I went to a Knit-In this morning.
You might have seen the Knit the Bridge project on or in the news. Start time was at 6AM and was to go to at least 6PM.
I got some coffee and grabbed a chair and a blanket to pad the wooden seat. The group was on the North Side of the Bridge stitching while the teams who were trained ( insurance requirement) donned hard hats and sore fingers, using zip ties and floss like string to attach the pieces.
One hundred twenty more black railing covers were needed (12×75″) to cover the bottom rails in black, too.
It was fun and I met some nice knitters, crocheters and encouragers who came down to check it all out. The organizers headed by Amanda Gross and her team are working long and hard hours to get all the colorful panels installed on the Seventh Street Bridge AKA the Andy Warhol Bridge. I did hear someone say they were feeling a bit frazzled. I can only imagine.
There were boxes of bagels and supportive and interesting conversation as we stitched. A woman next to me, Sue, has made 35 afghans this year for soldiers in Afghanistan. There was a PR team documenting the project on film. They interviewed her and she showed them photos of her work. That’s a lot of stitching.
Then Veronica arrived. Told me she had been crocheting for 80 years. No kidding!! She made two panels for the bridge and lots of railing covers, too. Christina showed me how to double crochet so I could get finished faster. She was patient and a good teacher so I zipped along until I had to leave.
Thanks Leah for inviting me down, getting the word out!
Bringing people together from many communities- the Knit-In in progress on the North Side of the Bridge
the Bridge is closed to traffic except for these riggers arriving.
Sue( sporting her son’s old bicycle shirt) being interviewed by the PR team filming a documentary about the Knit the Bridge project
Installing one of the panels. Note the black railing covers and the zip ties. And the volunteer workers!
Fascinating 🙂
What a fantastic project, Ruth. I’m sure Andy Warhol would have approved. 🙂
How fabulous! I love it.
Amazing! Great story great pictures
That is so cool!
Such an amazing project, Ruth. What a lot of stitches’ 🙂
Great way to start your day / week! Sounds like lots of energetic folks were involved/. Were there any male knitters while you were knitting?
Yes there were male knitters. You can see one in the pic
Ruth, You never cease to amaze me with your daily stories and pictures! There is nothing like this in Louisville but all 3 of our bridges or so busy that they couldn’t be closed. However, 2 new bridges are currently being built and supposedly will be finished in 2016. Your pictures are wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
So why exactly are people knitting the bridge? I don’t get it…
Bringing communities together with creation of art project/yarn bombing
The panels will laundered And given to shelters in September
Interesting…
That is so cool!
I remember you telling me about this months ago. Your photos are wonderful. Planning to visit. I think this is a wonderful idea.
BE ENCOURAGED! BE BLESSED!
Looking forward to seeing your pics of your Francine
Great project and great idea ! Pitty it cannot stay this way forever. I agree, Andy would be happy with it.
yet another reason I love Pittsburgh and following your blog : )
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