We knit for peace yesterday and look what happened!

Good news today from Cyprus–a barrier that has run down the center of a main shopping street in Nicosia is going to be torn down. Next week Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political leaders will start a process that will hopefully lead to reunification talks.

Hope. Without hope, courage is impossible. Without courage, peace is impossible.

Here’s what I did yesterday:

And here’s me doing it–Asta has now learned to sit in my lap while I knit without biting at the yarn. Most of the time.

If you have any pics of yourself knitting for peace or your peace knitting let me know and we’ll post ‘em!

Thanks everyone for putting yourself on the map. I’ll keep adding to it through the year.

This blog won’t stop just because March 21 is 364 days away–keep checking in!

Today’s the day!

Ok, here’s what I’ve been, and will be, meditating on as I knit today. I’ve been knitting in every possible spare moment.

As we lawyers are fond of saying, including but not limited to:

1. A lasting solution in Israel, whereby everyone can live in peace and dignity;

2. Religious freedom for Tibetans;

3. An end to the war in Iraq and an honest restructuring of the Iraqi infrastructure;

4. An end to the misery in Darfur;

5. Understanding within my family for different views and different ways of doing things.

What are you thinking about today?

The newspaper has the most interesting news

I’ve always liked reading the obituaries. It’s a great way to learn about contemporary history or the place where you live.

In Saturday’s New York Times, the obituary of a woman named Chiara Lubich.  She was a peace activist working within the framework of the Catholic church. She didn’t seem to be a rabble rouser, but rather started a lay community that had as its key word “unity” and focused on inter-religious dialog. She met with Buddhist monks and preached at a mosque.

Religion, for all its exploitation by governments and fear-mongers to acquire power and subdue other people, also has enormous potential to bring us together, across religious lines.

Today’s knitting-I’m in the Mary Thomas group on Ravelry, where we go through the Mary Thomas pattern books and knit swatches. Knitnerdy and fun. So far (just started this weekend) I’ve done something called Grecian Plait. I also did my own variation, (top of the swatch) where I alternated the twist on alternate knit rows.

The real price of real estate

China, which plans to take the Olympic torch over Mt. Everest in Tibet, is banning climbers from scaling Everest this spring for fear that Tibetan rights activists will disrupt the plans for the torch. Critics of this route say that it is a way for China to bolster its claim to Tibet.

The colonization/displacement/religious suppression of indigenous peoples and religious minorities lies at the root of much suffering and war in this world. From Native Americans to Tibetans, from the Palestinians to the Sami, the same history of oppression for the sake of real estate has been masked in the cloak of religion or political creed or modernisation (or all of the above). We can get past this–witness the progress in Northern Ireland, but it takes courage of people on all levels of society, the courage of the oppressed to say “no, we won’t accept this” and the courage of those in whose name the oppression is being practiced to say “no, you may not do this in my name”.

I lift my knitting needles today to the courageous monks of Tibet.

Today’s knitting–another sweater I made for B, in that wonderful Morjärv yarn. I can’t get enough of this soft, colorful, durable yarn. My tip on knitting for fussy men without boring yourself to death–cast on with color A, knit a row, rib in main color, do a border pattern in color A and then the rest of the sweater in main color. Cast on the sleeves in color A, knit one row and then continue in the main color.

Would you beat your swords into plowshares already?

The never-ending violence in Israel is crazy-making sometimes. The murder of Jewish students last week. Yesterday, an Israeli raid that threatens to halt truce talks. Sometimes it makes me too angry to write, to angry to pick up my camera and take a picture of my knitting.

Show some true courage, you Israeli and Palestinian politicians, and get out there and make some peace.

Knit for peace on March 21.

Responsibility in Turkey

A Turkish photographer has compiled a photo book on the various ethnic groups that make up the Turkish people and is travelling around the country with three other people to share it. Turkey’s official policy is one of monolithic patriotism (consider the denial of the Armenian genocide). The group has travelled throughout Turkey with their book, often encountering suspicion, to share the pictures and stories of the book with people around Turkey. Their goal is to show both the variety and the uniformity of the different cultures within Turkey, and they’re finding that people are astonished at the similarities.

Like I always say, folks is folks. Sometimes we all just need to be reminded.

Today’s knitted object – B’s socks, in Seawool. Super soft and warm. I think the stitch pattern is both interesting and masculine–K all on even rounds, K4, P4 on odd rounds.

Singers taking a stand

I love music. In our house, the stereo is in the living room and the tv is covered with a cloth in a corner of the bedroom. Even the dog has been known to sit in front of the stereo and whine if there’s no music on (her favorites seem to be Bryan Ferry and Tom Waits). Musicians have a unique platform for taking a stand on political, environmental, and social justice issues. In today’s Times of London, stories of two who have done so: Annie Lennox on aids and Bjork on Tibetan rights. I could make a long list here of singers who have used the stage to reach out on issues they care about (from Pete Seeger to Pink, and that’s just Americans) but I want to take advantage of the warm weather (by Swedish standards) and go for a walk on the beach.

Today’s knitted object – a love sweater, no curse attached. This is B’s, one of the first sweaters I made. I used EZ’s percentage system and based the pattern for the border on a design from an African basket. What makes it a love sweater? That the bottom curls up (I hadn’t yet learned what I needed to know about gauge and stitch patterns and color patterns) and B loves it, warts and all. The yarn is from Gunga Din, which used to be on Söder in Stockholm but is now mail-order only.

International Women’s Day

Saturday is International Women’s Day. In honor of International Woman’s Day, I will tell the important women in my life that I love them. I’ve got a lot of phone calls to make!

Today’s knitting:my knit for peace vest. Let’s just say that the camera does not do the yarn justice. I’m having a little laddering problem which should resolve now that I can knit around on my circular–and my Options should be here tomorrow or Monday, so I’ll switch to that then which will make the k2tog easier.

Welcome the St Cronan Knitters for Peace of St. Louis Missouri to the map. What is it about St. Louis?

Sheep

A couple of nights ago there was program on Swedish TV about the treatment of merino sheep in Australia. There is a lot of controversy about whether the practice of mulesing is beneficial or detrimental to the sheep. Personally, my gut reaction has led me to decide not to purchase Australian merino until they phase out the practice.

Why am I mentioning this here? Because in my manifesto, I talk about the pacifism of knitting from the perspective of the sheep and mulesing seems to fall somewhere outside of the scope of what I believe. Even though I’m not a vegetarian, and there’s a lot of controversy about the controversy itself, there are enough fibers out there for me to use without resorting to one that there are so many questions about.

No knitted object today. I have, however, settled on my Knit for Peace project, a vest in Goldiehair with a free pattern from Elann.

One voice

With thanks to my virtual buddy Tikkunknitter for calling my attention to this, may I call your attention to the One Million Voices project promoting peace in the Middle East? Here’s the One Voice Mandate:

• Recognize the right of both peoples to independence, sovereignty, freedom, justice, dignity, respect, national security, personal safety, and economic viability;
• Implement concrete confidence-building measures that will improve the lives of the Palestinian and Israeli people, including ensuring freedom of movement for ordinary civilians and fostering education against incitement on both sides.
• Immediately commence uninterrupted negotiations until reaching an agreement, within the timeframe of one year, for a Two-State Solution, fulfilling the consistent will of the overwhelming majority of both populations.

Peace is the exercise of common sense.

Today’s knitted garment – Interweave Knit’s Sienna Cardigan in Madil Loden (in case you’ve noticed a lot of Madil Loden in my life, let me just say that my LYS had a clearance sale last year. I stocked up.) I just love the lacy cable.