Dear Friends of The Blue Purl,
The Fourth of July is upon us so let’s take a minute to honor and remember those brave founders who took on the British and brought our nation to life.
Oh, but wait, we are not talking the founding fathers. You have heard so much about them already. We want to focus on the often overlooked, little discussed, rarely-taught-in-school, founding "mothers."
Or to be more precise, we bring you the founding knitters. Yes, that is right, you’ve heard about Paul Revere’s ride and the Boston Tea Party. But do you know about Old Mom Rinker? Story has it, she would eavesdrop on enemy conversations in her family’s tavern, hide her notes in balls of yarn and smuggle them to General George Washington.
This is for real.
There is a lot of discussion today about overlooked and underrepresented communities in our historical record and that is a good thing. It is important for us to be cleareyed and honest about our past, to recognize that it is not all honorable.
But we must also revisit those aspects of our past that reflect on the power and strength of so many to cast off the British and forge a new nation built on the aspiration that all citizens have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let’s remember the overlooked.
“Knitting [was] so cozy and unthreatening that its very execution [was] used to cover subversive deeds, though history books rarely include the stories of female characters like ‘Old Mom Rinker,'’’ she wrote.
To be sure, there are lots more stories of women knitters fighting for the cause, using their craft to advance this nation’s independence from the tyranny of the crown.
We know that working with your hands provides immediate satisfaction, and can be seen as a bit, well, selfish. It is my time. But it is also, at the same moment, giving and sharing and part of community, because we are often making beautiful objects for others or knitting together in groups.
We talk, we bond, we inspire and support each other. Let’s keep it going this Independence Day.
connect + create
Patty, Wendy & TBP Team
