In praise of ... knitting

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/04/in-praise-of-knitting

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“Stick to knitting,” said the new civil society minister Brooks Newmark dismissively (he was ticking off charities for, he claimed, meddling in politics). This is a man who is plainly a stranger to the many civic virtues of a hobby with a long and important history in folk art and custom. First, there is the pleasure simply in taking a ball of wool – even better if it’s a whole skein of a warm, soft colour – and from this linear thing, creating a solid textile, a two- or even a three-dimensional work of practical and aesthetic value. There is the comforting repetition of a manual task, the small but satisfying skill of maintaining an even stitch, varied by the intense concentration on calculation required to follow an intricate pattern or a complex multi-needle structure. From Glasgow to Sidmouth, knitting cafes now proliferate to spread the joy. There is also, Mr Newmark, political knitting, a developing form of subversive creativity.