Recently two articles relating to Grannyg were published in the magazine Context, a publication for subscribers to the Costume and Textile Association in NZ. The first article was written by Paula Moros on being a fan-girl of grannyg and the second is a transcription of an essay read out on an earlier episode on the Dunedin knitters. They are both published here in full with permission of authors and permission of the editor of Context.
Crafternoon tea with Grannyg: a fangirl perspective
I‘ve been having a wee think about Crafternoon tea with Grannyg, or CTWGG. I would achieve what is in internet terms a fail if I wanted to write a comprehensive review on my subject, so here instead are some randomly connected thoughts. Please note: I am speaking here as a fangirl: a fan, a follower. As one-eyed as that makes me, I do believe the podcast is changing things, as far as ‘things’ is the map of home textile production in New Zealand. I think podcasts are moving textile things to a more modern and warmly inviting place.
I tend to think of Grannyg as like a franchise, in the way that regional netball teams are franchises. As something like a team, a possible revenue source, a club, a focus of identity, a place to go, an event. It’s something friendly, fun and lightly competitive that you can join, participate in, react and belong to. People have different roles within the franchise to play and as you‘d expect, Grannyg is the leader. As far as I can ascertain, Grannyg is active in baking spinning, knitting, weaving, sewing and designing textiles. These activities define and entice her potential audience.
Reductively, CTWGG is a podcast hosted by a third party website, and is also a group hosted on ravelry.com. It’s the online nom de plume of Genny Stevens; Aucklander, Creative Fibre member and all-round craftster, and a digital entity. Grannyg speaks and writes in a warm, well-modulated, colloquial and clearly New Zealand accent and tone. She invites us to pop the kettle on and settle down for a chat and a treat from the biscuit tins. I can see how this gentle invitation would work wonders on a group of antsy six year olds; and truth be told it works a treat for me.
CTWGG is a broad church, craftily speaking, but it does have a defined field of concerns. A recent game on ravelry.com involved the making and posting of Venn diagram sets describing the relationships between members of various groups. So you could map the members of Grannyg at any given moment in time and it would tell you something statistically true about the make-up of the groups’ membership; how many members were also into crochet or crock-pot cooking, who identified with a green agenda and so on. It’s a fun game but it doesn’t really capture the essence of granny’s group.
The podcast isn‘t stuff but it is about stuff: mainly baking stuff and textile stuff and fashion stuff. It’s stuff that Genny likes and when you join the ravelry group or subscribe to a feed of the podcast, you sort of agree that you like that stuff too, or at least acknowledge that you have some energy around it. In this way the group and podcast may be seen as constituting a meme, or as wikipedia would have it ‘a postulated unit of cultural ideas.’ It notes further that:
…memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual meme’s reproductive success. Memes spread through the behaviors that they generate in their hosts. Memes that propagate less prolifically may become extinct, while others may survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate. Theorists point out that memes which replicate the most effectively spread best, and some memes may replicate effectively even when they prove detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.
Meme’s proliferate online like wildfire, the medium just loves them. Fashion is often viewed as an ideal ground for a series of meme’s, but it’s surely also an ideal ground for a series of jokes. As we know, jokes change things. They change stuff.
‘Crafternoontea with granny’ is changing stuff-making by collecting together people unrelated by place, age and circumstance. It is doing something that the system of guilds, exhibitions, regional meet-ups and newsletters of a previous moment in our home textile-creation and baking history may find more challenging to do. It’s forming a meme, it’s having a laugh. Importantly, people from a fairly broad demographic base are actually listening.
Now if you’ve listened to the podcast you’ll notice several things that might on the surface beg to differ with this assessment. Firstly, that the host of the pod cast- Genny- is in no way anything less than respectful to former or current ‘postulated units of cultural ideas’ such as- Creative Fibre, the regional guilds, or authors of canonical works in her field. Secondly, the podcast is not whimsical or ironic in tone. Genny podcasts in what we now call the post-ironic age. In the world of Grannyg, a Victoria sponge is a Victoria sponge and not a big fat retro giggle. So if it is a series of joke‘s or meme‘s, they’re very warm-hearted jokes. The smiley-face is usually implied in granny’s speaking tone and the listener is pleased to realise we are not here to be mean or disrespectful. That would not be clever or funny at all.
