Wrap with love and other charities, and the powerful act of craftivism these many people are continuing to do. It was great that this was brought to mind by reading this work.

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