Marilla & Messing with Ravelers

Recently, I re-watched my favourite movie series Anne of Green Gables and it struck me: Marilla was constantly knitting and there were gorgeous cabled guernseys and thick hats, gloves and scarves throught the series. It got me thinking...for a heretofore unknown reason, I had wanted to learn to knit from the time I was 6 years old. I have now figured it out. I wanted to be Marilla. This is also the reason I love people and characters that surprise you...but that's for another post... Marilla was starchy and occasionally crotchety but beneath everything, she was a warm-hearted generous person with the capacity to adapt to any situation and the strength of character to accept people and to love them as they are. And her knitting was in my mind, although also a necessity of the age, an expression of who she was. The skill shown was amazing (and, yes, I am now well aware that she's a fictional character and that the knitted items were probably not created by the late Colleen Dewhurst...but, I was 6). I don't think I ever consciously noticed all this before but I do think that's the reason I knit now. And that makes me happy.

Ravelry. We love it. We use it. We connect on it. People must learn not to mess with Ravelers. One would think the USOC would have learned from Mo Rocca's experience. But then, maybe they don't listen to Wait, Wait. They should! When Mo Rocca stated that he hates homemade sweaters because they're "always itchy", he was immediately and profoundly taken to task. However, the generosity that lies at the heart of most knitters kicked in and pity was taken upon him. Imagine never experiencing the delights of a comfy hand knit sweater! It hardly bears contemplating! And so, this poor deprived child was provided with a beautiful and non-scratchy homemade sweater.

When the USOC issued their cease & desist order for the "Ravelympics", they made a bigger mistake. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not care if they don't want people to use "lympics". I don't know how they can copyright a word that's been in use for thousands of years...but I guess they can. Because they did. I bridled at the USOC's attitude, not their action. 

What got my back up was when they stated that the Ravelympics were denigrating to the integry of the games. What?! When's the last time you heard of a knitter taking illicit drugs to improve the look of their cables? When's the last time a knitter deliberately threw a sweater to get a better placement in a competition? They mention how the athletes have been working many years to get to this skill level. Rrrrrreaaaaally? And what, pray tell, is the average number of years spent by knitters to get to, say, the point of perfecting their Intarsia technique? How much practice and trial and error and tears and headaches and despair? 

Being a younger knitter as I am, I have been ridiculed, belittled and mocked for exercising my chosen art. Seriously. Most recently, by a 17-year-old girl...who then professed that she was a "nice person". I think the verbiage used by the USOC felt bullying. And I don't think I'm the only one. Ther's a line in Wounded by Third Eye Blind that says "back down the bully to the back of the bus, 'cause it's time for them to be scared of us." I do believe the bully of the USOC us scared of us now. The backlash from their statement was huge and somewhat amusing. And they apologized. Twice. What amuses me about their first apology was the statement that they had many passionate knitters. This is not obviously true. No, that was not a grammatical error. I mean from their statement, it's not obvious they have knitters that are truly passionate. I don't know anyone on the USOC so I cannot say this is NOT true...but no passionate knitter would insult fellow knitters & then make a watery apology AND THEN ask for free stuff. They just wouldn't. What's the point in all this? Don't mess with Ravelers. We don't like it. We will make you pay. We may take pity on your ignorance. Don't count on it. Lots of love!