Just in case anyone didn’t know, I love knitting! There it is..I’ve said it..it’s out in the open!

I truly do though. I was taught to knit by my mum when I was about seven..I remember knitting at school too…along with other things like cross stitch, sewing, cooking and cork printing! Go figure!

Anyway, apart from the cork printing, everything else stayed with me..I love all these things but knitting is the top. If it can be knit, I’ll give it a try.

So..what have I done up to now…I’d tell you the lot, if you have the time!!..which I doubt so..how about a bit of a story? Let’s start with where I am right now

In January 2015 I noticed that on a knitting group I had joined on Facebook, people were constantly asking advice about knitting. Some things were very basic like..how do I cast on?….others were more complex like..what does (k2togtbl, sl1, k2, psso, ssk) mean?. More often than not I was able to answer quite easily and in a way people seemed to be able to understand quite easily…so….I had a think for a while and decided to make my own group that was to help people who were stuck; somewhere they could turn to if they weren’t quite sure what to do next but, I also wanted it to be fun, friendly and to make some friends in the process.

So I started off very basic. I made a group..just little ol’ me…and named my group ‘Mystery KAL’. The idea I had was to do a KAL, (for knitting muggles that means a knit a long…a project that more than one person does at the same time, but the project being done bit by bit), a mystery to everyone but me, and hopefully I could teach people as I went along. I believed that by not knowing what they were facing took away some of the fear. It’s often the IDEA of what you’re going to do that is the issue, not the actual doing it. For example, if someone mentions socks, knitting in the round, fingers on gloves etc, many people will instantly shrink with fear and do a runner. If they only see a small section of the pattern, they just do it. Taken in pieces makes it more manageable. Before they know it they’ve made a sock, or a glove or something else they’d never imagined they could do; the fear is gone.

The first project was a pair of fingerless gloves knitted on straight needles which would be sewn together at the end. Simple, basic and easy enough for anyone, however new to knitting, could do. it introduced increases, knitting in the round for the thumb, using dpns (double pointed needles) and working a rib so both knit and purl stitches. For long term knitters these things are very simple, for newbies, it’s a scary thought.

So off I went. I posted a link to my group on my own timeline and waited! I didn’t wait for long. It turned out that lots of people had questions but felt silly asking on other groups as they felt that everyone was better than they were. On my group everyone is learning,  always, including me!

On 1 February I posted my first clue..I think I had about 20 people. I had lots of questions and spent a lot of time focussed on explaining what to do in words rather than pictures. By the end of the month I believe I had about 100 members! We now have over 900 with a regular waiting list, but I don’t want the group to have too many and become too big. I do spend some time every month checking if people are bothering…if not, they’re gone!

Thing is, I don’t expect everyone to join in everything. I don’t expect everyone to chat all the time, but I do think that, if you join a community group, you should be prepared to be part of that community.  What I don’t expect, or want, or even tolerate, is bad behaviour. People feel it acceptable to say cruel, nasty or just inappropriate words towards others when talking on Facebook and seem to feel that they are protected by the anonymity of the Internet. I say no! I won’t accept bad behaviour, poor choice of language or cruelty towards anyone within my group. If they want to be here and join in, then they can. If they don’t want to read what others say, don’t read it!

I was in a number of knitting/craft groups, many of which I chose to leave when other people behaved in an inappropriate manner. I believe that there are many out there in the big place of social media that believe it’s ok to behave inappropriately on social media sites; it’s almost acceptable to be rude or cruel and no one will stop you. Well…if people want to behave that way they don’t need to come my way.

Many groups also have millions of rules…their admin seem to thrive on the power they have…

You CANNOT discuss animals or children

You CANNOT have chatter

You CANNOT discuss things other than knitting/crochet/papercrafts etc

You must not do this

You must not do that

You cannot say….

You cannot think…

You should not…

You haven’t to…

And so on…

These are adults you’re talking to! Trust them to police themselves and they will; most often they just want to have somewhere to talk…someone to listen. My group has become a very closely knit community in a short time. There are a number of regulars contributors who, like myself, rarely visit other craft groups where previously they had many. Many would ask why but I know it’s a simple answer. I have few rules.

Be kind

Be careful with your words.

That’s it..nothing more. What more is there? Why shouldn’t you discuss what Jimmy did at school today? Why wouldn’t you listen to someone who’s feeling unwell? What about the lady whose husband is sick, the one she spends 20 hours a day caring for…who needs a break, a shoulder to cry on..but doesn’t have one? Why shouldn’t she belong to the group and have someone to pour out to? That’s exactly what I wanted when I started and it’s where we are…and I love it!!

Despite the fact that I’m often not in a position to answer questions that are posted, it’s amazed me how many others have come on board to help…I love my online family

Love Cate xx