So, nu? Where are the squares?

Just to give you a teasy sort of view of how the Lorax Project is starting to shape up, here are some of the squares. Some are pre- some are post- and some are mid-connection... yes, even though it is not quite May 1st, I have started putting this baby together as the pieces come in... otherwise, it would never get finished before the end of the school term.... besides May 1st is not just International Workers' Day, this year it also is Shabbat. (Kind of a conflicting theme going on there, don't you think?)

This gives you a pretty good glimpse of how this is going to get put together. First, I must find 4 squares that actually 'go together'.... visually (colour, balance, theme) as well as spatially...

(they are not all 4"x4" or 8"x8"

... so it is a wee bit of a puzzle fixer upper at times).

Then I block them individually.

Then I crocheting them together a la granny square...

Then they get blocked again.

Then I crochet them into a 'finished' four-some...

Then, if the knitting and crocheting gods are in a laughing,

mocking, na-na-na-boo-boo kind of mood,

I block them yet again

in a sort of holy trinity blocking mikvah kind of way

....yes, yes, I know you are sighing with jealousy,

but, alas, not everyone can have this much fun on a Saturday night....

you just gotta be super lucky and fancy free like me.

But, yes, you too can live and dream like the Rebel Knitter....

make me a square!

Meredith & one other square

recycled wool & silk & banana fibre + one of Jodi's awesome diva crochet stitching

Janet's groovy knit + one flower (hand painted New Zealand wool)

when I pulled this back because it looked like there was a slight conflict in the Arctic & Atlantic waters (hmmm - do you think this could have had something to do with that whole Iceland affair?) Any interruptions during this process received a sharp "shushing" from yours truly: Keep quiet, please, can't you see Mummy's trying to save the world here?

Debbi.
You are right.
I haven't blogged in a while.
I guess, I was holding out for you to start crocheting me a square.
Yay... it worked.
And just because you actually dug deep into the back of your closet to find your yarn & hook, here are some more visuals to inspire you to hook on...

The Mazel Tov Magen David in reverse stocking knit motif.

Four. Four. Four times the love.

"Unless" -- My favorite single word directly from the realm of Seuss' Lorax.

The Tikuun Hamsa: Repair & Protect

Last week someone asked me some excellent questions about the project:

Q: Huh? Why are you doing this?

A: Community spirit, community action & to make right the wrongs of the evil knitter 'The Oncler" (see blog entry of March 14th)

Q: Why not all the same yarn? all the same patterning? uniformity? etc.

A: This project is about pluralism, inclusiveness and the mosaic that makes up our micro & macro communities. It's what I love about my children's school, the city & country in which we are fortunate to live.

Q: Why is it called the Lorax Project?
A: Seriously? OMG, you haven't yet read it? I some how missed out on it as a child & was lucky enough to have children who are Seuss fans. Run, don't walk. Get to a library f-a-s-t!

Lorax Project Update

The squares are starting to really come in now.
I am still not entirely certain how 'big' this baby is going to get.
Will start posting some photos soon.

-Rebel

My Lorax Project

Last summer, after reading Dr. Seuss' THE LORAX to little Ziggy, I came up with this phenomenal project for the kids' school... sort of an community event / fundraiser / artsy fartsy thing... also, the look of horror my little boy's eyes when he realized that the Oncler, a villain/naughty person in the book, was an evil knitter that destroys the world... "Mum.. you wouldn't do that to the Truffala trees, wouldya?"

Yes, I had an environmentally tuned in 5 year old. which was great, but, oh my - oh my - I had to redeem the knitters of the world in his eyes...

So that's when I came up with The Lorax Project: I posted it in the school newsletter:

Do you knit, crochet or work in textiles? Do you know someone who does? The Friday Lunch Knitting Club is starting a collective project and we'd like to invite you to participate. In keeping with our school's eco-minded sensibilities we have been discussing, and using, environmentally friendly yarns.

What you need to do: Knit/Crochet/Weave/Embroider one 8"x8" (20cmx20cm) (or 16”x16”//40cmx40cm) square in 100% natural fibre (cotton, soy, wool, silk, tencel etc) or 100% recycled yarn. No synthetics. Also, please no linen for reasons of kashruth. You decide the colour, the pattern and texture. Produce 1, 2, 3 or more squares. Then contact Rebel Knitter who will be piecing our Community masterpiece together.

When do you need to get this all to her? May 1st, 2010
What then? We will display our collective project in the school hallway and have a silent auction with the funds going to an environmental / tree planting cause : THE JNF.

Sounds great, right? Only. I have NO IDEA if I'm going to one, two, or fifty squares.... so I'm knitting, I'm crocheting, I'm even considering macrame-ing... OMG, what was I thinking?

So far I have knit a Banana Fibre Square. A Merino Wool Square. A 60% Wool / 40% Recycled Silk Square. And a lot of Cotton... Lots of Intarsia. Leaf Imagery. Bird silhouettes. Peace Sign. Butterflies... and of course a large square with the Lorax's most salient message "Unless" knitted into it... ahhh....

My student knitters seemed overwhelmed at the thought of an 8" x 8" square... so I told them Okay, how about 4 gauge swatches instead.... that seemed less daunting a task, somehow.

