Drama in the knitting Group

I have been knitting since I was 8 years old. It has seen me through heart breaks, loneliness in a foreign country and recently has put me in touch with other women in my community who enjoy coffee, company and of course knitting. One would think that a knitting group full of women (and some men) would be an enjoyable way to unwind at the end of a day with good friends. That is until there was drama in the knitting group.

I have learned the hard way that if you put a group of women together, there will be a struggle for control of the group. This is how it was with the group of knitters I joined in Seattle. Several nights a week the knitters would meet at various coffee houses around town. Usually the same few women dominated the conversation around the table, but everyone seemed to get along somehow. One day someone came up with a plan for a group of us to go and attend an event in Oregon for the weekend. Plans were made and then changed to try and accommodate everyone in the group. Feelings were hurt in regard to the change of plans and drama ensued. People were shunned, talked about behind their back and some encouraged others to gang up on the people they saw as the reason for their unhappiness. Personally, I am not into drama, back stabbing, or ganging up on people for any reason. I view it as immature and an unhealthy way of dealing with ones problems. For that reason I left the knitting group behind.

Now I was left with all sorts of time on my hands that use to be filled with knitting groups. After a few weeks of sitting in front of the television by myself, I decided to gather the friends I had left from the knitting group and form a new one. We decided to call ourselves the Cast Offs, a knitting term that seemed appropriate for our group. For a while things went well in the group until a few of us decided to go back to school. I then did not have the time to attend the group as my class schedule interfered with our set knitting time. Once again, I was shunned from the very group that I started.

I now knit alone usually with the company of my cats and dogs. I once thought knitting was a nice way to enjoy some me time and relax. I now await the time when my pets will decide it is their time to turn their backs on me as well.