Register shock-reporter Ashlee Vance wrote a ridiculous piece about a panel on which I participated at this month's Linux World Expo in San Francisco. Not sure what SugarCRM paid him for the misleading headline, but my favorite part of the piece was his assertion that I must be "desperate for attention" because I was knitting during the panel.
I have been knitting since I was 5 years old, and have been a public knitter for many years now. To date I have only caught approbation from Ashlee, despite the fact that my tendency to knit in public at conferences and long meetings has been well documented in blogs and various other commentaries.
Oh, wait, I nearly forgot. When I was in 7th Grade pesky little Michael Grossman tried to rat me out to our Math teacher because I was discretely knitting during class (under my desk). The teacher calmly told Michael that when he was earning a 4.0 GPA, he could knit in class too.
Perhaps Ashlee, like pesky Michael Grossman, is unaware that knitting enhances concentration in many people, and also allows the knitter to create something useful while otherwise killing time (as I was doing waiting to be included in yet another panel discussion about badgewear licensing).
Here are a few interesting posts on the subject of knitting in public...
The post where my Sun colleague Jim Grisanzio choose to memorialize my public knitting tendencies in his blog
A blog about knitting and politics - Ashlee will especially enjoy the quote about "brain-work" being impossible for some women...seems right up his alley, I'm sure he can make something of that.
Christian Science Monitor's review of "No Idle Hands", Anne Macdonald's book (from which the "brain-work" quote in the preceding cited blog was taken)
Fastcompany article about mathematician Brenda Dietrich who unashamedly knits during meetings at IBM.
Class offering from a recent Quaker Gathering - seems knitting during Quaker services is pretty acceptable. Tolerant people, Quakers.
A somewhat long blog post, written by a woman more timid (Ashlee might choose to say less desperate for attention) than I. But the last two paragraphs are cogent to this blog.
Oh, and there's this last one I found...you should look this guy up, Ashlee...he could be your new best friend. Apparently a shock DJ in Wisconsin tried to start a smear campaign against a newly elected School Board member, one Lucy Mathiak. Great post about shock-tactics backfiring.
I've never had any inclination to knit to date but somehow, the idea that someone finds it offensive immediately makes the whole idea immensely attractive.
Posted by: Michael Clarke | September 10, 2007 at 05:13 AM
Would love to see you have the one.org banner on your blog and help make poverty history...
Posted by: James | November 04, 2007 at 12:16 PM
Hi Danese! I was doing a search for Bangalore knitting blogs (as we are moving to Bangalore in a couple of weeks- and I am a knit blogger) and came across an entry that mentioned you knitting at some conference in Bangalore. I recognized your name from the WSP days so I thought I would pop over and say "Hi!" I think you will probably remember me... Hope all is well!
Posted by: Cindy/Snid | December 16, 2007 at 12:32 PM
Sorry but Ashlee is a world-class tool. No if's, and's or but's. :)
Posted by: P Smith | December 23, 2007 at 05:38 PM
The Quaker conference link doesn't work anymore, but that's okay, my wife is offering that workshop again for the 2008 Gathering. Maybe I can talk you into attending this year? The workshop description is accessible by clicking through http://fgcquaker.org/gathering/ and the rest is Javascript, so no direct linking (boo!)
Posted by: Russell Nelson | February 19, 2008 at 08:21 PM
You wrote: "...To date I have only caught approbation from Ashlee,..." Approbation means approval. (See http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/approbation). What you mean is disapprobation.
Posted by: Andrew Binstock | October 30, 2008 at 09:39 PM
Probably searching for "opprobrium" there (and coming under Ashlee's gaze is a good way to find it). Relatedly, the shock DJ you linked to gave himself a bit of talking up, saying his demise would be "eminent."
Posted by: Bruce | March 05, 2009 at 10:39 PM
I spent most of 1969 working part-time in IBM's New York Scientific Center. One of the staff members was Janice Lowry (sp?). She did pioneering work in applying the techniques of the Jacquard loom to computers and programming.
thanks,dave
Posted by: dave shields | May 21, 2009 at 08:59 AM
I'm sure that, as you knit, you say, "Knit One. Perl, too."
Posted by: dave shields | May 21, 2009 at 09:00 AM
Re Quakers, I am a descendant of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, They were both quakers. He was a glassblower. They are the subjects of a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier since they one sheltered a runaway slave. They were sentenced to be deported to the West Indies, but no captain would take them.
Some of their descendants were living in New York in the 1770's. Being Quakers, they were opposed to violent rebellion, and so were forced to flee to Canada, so I can claim the title "United Empire Loyalist."
My cousin Kyle is an expert on the history of the Quakers. I now live in Chappaqua, New York, and the Friends Meeting House, close to two hundred years old, is less than two miles from my home.
Kyle recently informed me that he had traced some of our ancestors to nearby Brewster, New York, and had found that one of them had been shunned. He guessed it was because of adultery, a road I will try not to go down.
thanks,dave
Posted by: dave shields | May 21, 2009 at 09:05 AM
Danese,
e
It would have been the worst of times had Ashlee read "A Tale of Two Cities" and given you the sobriquet "Madame Danese," after Madame LaFarge.
dave
Posted by: dave shields | May 21, 2009 at 09:31 AM