Last Friday, Greenwood/Phinney “Seattle Summer Streets” !

 

Last Friday, at the Greenwood/Phinney “Seattle Summer Streets” giant block party, I rolled out my traveling studio-on-a-cart down the middle of the street, sat down and got to work!  

 

settling in on the yellow lines

 

At first the empty street felt pretty eerie, but once things started going I had more people than I could handle wanting to crochet or find out about what was going on.  It was  a real blast, with kids wizzing by on bikes and stopping to talk, giant bubbles and squealing toddlers.

 

proud of the ring she's done

Special thanks to Wyly Astley for all her help!

 

 I felt like I handed out a hundred or so cards, so I hope to see those faces further on this spring.  It was a great kick-off to this project, and the conversation veered mostly to people talking about who they learned to crochet from, who crocheting reminded them of — mostly grandmothers, aunts, 70’s crocheted vests one was forced to wear as a child, and the way our hands seem to remember things we thought we had forgotten.  A lot of kids stayed to keep crocheting even after it got dark and cold.  Thanks for hosting me Greenwood/Phinney people, I had a blast!

See the whole set of images on my flickr

 

The family that crochets together

 

 

still going

 

 

a very special contribution!

 

At dusk, things got kind of messy and exciting

 

Very focused

Join me at the Greenwood-Phinney “Seattle Summer Streets” on 4/10

This friday from 6-9pm a huge section of Greenwood/Phinney Ave. will be closed for a giant community block party, from N. 65th Ave through N. 87th Ave! And I will be there with my River asking anyone who would like to to sit down and work with me. I’ll have an abundant supply of crochet hooks and tons of materials. I’ll be approximately at 72 Ave. and 74th Ave. Please come by and talk with me, work with me.

Come work with me!

 

As always, all skill levels welcome, and I welcome the challenge of teaching even the most hardened anti-crocheter! These “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” block parties are pretty terrific, there was one in my neighborhood last summer, in Columbia City, down Rainier Ave. It’s pretty liberating to run and jump down the middle of a major city street, stopping to blow bubbles or draw with some chalk. Kids seem to be the best at taking advantage of the absence of cars.

kids having a blast on Rainier Ave.

I remember the door-tag before the event said something like “see what the City would be like without cars”, and it really was that cool, joyful even! There are many “Seattle Summer Streets” events this year, so go have fun. I’m hoping to also be at the Alki and Ballard events, as well. This really is my first official crocheting event for this project, and I wanted to take my work to the streets, so I am particularly excited about actually sitting in the street. Come visit me!