The following are three examples of the contents of ravelry.com thread:
Baking pics
Grannyg has a thread (a social networking site web-wide term, not a tired pun) about baking titled Pics or it didn’t happen. So the title gives you a hint that it’s a photo thread. Grannyg writes “I thought it would be nice to have a gallery of all the baking or crafts either inspired by granny or not, in one place.” Sure it would be nice; and prompted by Grannyg’s invite, a series of 324 image-laden posts ensued. There are some nice pics of cakes, slices, scones, afghans, brownies, cupcakes, buckeyes, carrot cake truffles, sponges, ginger gems, lemon yoghurt cakes, fairy cakes, pumpkin pies, pancakes, brazil nut fingers, Hungarian plum dumplings, coconut whispers, strawberry pavlovas, macaroons, muffins, quick breads and the odd Queen music video from Utube. Other people don’t post photos of their textile projects on this thread, even though Granny said we could and even though no one else has posted this as a new ‘rule.’ I’m not sure why this is. Grannyg’s job as group moderator is ostensibly to moderate the posts in her group threads. Earlier models of groups of predominantly women gathering around baking and textiles may have involved some loud shushing, verbal redirecting of unwanted or out of place language and behaviour, or perhaps some stern frowning. But Grannyg does none of this because she has attracted a self-governing group of people organised around a meme which has its own mercurial boundaries. If one says something people don’t like, ravelry.com has a facility for people to push a button marked ‘disagree.’ It also has a function where the moderator can edit or delete unwanted posts from members. Being predominantly New Zealand and Australian contributors, we do not like to push the disagree button, which to us would be mean, and since it’s anonymous, sneaky.
Instead we give our attention to posts we like and the thread moves forward on tacitly agreed lines. As in the world of fashion retail, when you make a gaff no one yells at you, you just don’t sell any clothes. For social networkers, attention = sales. This can become literal as more traffic moves though your group, podcast or site, and advertising revenue is attracted. But for the most part we are amateurs and we post for positive attention and feedback from the peers we respect and admire. If I post something people don’t like, that gambit dies fairly naturally. If I post something people like that gambit goes forward. It is a modern way of doing things and invites a modern audience without trying to alienate a previously occurring one. As always, we are not here to be mean or disrespectful.
Alternative textile fashion show
The ‘alternative fashion show idea’ was part of wildfire discussion that generated fifty-eight posts in ten hours. So it sold well; it got a lot of attention. The discussion centred on juried textile fashion shows, the difficulties of judging works, inclusion and exclusion, and how it feels to be part or not part of a textile and fashion competition. Vintagepurls posted “…I wonder if an online competition would be fun. Physical entries are posted in and judged in person but nation-wide everyone can participate via pictures online. …”
Vintagepurls cites “threadknits” as an example of what she has in mind. Online fashion shows can be juried or non-juried, but the medium leans towards the non-juried, the nonhierarchical. As in retail fashion, there is an armature of critique and discussion in the form of reviews and magazine editorials, but the punter ultimately decides what will and will not sell. Later in the discussion Grannyg suggests that the competition might best be judged by the Magic 8 Ball (an online random answer generator that digitally replicates a mid-century plastic toy). The Magic 8 Ball is a meme. If you don’t get the meme, you look it up on Google, which is readily available to all online participants at no cost. Exclusivity in this context is as fragile as a few clicks.
Grannyg is having a laugh but she’s also telling us something important about how she sees a possible competition functioning in a fairly randomised, chaotic way. Being a moderator or a podcaster is different from being a doyenne. There is nothing to suppose that a podcaster knows more about her subject than others or can be a more authoritative judge of others’ work. Genny is happy to point out difficulties in her own textile work, to note the fail points of her designs as well as noting those things she feels she has done creatively and successfully. She has nothing to lose because her audience does not recognise her as the head of a talent hierarchy; it’s more that they like her and are interested in her experience of making and being involved in textiles, and enjoy the way she speaks about it.
Secret project segment from ‘Crafternoontea with Grannyg’ podcast
Grannyg has a formula for her podcast, but this formula is subject to frequent revision. The podcast is broken into various segments: Introduction, What’s in the tins, Crafting this week, Interviews, On the nightstand, Secret Project, Conclusions and the odd essay. The Secret Project segment is perfect for both the podcast medium and an I-tunes delivery mechanism, because it references in a verbal form some stuff that is most often perceived by tactile and visual senses. You could play the Secret Project segment while jogging (although jogging is not necessarily what members of the group would buy into. But you could.) Grannyg delivers a highly entertaining verbal account of the construction of a garment, along with bloopers, fails, ripped out seams and uncertain decision points. She leads us off her podcast site onto other sites such as “The Satorialist” to add reference points to her design process. As previously noted, I’m a fan girl. I diligently go where Grannyg tells me, and am rewarded for doing so with a wider, more nuanced view of her inspirations and methods. My textile world gets bigger. Thanks, Grannyg!
Grannyg also gets feedback from the group on her secret project. Wanting a word of advice about naming her project, she asks her listeners and ravelry group to help out. She wonders aloud if she’s achieving the results she wants. As nascent makers of stuff out there listening, we relate. We feed back. That makes us a functional community.
Conclusion
The Grannyg meme fills a gap. Home textile production is readily available in a domestic setting but the joy of being able to share this activity and find information around it has had and always will have barriers to access. Some people don’t have computers or broadband access. Equally some people don’t have cars or petrol money or live well in populated areas. Some people can’t use the internet and some people are not good at being with others in a social setting. By hosting a podcast and group where distance from the source is not a tyrant, Granny (bless ‘er!) offers a true alternative (or if you wish, adjunct) to the regional guild system.
