Patching things up

Today I wanted to share a project that I am participating in, in hopes that, if you crochet or knit, you might too. It's called "Let's Patch it" in Italian "Mettiamoci una pezza". In April of 2009 the city of l'Aquila in the Abruzzo region in Italy was destoyed by a terrible earthquake. Today, almost three years later, it still has not been re-built. Every year Animammersa, a local organization, does something to call people's attention to this city in hopes that something will be done. This year, they are organizing a giant yarn bomb/ urban knitting(and crochet) event on April 6th to commemorate.  They are asking anyone who wants to participate (even from far away) to make a "patch" and send it to them. Then they will put them together and display them in the city's center. The pieces should measure either 40x40 cms or 20x20 cms, or 50x50 cms. or 25x25cms. You may use any yarn,stisch, color  or method of your choice. Even a loom! They are also accepting flowers (crochet or knit of course) the link to the site is here. Please scroll down for English. If you do participate, don't forget to attatch a tag with your name and the city you live in. Please send them, by March 24th to:

Associazione Culturale Animammersa
c/o Patrizia Bernardi via Strada Statale 17 Bis SNC
67100 Paganica L’AQUILA
ITALY

I'll be participating with the crochet group I am in on facebook, but have decided to make this our class project in the two fifth grade classes I am teaching crochet to. The kids are really excited!

If you can, please spread the word. The more we are, the more beautiful l'Aquila will be! Hopefully not just for one day :)

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, today is Valentine's Day and although in Italy it's a couples' holiday, I much prefer the U.S. version, or rather, a day to tell people that you love and care about just how you feel! I know many people think that Valentine's day is a bunch of comercial hype, but I don't, because I think that any holiday is what you make it. So if you are worried about flowers, candy, what to buy etc.... then it will be a commercial holiday, but if you use it as a day to tell someone just how you feel, which is something that most people don't do every day, then it wil be a special, heart-felt holiday.

As I've said before, I like to decorate seasonally and for holidays too, so there's always something nice hanging somewhere in the house. I also have a love for wreaths, so my latest project is a Valentine's day wreath. The crocheted heart was made as a Social Crochet  project. But you can get the original pattern in English here. The other hearts are made with felt. If you want to make one, you can add as many hearts as you like. I only wanted three, because I like to keep things simple.

Unfortunately, my naughty kitten got ahold of the heart and pulled a couple of stitches, so it's not perfect : /

Also, as a special gift, the wonderful people over at ravelry created some fantastic valentines that you can send to your friends. Just like when you were a kid in school. Gotta love it! Peace and Love