I finished this Tegna a couple of weeks ago and took these pictures last Wednesday. I was ambitious and decided to take pictures of two projects in progress and one finished object (this one), but just as I was getting to this sweater it began to POUR. I decided not to give up and to use my tripod and get some porch photos. I think it worked out pretty well.

The bittersweet part is that I was just catching up on Instagram stuff last night and came across some posts with the #diversknitty tag that were talking about how the designer of this sweater, Caitlin Hunter, had blocked a BIPOC woman, Sophiatron for absolutely no reason. When Sophia contacted her to ask why Caitlin claimed she didn’t know how she had done it, or why she had done it. That sounds like some bullshit. Her “apology” in her stories was also very dismissive, saying she’s a “real person” (as if Sophia is not as well), and that she was going to block people that didn’t respect her boundaries. I do believe it’s fair to block people that push your boundaries, but it does not seem like Sophia did anything to provoke that, as Caitlin gave zero explanation. And I guess I’d also wonder why the racist comments in her latest post aren’t disrespecting her boundaries…

It feels a little gross to be posting about a sweater designed by her, and I’ve also cast on and gotten a bit into a Soldotna Crop. I don’t want to rip it out, but I’m also really disappointed that a designer with over 100,000 followers on Instagram isn’t doing better with her platform to help support BIPOC designers, dyers, and knitters. The really gross part is that in her most recent post (at least when I last checked), she was not doing anything to moderate comments and they were full of hateful things like “let’s just get back to knitting.” To be clear, this isn’t about what white women want or think right now. This is about exposing the institutional racism that we all are inherently supporting when we don’t talk about it or don’t call it out.

So that’s why this is bittersweet. I love many of her designs, but probably after I finish my Soldotna Crop, I’m done for now. I definitely won’t be buying anymore. There’s just no more place for ignoring the racism that knitters all over Instagram, Ravelry, and beyond have been discussing for 8 months. I really hope Caitlin turns it around and makes genuine amends. A half-hearted apology and dismissal isn’t enough.

This yarn is Wollemeise Pure Wool in the color Kuken. I used almost two full skeins of the yarn and made bracelet length sleeves to transition into fall. The color is WILD and I love it. You can see on the sleeve above that one little piece a few inches up is weird looking. I believe it was snagged by a cat claw while blocking and I worked to get it back in place. I think it will look normal with the next wash.