We'll see what we get.... But here's the FUNNIEST part. Rebel Knitter has been know to labouriously re-jig camisole or sweater pattern in order to avoid sewing seams... (It's not a laziness thing... it's a mix of aesthetic reasoning & the fact that my 45+ year old eyes just go boinky on me after a while.... so, let's see.... how many seams do you think this little sucker of an afgan is going to need...

I can hear you all cyber-laughing at the Rebel Knitter.... ha ha ha... yuppers, what the *&%^$ was I thinking?

But, yes, my son thinks I'm cool - and I have assured him, this project is no thneed....

I will post a photo of the finished product in good time. In the mean while, however, I have an ophthalmological appointment I think I need to make.

Rebel Knitter's Purim Costume

They stared at me intently. Hands on waists & wide-eyed.

If you're coming to the school to teach tomorrow, you HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO have a costume. It's the Purim Carnival, you know... Duh?!?!?

Um... Okay.

I'm not a Queen Esther or Vashti type so, I needed to come up with something.

Fast.
As I teach knitting on Friday afternoons at the kids' school & the tooth fairy has visited my house twice this past week, I had to go with the combined theme.

Here she is:

I know, I know, no image of the rebel herself in the shots, but hey, it's kind of hard to photograph the wings on your back when you're also the photographer.

Also, I wore my most fuzzy bright mohair cardi (yes, after it was all knitted up I figured out why the skeins were on sale). I call that sweater my Wookie Cardi. Also A couple of 10 mm needles criss-crossed through the back of the wings/sweater to show that I'm a Hard Core knitter, you know...

&

Oh, I almost, this little gem (as modelled by my dear daughter)What is a knitting Fairy without her trusty "frogger"....

How much fun is that?

Knittishisms at The 33rd Annual Jewish Book Fair

Koffler Centre of the Arts presents:


THE 33rd ANNUAL
Jewish Book Fair
October 24 to November 1, 2009

*****************************************************
Sunday, November 1

The Zen of Jewish Knitting
2 PM $5
With a Master’s degree in Art and Popular Culture and having worked within the worlds of museums, marketing, broadcasting, education and business, Rosanne Bernard was destined to write a book about knitting, Knittishisms: The Zen of Jewish Knitting. Given the fibre name, Rebel Knitter by her knitting comrades, Bernard does not follow a pattern out of an eccentric wish to make “one-of-a-kind” masterpieces. Bring your knitting and spin a yarn with the Rebel Knitter herself.

www.kofflerarts.org

Conference Centre, Lipa Green Centre for Jewish Community Services, 4600 Bathurst St.The annual Jewish Book Fair, one of the largest in North America, has been bringing the best of Jewish literature to Toronto for 33 years, with world-class authors, school programs and engaging programs from panel discussions to intimate concerts to films to live cooking demos and more. Don’t miss this celebration of Jewish books and culture as it debuts in the brand new Lipa Green Conferencing Centre on the Sherman Campus!
Click here for full event details.
Click here to download the Jewish Book Fair Event Guide (PDF 1 MB)
ADVANCE TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Tickets for all events can also be purchased in person at the Jewish Book Fair, starting on Saturday, October 24. Get yours early to avoid disappointment! Certain workshops where indicated require advance registration.

It's at times like this, I'm glad I'm a knitter

I'm not a big shul goer -- that's more my hubby's shtick (which is really funny, because according to all accounts, he spent every able opportunity skipping Cheder (hebrew school) to play soccer in the park across the street as a kid). We go to the Minsk in Kensington Market. (Remember The King of Kensington? Yup that market) It's old... drafty... very haimishe... perfectly Kensington.

AND so here we are, Yom Kippur... they started Kol Nidre almost an hour late, the gentlemen that ALWAYS open the ark are somewhat late, blah blah blah -- you know the rest... Hello? Don't they know I have a 10 & 5 yr old here with me? So, by 9:45pm when Kol Nidre was still going on, I'm trying to keep my daughter from falling asleep on my prayer book and I think to myself, I'm a bit chilly, but at least she is wrapped up all nice and warm in my mohair sweater, thank G-d she at least is warm... Then, I think, wow, I'm surprised I haven't heard more kvetching from the downstairs (men's section) from Ziggy (the 5 yr old).... so I gaze down, and there he is... STANDING ON THE BIMAH next to the chazzan, my little dude's kippah is inside out & backwards, but what a gorgeous drunken little smile he has on... well that's okay.. then he spots me... starts waving wildly... ALL THE WOMEN stare at me and giggle... and then... then... then... Ziggy starts channeling ELVIS, with the wild hip shaking girations & EVERYTHING... Arms swinging like he's in the final top 3 playoffs for Air Guitar Hero of the World... and that's when I say to Zozers, "Sweetie, come... let's go... we're off to home"...

So, what does all this have to do with knitting? Well! They looked something special szhlumping out of shul, One in a bright green Che Sweater with funky Righteous Lid & the other in a wild hued mohair sweater... They looked an ad that would read "Don't you wish your mummy could knit like mine?"

Reviews of Knittishisms

• Canadian Jewish News, August 13, 2009

• The Eyrea>> http://the-eyrea.blogspot.com/2009/01/book-review-knittishisms-by-rebel.html

To purchase Knittishisms, The Zen of Jewish Knitting

contact: rebelknitter@gmail.com