A few weeks ago, someone who had read this column wrote to me to tell me “stick to the knitting in future”. I wasn’t upset – I don’t use social media partly to spare myself this stuff but, inevitably, worse than that still comes my way. I was intrigued by the hierarchy in his mind, where knitting was feminine, private, trivial and writing was masculine, public, important. I had offended him by confusing two creative practices, by using up space in a serious newspaper with thoughts about handicrafts. (Or maybe just by thinking in public while female.)
I knit and write. I also sew and even – the frivolity of it! – embroider. Writing is more serious for me because it’s…