Domestic Case Study No. 2

by Leah Sottile


Name: Ingrid Feinstein


Age: 26


By day: Manager, A Grand Yarn on 14th Ave. and Grand Blvd.


Her weakness: She's a slave to the needles -- the knitting needles.


How she got addicted: "When I was living in Boston and I was working in publishing, it was kind of a buzz thing. Some ladies who I worked with and I started a knitting group, and I didn't do a lot of knitting, but I got the basics."


Knitting socks ain't for the gray hairs: "I guess there's the post-feminist idea of being able to do both -- being able to choose what you want. You like football, but you also like to cook. I think that's where we are, but I don't know if people are (starting to knit) intentionally because of that. It always feels good to create something. I don't think women are burdened by the stereotype that it's anti-feminist."


Why she thinks the "knitting old biddy" stereotype is bunk: "Most of the knitters my age are young professionals who are very independent and are counter to any stereotype that used to be associated with knitting. I know that there's a stereotype there, but with the yarns and patterns out there now, it's more of a fashionable thing. It's not the same 1950s stereotype anymore."


She's an addict, and she admits it: "It is fun and it is addictive and it's a very healthy habit to have. In the end, you come away with something to wear or to give -- and there's nothing wrong with that."


Would Donna Reed fit in?: "There's something fun about laughing at the stereotype and the kitsch of it."





Publication date: 1/27/05