Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Craftivism
cause. An avid knitter, she began making pussy hats and selling them online. Profiting from the sales didn’t feel right, so she began donating her earnings to Planned Parenthood.
“It felt really good,” she said. “I’m not the type of person to approach someone to try and change their political viewpoints.”
Attending a women’s march in Lansing, Michigan, led screen printer Marcy Davy to add products to her line that promote feminism and tolerance. She’s currently working on a poster for restaurants to hang in their kitchens outlining the rights of foreign-born workers.
“This was a big decision. This is how I make my living,” said the resident of Ypsilanti, Michigan. “I want to use the skills that I have to carry the momentum of resistance forward.”
Seeing how upset and confused many women were after Trump’s election, yoga teacher Tracey di Paolo wanted to do something. After knitting herself a pussy hat, she decided to host a knitting circle after one of her classes at the studio where she works in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
The get-togethers quickly became about more than knitting, she said. The women shared concerns about politics and their community.
“While we knitted, we talked. It created a sense of community,” di Paolo said. “It’s very easy to feel alone when you’re feeling frightened by what’s going on in the world.”
The group, which routinely was calling legislators about national issues, started looking for other ways to make a difference. They organized a community cleanup and raised funds for hurricane victims. Now, they are knitting hats for babies and chemotherapy patients at the local hospital.
“The pussy hats and knitting — it created an opportunity to create and talk and figure out how we could be useful to our community,” di Paolo said.