Life as we know it is being threatened. The cancel culture appeared in our knitting community and changed our happy place to a place where you had to worry that an innocent comment might be considered so wrong that you should be banned from the community. As I am
reflecting on this and how the cancel culture has now spread from the knitting community to our whole world, I can't help but wonder why it is no longer possible for people to have differing opinions without having the need to completely shut down the opposing voice. We should be able to disagree on some things, and agree on other things.
For those of us in America, we have the right to express our opinion. We have freedom of speech. Not everyone is going to agree with everyone else's opinions, but we all have the right to have and to express our own beliefs. We do not have the right to silence, shut down, or cancel those we don't agree with. It is wrong to threaten someone's livelihood, get them fired, or otherwise cancelled just because you do not agree with them. You don't have to like them or support their business, but you don't have the right to shut down their business or cancel them.
The Brave & Kind Shawl pattern is inspired by the small knitting/crochet/fiber business owners that were threatened with cancellation. These women and men did nothing wrong. They did nothing that was racist or intolerant. They survived the cancellation attempt because they did not apologize. Brave & Kind is inspired by all of the people in the knitting community who have been bullied in this past couple of years for no discernible reason and have had the bravery to not apologize for doing nothing wrong. These brave business people have largely responded with kindness, in the face of
relentless unwarranted attacks. I admire their bravery, mental fortitude, and their kindness and compassion in a difficult time.
The Brave & Kind shawl is a
crescent-shaped shawl using brioche in combination with a simple lace pattern. I used fingering weight yarn. The main color is a pretty speckled yarn from Awenydd Yarn and Fiber and the 3 contrasting colors are mini skeins from Tusken Knits.
The Brave & Kind pattern is available as a single pattern for $6.95 or as a part of the Quarantine Shawl Collection for just $14.95 for 3 shawl patterns!