Japan: Spring Relief 2011

The first day of spring in very near, which means we’ve sprung forward and lost an hour over the weekend. But on the other side of the world people awoke to a much greater loss.

On Friday, March 11, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami left the north eastern coast of Japan in the wake of growing destruction. As more news, photos and videos are made public, they leave me profoundly horrified.

If you are reading this blog entry please follow the news and donate what money you can. The best we can do is keep ourselves aware of the situation and be charitable. Here are some reliable charitable organizations:

• American Red Cross
• American Red Cross TXT
• Doctors without Borders
• Mercy Corp
• Save the Children
• UNICEF USA

Google has created an aggregate resource page for Japanese and English speakers who are searching for friends and family. Visit Google Crisis Response: Japan.

My deepest sympathies lie with friends who have family over seas — as it is a troubling time to be abroad. Mostly, my prayers go out to the people of Japan who must endure the aftermath, a long road lies ahead. In these uncertaiin times I pray for a window of calm. Among the metaphors for flowers, Anemones (or Windflowers) carry deep meaning. Blue Anemones symbolize anticipation.

Knit PH at Prospect Perk Café, Jan 12, '10

I gave my black round table to Perk last week. It makes more sense in a café since it is in fact a café table. Murat and Ori were glad to take it for the front window.

I hadn't seen Marci in ages. I gave her a warm welcome hug. She is now a converted knitter thanks to the Lisa G. But of course she's still the queen of crochet. She broke our her "Fiona Mohair" scarf. Diana showed us her family calendar with a portrait her grandson proudly wearing the red cardigan she made. Meanwhile she's already started a new one for her other grandson — her own handsome design of course.

Meg made that clever cat hat from the "Stich n' Bitch" collection and moved on to her next project, a new scarf for her father. Dad lost the last one she made, but asked her to make one in more manly colors. Mm hmm. We all agreed that these cherished goods should only be made for someone who will appreciate them, even if they become lost.

Allison is new to the group, so is Suzanne, and Michele. Allison brought a pack of hand-spun in variegated colors. Michele is making her first baby hat and her first scarf.

"They drink a lot of tea" Sarah said. That tea cozy has picked up in momentum, size, and color. It's almost ready to send off to mom and dad.

Silke and Emma handed me their finished granny squares. Suzanne asked what they were for — "Afghans for Afghans charity" I said. "How about Afghans for Suzanne?" she asked jokingly. After 12 years as a producer at Channel 13, Suzanne has joined the league of lay-offs.  There may be a lot of knitting ahead of us in this recession.

Knit PH at Freddy's Bar, Dec. 6 '09

Peg Byron and her producer Zena Kennedy are documenting craft nights and music at Freddy's Bar — working title "Freddy's: Not Just Any Bar and Backroom." Cringe Night, Opera Night, Diorama Lodge, Guitar School, Old-time Jam... and of course Knit PH. Organic yet fragile, Freddy's Bar formed like a tropical reef with a collection of the most rare and fascinating life. Among the questions I was asked, two stuck in my mind...

"Why knit at Freddy's?"

In 2003 Café owner Mary Cohen and I started a knitting circle at her coffee shop, Prospect Perk. That's also when the Atlantic Yards boondoggle started... a wealthy private developer, Bruce Ratner, falsely declared a large public area of Prospect Heights as blighted to drive people from their homes so construction for his arena could begin. Freddy's bar was declared the ground zero of demolition.

Mary blurted "How can you call our neighborhood blighted when it has a knitting circle?" Soon Knit PH was born. I started a MeetUp account and called Freddy's manager Don O'Finn to pitch a knit night — wish granted.

"What do you get out of it?"

There's no monetary gain, I've actually paid for all the MeetUps. The answer is much simpler — I take great pride in adding positive value to my neighborhood, Prospect Heights. I feel that people need a destination where they can socialize away from work and family, refocus and clear their minds. In a computerized world of virtual communication it's easy to lose your humanity amidst info-blather and techno-garbage. In the cold winter months the simple act of knitting with a group over a beer, wine, or coffee reconnects and re-humanizes each of us.

Diana, Meg, and Valerie waited for Peg and Zena to move the lights out of the way and took a seat at the long table. Soon everyone popped in for beer 'n' balls. Valerie's crochet hat has grown into a large doily. It's good to see Maggie, Charlotte, and Carol again. Some in the group are seasonal knitters. Carol is in mid-sweater, and Maggie is crocheting a handsome man's scarf for a friend.

Meg finished her green Big Bad Baby blanket — a great cause for celebration! She mentioned that her husband Brett created an iPhone app for counting street trees. "Trees Near You" it's called. I told her I'd get her in touch with someone at the Audubon Society. Meg still has enough yarn left over to start a few baby hats. Nici admired the apple green color, she coached Meg through 4-needle knitting. Nici is making a very warm charcoal gray tubular scarf with a cable edge. Turns out that Meg and Nici are neighbors in South Slope. I told them to check out my friend Pete's gourmet bake shop on 18th and 5th — Little Buddy Biscuit Company. Screw the diet! Pete's "Orange Cardamom, Coconut w/ Currants & Macadamia" cookie melts in your mouth.

