Danny in the Sydney Morning Herald

Stitch 'n' bitch - Unusual Tales - www.smh.com.au

Stitch 'n' bitch
November 5, 2004

Knitting is making a comeback with a flurry of Stitch'n'Bitch groups, attended by young professional women who have found that needle-clicking is compatible with a glass of wine and a hearty gossip.
Inspired by Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitters' Handbook, by Debbie Stoller, the groups "began springing up all over North America and then spun out into Europe", said Jonathan Thompson in The Independent on Sunday. "Yarn enthusiasts from all walks of life are taking their needles to coffee houses, churches, bookstores and community centres," said Kathy Cano Murillo in The Arizona Republic. "They show up to meet new people and dish the dirt while churning out everything from beanies to bikinis."
Stoller viewed the knitting renaissance as part of the "third wave of feminism", explained Rebecca Knight in the Financial Times. Its popularity is such that "some have even christened it the new yoga".
Knitting has even reeled in a few men. Daniel Ouellette, a 36-year-old database administrator from Toronto, said he knitted at work, in the subway or on park benches at lunch. "You get into this kind of a zone where the knitting is everything and other worries that you have in your life can kind of slip away," he told Francine Dube in the National Post.