A lot of people took up knitting and other hobbies during the pandemic. Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author and journalist and frequent contributor to the New York Times, took her love of knitting to the next level during lockdown. While exploring the process of wool from sheep to yarn and writing about it, she takes us on a unique journey. The title Unraveling refers to a lot more than tangles. You don’t have to be a knitter to enjoy this book about creativity and connection and the state of our world.
Orenstein was not new to me. I really enjoyed her no-nonsense writing style in her book Boys & Sex. She generally writes about the politics of everyday life, usually relating to gender. With that book and others, she broke silences around teenage sexual behaviour, sexualised media, and hookup culture, calling for healthier, more open dialogue between parents and children as well as expanded positive-based sex and relationship education in schools. She also has written about cancer, infertility, and gender inequality. She is no slouch and she was as thorough in her wool pursuits as she has been in the rest of her journalism.
Shearing a sheep (she called Martha) is no easy task (actually almost impossible) for beginners, but she valiantly tackled it even while wearing a mask! Miraculously the sheep lived and she still has all of her fingers. Then she washed and carded and spun and dyed and knit the wool into a sweater she designed herself, something that certainly wasn’t perfect but gave her great satisfaction. I love how she writes with humour and sensibility about creativity.
The creative process itself has great value, no matter what the outcome. Putting the emphasis on learning and growing and enjoying rather than perfection, can be hugely liberating! Mistakes are entirely part of the process in any creative endeavour. Knitters will especially know this.
“It’s recognising that the gift of creativity is the way it challenges you, allows you to make meaning, and enriches your life.”
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