CHOKE strikes

The Yarn Harlot has described the 'group' called CHOKE (Cultural humiliation of knitters everywhere) and this week I discovered that one of my cousins is a charter member.

First off cousins- I am the oldest in my family (of 7) and of all the cousins (15 total on dad's side). Sam is the next oldest girl (at 18). She is a dear creature with whom I usually get on quite well, so I was surprised to learn that she would align herself with such an organization.

Normally she ignores my knitting, but since that is what most people do I didn't think much of it. But this week we went on a shopping expedition, Sam, two of my sisters and I. My family is used to me knitting, pretty much everywhere, and I think they get as much of a kick out of the strange reactions of bystanders in the mall when I walk by knitting socks and chatting with whomever I'm with as I do. But then we are generally unphased by gawking since it is a fairly standard reaction from people when we tell them either : a. there are 7 of us; b. we were homeschooled; c. that we nicknamed the youngest Bertie after our favourite Wodehouse character, or d. that L. is heading off to the Royal Military College or A. has diabetes and celiacs or I am doing a doctorate in Old Norse.... you get the picture. Sam however was not only phased, she was positively distressed and practically tried to forbid me from it (which as I'm the oldest - and bigger, stronger, and smarter- I'd like to see her actually try).

My aunt was over on the weekend, as we hosted Nonno's 75th birthday celebration, and was laughing about just how stressed Sam was over the whole 'ordeal' of being seen with me knitting in public (BTW - on this trip I only knit while we sat in the food court and then while she tried something on at American Eagle).

All I can say, it that while I fully understood that CHOKE was out there, I never expected it so close to home. I guess it just shows that they are everywhere, that knitter's need to be clam in the face of their bigotry, patient and charitable in our responses, supportive of one another, and appreciative of the non-knitters who support us in the face of such a pervasive antagonism.