Placements and Volunteers Blog

Connecting you to other activists from around the globe

Imani Barbarin – A black woman activist with cerebral palsy. Having done a degree in creative writing from the Eastern University, Imani is a disability rights activist and is keen […]

Responses from Jude Mckechnie

Jude Mckechnie is a Glasgow based cultural historian and blog writer. She has workedfor Govanhill Baths Community Trust for the past two years and has helped tocoordinate and curate a […]

30 Years of Changing volunteering logo

Volunteer Stories – Three Decades of Volunteering

Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL) celebrated its 30th anniversary in September 2021. We were thrilled to be recipients of a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a two year […]

March Book Picnic Recommendations

On the first Wednesday of every month, GWL team members and volunteers share what we’ve read recently at our Book Picnic: Sambac Beneath Unlikely Skies by Heba Hayek CW: Eating […]

Beverly McFarlane and her journey with activism

I was brought up with a strong sense of right and wrong, but ironically, some of those who taught me failed to abide by their own teaching. Bullying, physical and […]

Open The Door – Our reading list

‘Small revelations create ripples‘ Recommendations from people around me:   Olivia Plender – the visual artist who has helped redesign our community room in the upstairs gallery and has been hosting ‘Our […]

A pink sleeveless jumper in the main library. It has a band of multicoloured venus symbols around the middle.

Knitting the Woman’s Woolly: Part 4 – ReKnitting the Woman’s Woolly

In the last of the series, how changes in the culture of knitting influenced the economics of knitting and how Becky’s jumper was made.

A pink sleeveless jumper in the main library. It has a band of multicoloured venus symbols around the middle.

Knitting the Woman’s Woolly: Part 3 – Ribbed for My Pleasure

After making a jumper for the GWL archive, this next jumper explores modern ideas in feminism and knitting.

Spare Rib jumper in the main library

Knitting the Woman’s Woolly: Part 2 – P1R1 (Progress 1, Regress 1)

Details of how the Spare Rib jumper was made and exploring where it pushes boundaries and where it conforms.

Spare Rib jumper in the main library

Knitting the Woman’s Woolly: Part 1 – Purls of Feminist History

Feminist magazine Spare Rib published a pattern for a handknitted jumper in 1982. As volunteer Becky knitted one up for our collection, the more there was to learn about the jumper and its position in the history of knitting and feminism.