Friday I choked back tears at work. I watched smug and intolerant people snatch power and offer empty words and callous actions in return for what they took. I didn’t feel the same shock and despair that I did the day after the election, but I did experience an ache that became sharper every time the camera panned to the Obamas. 2008 was the first election I could vote in , and the night Obama won was the most joyful, inspiring time to be an American that I had ever felt. Until yesterday.
A small swell of hope began with the women wearing pink scarves on stage at the inauguration as a subtle symbol of resistance. Yesterday, that small feeling grew into an overwhelming pride and love for my country and people, which continues to buzz completely through my core. My fingers are alight with potential and I feel like anything I can do to provide even the smallest bit of change is valid.
The PussyHat Project showed us that knitting clearly can be that change. In the first days after the election I struggled. Like so many people around the country, I felt like rather than being stabbed in the back, I’d been slapped in the face by someone I thought was a friend. So I turned to knitting, my main source of comfort.
Yesterday, I got to wear my hat with pride and solidarity. I’ve gotten more requests for hats than I can possibly make, but I would love for more women to be able to keep their nasty little heads warm. So. I’ve got the bones of a pattern, but I need help. I’m not a knitwear designer and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to perfect this pattern and add the chart to the pattern draft but I haven’t been able to get it right. If there are any designers, tech editors or formatting witches out there, I would so appreciate your help.
It’s my intention to sell this pattern and donate all proceeds to the ACLU, because Nasty Women come in all genders, races, orientations, religions, and persuasions. I have plans to knit these for friends that have asked for them, and have requested that however much money they would normally spend on a hat they donate to their human right’s charity of choice. Please let me know if there’s any way you can help, whether it’s explaining the intricacies of excel, knitting a hat for yourself, or passing this on to another nasty woman you know–I appreciate it.
I am filled with hope, resistance, and motivation for the future.
Still we rise.
class 5 knits 