Hello Friends,
Happy Spring to you all! Here we are at the end of March, which means (among other things) that Pride month is just over 60 days away. Time to get moving on the next Pride Project.
As many of you will remember, two years ago, we installed a rainbow yarn bomb on the majestic maple on the property of Morningside High Park Presbyterian Church at the head of Ellis Avenue.
Alas, it was torn down.
The yarn bomb was repaired, and my brother Marc and I reinstalled it last year… only to have it torn down again within 24 hours.
This year, as Pride month approaches, we are looking forward to our next yarn bomb installation. Something a little bit different, and something that won’t be nearly as easy for unhelpful hands to reach.
Here’s the idea: We are looking for as many 6 inch by 6 inch knitted (or crocheted) squares as we can get, in as many colours as possible. When Pride Month rolls around, we will take stock of what we have, and decide how best to join them together in a multi-hued rainbow craftivist creation to be installed as high as possible on the MHP grounds — it may be on a tree, a sign, or even on the building itself. We’ll figure it out when we get there. The important thing is to have lots of squares to work with. Here’s a sample of what I’ve been able to knit in the past week of knitting on the TTC, while sitting in the church pew, or just hanging out with friends and family:
If you’d like to be part of the project, we’d love to have you!
All you need to do is knit (or crochet) as many 6 inch by 6 inch squares as you’d like. The more colours, the better. You can execute them any way you’d like, but if you’d like a pattern, the one I’m using is below.
It’s a very easy pattern, and because it is knit on the diagonal, you don’t need to guess at how many stitches to cast on — you just cast on the required three stitches, then knit until your piece measures 6 inches across, then start decreasing. No need to worry about gauge, or needle size, or yarn weight, or nuthin’. Easy peasy!
I’m using 4.5 mm needles, but you can use what you like. All we need is an end product that is 6 inches by 6 inches. Here’s the pattern. Very simple — check it out:
Cast on 3 stitches.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: K1, Yarn Over, Knit to end of row. Repeat this row until your work measures 6 inches across one side (both sides will be the same).
Next row: K1, Yarn Over, K2tog, K to last 4 stitches K2tog, K2. Repeat this row until 6 stitches remain.
Next Row: K1, Yarn Over, K2tog, K2tog, K1.
Next row: K1, K2tog, K2tog.
Cast off.
Once you’ve finished your squares, reach out to me, and we’ll work out how to pick them up from you. You can also feel free to join our knitting circle every Sunday morning, 11:30 AM following the service in the Morningside-High Park fellowship hall. Coffee and cookies provided. Can’t wait to see what we come up with!
the knitting Pilgrim talks
We continue to release new episodes of The Knitting Pilgrim Talks, which explore the imagery of the Stitched Glass tapestries in conversation with faith leaders and academics.
Pushed Aside: Women and LGBTQ in Christianity Pt. 1
In episode 122 of The Knitting Pilgrim Talks, I speak with Rev. Janet Ryu-Chan of Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church about the section of the Christian tapestry depicting a female figure reaching up to Christ yet being pushed aside. Rev Ryu-Chan speaks of what it felt like to grow up in a patriarchal denomination of Christianity, her experience as a female member of the clergy, and how differently she’d be treated if she were a six-foot tall white man.
"I never saw myself as a minister, because I just never saw any female ministers, no female Elders." - Rev. Janet Ryu-Chan
Episode 122 is available on YouTube here: KPT 122: Pushed Aside: Women and LGBTQ in Christianity Pt. 1
Or, all of the podcast places, like KPT on Spotify, if you’d rather listen than watch.
If you have any questions about any of my projects, would like to book a talk, workshop, The Knitting Pilgrim or Spycraft, please reach out to me at kirkdunn.com.