Oh Karine what a great topic!

I feel that when I crochet I strengthen the connection between me and my ancestors, especially my foremothers, and even my living mother, who taught me to crochet and knit and sew in the first place. Sometimes it feels as if the pull and tug of the yarn in my fingers takes me back to the time when a woman had so few possibilities for artistic expression; not that I long for such restriction, but that I celebrate their endurance by carrying on the craft. I look at pieces my own grandmother crocheted and can recognize the stitches; I feel the threads and realize with a great sense of wonder that she touched these, she chose those colors, she pored over the patterns in the same way that I do, she probably muttered the same curses under her breath as she had to tear out 23 rows to mend the mistake, or realized that she misjudged the amount and couldn't match the yarn and only had one Granny Square to go. She knew the same joy of creation and giving that I know, when a family mamber wears the scarf I made for them, or when I see the baby in the booties I made, or when one of my grown children wraps up in the afghan I gave them. I am so happy to have this connection with my past, with our collective past. Aren't you? :)

I think that any way we can all become more self-sustainable and less reliant on the market is a positive step towards a more feminist society. The D.I.Y. movement has definitely had a positive impact against globalization in this way, and has reinstated a way to connect to women in the community in a really special way. We can all come together for a common purpose, to do it ourselves and have a good time, and incidentally we are doing far more for the nature of the commercial market than we realize. Crafting rocks :)