They Called Me Fearless Leader
Late one night in 2007 after watching Monty Python's Life of Brian at least twice (maybe three times in a row) I was in the Ravely forums and noticed how rudely and dismissively crocheters were treated by other fiber enthusiasts (knitters...okay it was the knitters) and I thought "This is stupid."
So, I created a message board, wrote the base chain (our ten rules of engagement) and went to bed. I woke up to two members running around with flaming hooks and being outrageous. Six months later we had 1000 members and they called me Fearless Leader...
My daughter was 12 at the time and she thought this was the coolest thing ever. Instead of calling members, members (because it made us chuckle too much to say it... if you don't like sophomoric humor, bugger off.) So, we called "members", Minions (this was before the Gru situation okay?). Sara was Mommy's Little Minion...still is...only she's all grown up.
I always said, "We make chains that set us free." And we did. We crocheted our way to freedom, with humor, a more than healthy stash of yarn, ridiculous amount of hooks, and a lot of attitude.
You can hear about our origin story here...and find out what we've been up to in the decade we've spend underground in our yarn tunnel.
The Crochet Liberation Front Manifesto
We are the Crochet Liberation Front!
We are makers of every gender, every race, every creed, every nation.
We hook—and we are proud.
With our hooks we conjure lace and household treasures, sweaters and socks, slippers and tablecloths, bedspreads, jewelry, and sculptural art.
Our only limits are imagination and nerve.
What we create is beautiful.
We will not be boxed in.
We will not accept the myth that crochet is “less than.”
We will not apologize for our obsession with the hook.
We need no validation from other crafts.
We are valid by our very nature.
We reject every stereotype that has kept us overlooked, dismissed, or diminished.
We are the Crochet Liberation Front—
and we raise our hooks high!
Our Mission
To be really silly and have an excuse to buy more yarn
Our Ethos
We're inclusive, woke af, we think grannies are cool and we're comedy legends (in our own minds)
Our Goal
Resurrect our crochet cult classic, get silly, laugh till we tinkle, and build a global community of hookers
Reasons to Join The Crochet Liberation Front
Bored and need something better to do with your time
Have to hide new yarn purchases in the trunk of your car
Have yarn stashed in sock drawers, tote bags, under the bed and in the closet
Tired of the same boring patterns and tutorials
Sick of the stupid "what are you knitting?" questions. (It's a hook not a needle damn it.)
Have a sick sense of humor and don't clutch your pearls when people make off colored jokes
Want to be all of yourself, unapologetically
Need other weirdos in your life