So here’s the thing. If the textile community in New Zealand feels a bit stale at times, a bit old school; if it is in need of a direction forward, might it not take it’s cue from crafternoontea with Grannyg? Might online access, real-time, non-hierarchical forms of community be the future for textiles? Grannyg is a big fish in the online New Zealand textile world, and she attracts a shoal of followers who may not be connected otherwise to the textile scene. This is certainly true for me, and if there’s something of a cult of excitement around the [ludic] or game spaces and opportunities that the internet so amply provides, and of which CTWGG is a key local, textile and baking focused example- then I’m a believer.
Notes
1. http://www.grannygcrafts.com/
2. http://www.ravelry.com/groups/crafternoon-tea-with-grannyg
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
4. http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/crafternoon-tea-with-grannyg/843977/301-325#324
5. http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/crafternoon-tea-with-grannyg/1033366/26-50
6. http://www.threadknits.com/
7. http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
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Fibre night in Dunedin
By Genny Stevens
When my daughter decided to move from Auckland to Dunedin I jumped at the chance of getting her there in time honoured tradition of a road trip. It was about two hours after this decision I started contacting my Ravelry buddies letting them know of the possibility of meetups along the way. Dunedin being the city where we would spend the most time, we made a commitment to attend an event there. It helped that I had met a few of the group members as well as having previously interviewed two of them for this podcast: Morag McKenzie and Stella Lange. Once the dates were concrete I let them know when I was free and it turned out these weren’t their usual nights for meetups, but no worries, they would organise an extra meet up. I’d like to say it was in my honour, but after meeting these amazing women, I would imagine they get together at the drop of a hat, such is the fun they have.
Tuesday night Dunedin, armed with my trusty Google maps and excellent directions from Morag, Jay and I set off in the Grannymobile to Knit Night. We had earlier that day made a special trip to Spotlight to prepare for that important step in the life of an 18 year-old knitter moving away from home: starting her own stash. So Jay was set up with enough yarn for a hat and I had my own secret project with me. Pulling up to the address conveniently at the same time as Morag and Anna we avoided the awkward is it/isn’t it the right house anxiety that can happen at such times. As we walked into this beautiful light and airy home we were made to feel at home and welcome immediately. Most of the knitters were already there and we just popped ourselves down and slotted easily into the conversations already going on.
Our hostess for the night, Kelly, is a warm and bubbly woman, and her generosity in opening her house to us in the week prior to her moving countries was incredible. There were around nine of us there that night. The first thing I noticed was the diversity of projects. I was impressed: there was sock knitting (of course!) spindling, wheel spinning, charka spinning, stranded knitting – not just any pattern, but knitting a phrase in French into the hem of a baby’s jumper, and knitting gloves out of lovely hand-spun yarn. In the room with us was a loom warped and set up, so technically there was also weaving!
The evening progressed like any craft get together around the world – there were multiple discussions happening at once, there were people sitting quietly taking it all in, there were people not so quiet, there were those who felt unburdened by their normal shyness to be more ‘out there’ amongst friends. The conversation ebbed and flowed, we all occasionally enjoyed a momentary silence to absorb our surroundings – a lovely home filled with lovely people united by their love of craft.
Something about this group though was more unique than others I’ve been to. They were progressive in their desire to explore all aspects of craft and encouraging each other to try new things. There was also an excellent knowledge base amongst them. The spindler had just learned to spin a couple of weeks earlier and already she was spinning like a pro – undoubtedly encouraged (probably enabled!) by the group, and her progress in those few weeks probably due to their support and knowledge . No judgements were made for not knowing something, nor was there judgement for knowing too much! They in fact appeared to relish the opportunity to share, encourage and promote the growth of craft. I know that Jay is in good craft hands with this group – she might even learn to do her own casting on! Dunedin is an academic city and quite a few of this group either work in academia or were current or recent students, so I suspect this impacts on their ability to embrace learning and to enjoy the challenge of learning and encouraging their growing passions.
Fibre groups with common interests meet daily around the world: some are progressive and open to new members, and some not– in fact I know of a couple of groups who don’t want new members because they don’t want to teach! I trust groups to know what they need as a craft lifeline for themselves. New crafters probably need a dynamic and open group. What about you? Are you a group joiner or creator? Do you wax and wane in your participation? Personally I’m a waxer and waner – it really depends on where I’m at and what is happening. For the last six months or so I’ve not been going out much at all, I have too much I’d like to do at home. Luckily for me most of my friends understand and my craft groups have an online presence where we can catch up. But what about you? Are you getting what you want from your craft group? Do you have one? Are you interested in fostering new crafters? Or are you happy with status quo?
Whatever the situation it’s just so wonderful to think that wherever you go in the world there are groups of like minded people who are happy to meet you and sit down over a cuppa and craft.
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