Diana finished a perfectly knitted square for our Afghans for Afghans charity drive, then started another. She's amazing, I don't know where she gets the energy. Sarah is almost finished with her parents' tea cozy, she'll be sending it to Seattle soon. Turns out she and Meg are from the same neck of the woods in Seattle — 6 degrees of Meg Lemke.

Maggie asked when we're having Casserole night gain. We had it last year closer to spring, but this year we should plan on February 2010. By then we'll be over with the holiday gorging.

It's now December 2009...

Ratner's firm (Forest City Ratner) still declares that Brooklyn desperately needs a basketball team from New Jersey to give us "hope." Although the Atlantic Yards Nets Arena recently won an appeals case, it is still mired in court as angry residents continue to sue in protest. Ground breaking is still halted but a threat still looms.

In a recent State Court decision, Columbia University was denied use of Eminent Domain to expand and build into Harlem ("Court Deals a Blow to Columbia's Expansion Plan"). Harlem is now spared from the same reasoning that Forest City Ratner has claimed to evoke Eminent Domain in Prospect Heights. With a raised cynical eyebrow, I wonder if buying a judge and few of our boys in Albany is part of the cost of building the Nets Arena. People may not realize it, but when they knit at Freddy's they become a witness to an interesting time in Brooklyn's history.

Well... that's my part of the documentary.

Knit PH at Prospect Perk, May 12 '09

We had an intimate crowd at Perk. Archie dropped by for a bit, I hadn't seen him in a while. He was getting his allergy shots just around the corner. For me the the first round of spring pollen was murder, or least it looked that way — nose nose bleeds and all. Eliza brought in the last quilt to sew for Afghans for Afghans.



Luise and Marci jumped right into the sewing. I learned a new stitch that night — the "invisible stitch" (aka ladder stitch) which reminds me, I have to bring my glasses more often. The invisible stitch similar to the mattress stitch but worked from the wrong side of the quilt.
It takes less time, the seams are less bulky, and it allows you to sew unmatched sides together.



This quilt is simply beautiful. Although it may never hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it reminds me of the work of Josef Albers. Quote Albers "Easy to know that diamonds are precious, good to learn that rubies have depth, but more to see that pebbles are miraculous." The colors in each square are like facets in a gem. It's made from left-over wool yarn, but mostly it's made with genuine care and sincerity. We're going to keep the quilt making as part of our Knit PH group.

Sew What? Baby Blankets, That's What.

The first set of baby blankets for the Afghans for Afghans charity drive are done! I couldn't stay for the sewing party, I had to go to a house warming party in Bushwick, psst... there is no East Williamsburg. Eliza and I sorted over 60 squares by size and then arranged them into blankets by color on her dining table. Dinah, Eliza's cat came out to say hello.



It takes 20 to 25 squares to make a blanket that's roughly 30" by 40". All of these are made of wool and wool/alpaca blends. Aren't these colors stunning?





Everyone really put out their best work. Naomi gave me that last set of 12 crochet squares at Prosect Perk and Eliza got a few in the mail.Isn't it amazing what you can do with your leftover yarn? I like the hippie patch-work appeal. I think Janice Joplin would've loved these. Eliza, Liza, and Liz put everything together and while Dinah oversaw the entire process.



All photos by Eliza Brown

Afghans for Afghans: Charity Blanket Drive

Hello Brooklynites,

In a collective effort to help those less fortunate than we, Knit PH is asking you to dig into your hearts and even deeper into your yarn stash. We are organizing a blanket drive for Afghans for Afghans, a humanitarian and educational program that sends knit and crochet goods to the people of Afghanistan. To learn more about their cause visit their web site: http://afghansforafghans.org/

The thought of one person making a whole blanket can be daunting, but if each of us made one or two square, the task would take minimal effort. Through the month of February Knit PH wil be collecting knit or crochet squares and assembling a sewing team. Our goal is to make at least 4 children's blankets (40" X 32"). Each blanket will need 20 squares.

Blanket Square Instructions:
1) Use any medium weight wool or wool-blend yarn.
2) Download these PDFs with basic knit and crochet instructions for an 8" square:
http://www.meetup.com/KnitPH/files/
3) Drop off your work at Prospect Perk Cafe before March 31.
http://ProspectPerkCafe.com
4) Sewing date around April 7

You can use your own pattern as long as it measures 8" X 8". Afghans for Afghans guidelines state not to use representational images of people and animals in your pattern. This includes human faces and religious symbols. Flowers, abstract, or geometric patterns are acceptable to Muslim culture.

Please e-mail ahead if you will be contributing so that we can keep track of our charity project.
e-mail: theyarnmonkey@yahoo.com
Subject: Afghans for Afghans