“So if it’s not about designers making a living wage, what IS it about?”

“So if it’s not about fair pricing of yarn, what IS it about?”

“So if it’s not about demanding more labor for less money, what IS it about?”

Who wants to have that conversation with me?

I mean the ultimate reality is that this conversation, like all the other ones regarding inclusivity in the knitting and fiber scene over the past couple of years, is about your personal take on what your yarn crafting means and if that matters.

There is no way — NO WAY — not to feel like this is personal, for all of us.

That’s because the work of our hands IS PERSONAL.

As I was just saying earlier this month about web sites, there’s really not that much money in this scene.

Everybody is in it for love.

But.

We also know love doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table.

On the other hand, making textiles keeps the wind off your back.

It is one of the most fundamental things human beings do, for lots of reasons, and that’s why I write and teach about the subject.

Who makes textiles, who spends money on them and at what stage, who gets the credit, and who gets the money?

That is entirely politics and economics. Socioeconomics, specifically.

Where you stand on this is not an accident.

It’s the foundation of industrialized life.

And?

Before being the foundation of anything approaching modern or industrialized life, the making of textiles was still fundamental to human civilization and the triumph of humanity in the game of survival on earth.

IT IS IMPORTANT STUFF, PEOPLE.

So if you have strong feelings about this, that’s because you SHOULD.

This is your human birthright.

You should get in your feelings about it.

If you don’t, it’s because you’ve been trained away from that so someone else can capitalize on your labor.

So first of all I want to say, if you care about this, that’s a good thing. It means you’re human. It means you’re struggling with the existential questions about the meaning of life and what impact you have on the world.

It’s important to do that.

It’s GOOD to struggle with those questions. It’s GOOD to care.

If we can’t wrestle with those things when it comes to what it means for the work of our hands, the skills we build, how we do those things, and who benefits, that’s bad.

These are deep, heavy, and complicated conversations. And they’re about the core of who we are as human beings.

It’s okay if these conversations make you feel things. Even challenging things.

They should.