This weekend: May is almost over but MMMM crochet events are not!

This weekend, like every weekend, it seems, is PACKED to the gills with things to do in Seattle.  When I first moved to Seattle, I remember seeing this old scary/fascinating boarded-up turn-of-the-century school while exploring West Seattle, which is now the AMAZING Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.  The building, now filled with life again, is itself like a giant bellows breathing big breaths of creative life back into the Delridge and West Seattle communities.  Come visit the Center this Saturday the 30th, 11-5  for “Delridge Day”, celebrating the community with music, multiple art projects including MMMM, farmer’s markets, hoola-hooping, break dancing, skateboarding, battling Chefs.  Wow!  Stop by!  I’ll be there from 11-4.  The Sew People will also be there from 1-5, you can repurpose some old clothes into some new kind of awesomeness!

Then, on Sunday the 31st from 11 am – 3 pm, I’ll be at the Alki “Seattle Summer Streets” Party, hosted by Cascade Bicycle Club.   Alki Avenue SW will be closed off from California Way SW to 63rd Avenue SW, first for a race at 9am, and then for street party fun for the rest of the day.  Come find me somewhere down there (somewhere in the shade!!)

Here’s the whole list of the day’s activities

 

9:30 a.m.	West Seattle 5K Run/Walk
11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Cascade Bicycle Club helmet sales & information booth
11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Bike Maintenance demos by Alki Bike & Board and Sustainable West Seattle.
noon – 4 p.m.	Cascade Bicycle Club “Advocacy Alley” & staff info booth
noon – 3 p.m.	Kids Learn to Ride classes
noon – 4 p.m.	Bike arts & craft booth
12:30 p.m. – 1 p.m.	Ryan Leech show
1 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.	Kids’ Bike Parade
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.	Cascade Bicycle Club Bike Blender
1 p.m. – 5 p.m.	Rock music stage & skateboarding at Coastal Surf Boutique
2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.	Mini Bike championships
2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.	Ryan Leech Show
3 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.	Kids’ Bike Parade
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Mini Bike championships

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Ballard coming and going; This weekend and last

 

working in the gutter

I have such a glut of images of all the events and people who have been joining in with MMMM! The weekends seem to coming at me faster and faster as this phase of the project, the community art events, move into their last month.  From June 15th till the performance, I will mostly be full time working at building the river in Camp Long, so this last month I will really be trying to get everyone involved with the project who would like to be.  So…if you are one of those people who have been telling me how excited you are about this project but haven’t been able to attend an event yet, get out your calendar and pick a day!  We all know how fast a month goes by…….and I hope you can make it!

 

So back to back weekends I will and have been crocheting in Ballard.  Last weekend, it was at another of the CAN “Seattle Summer Streets” events, this time hosted by Cascade Bicycle Club as a way to celebrate “Bike to Work Day”.  Bikes everywhere!!

bikes , bikes!!

 

 

  Sadly, I did not bike to work that day because I had so many crocheting supplies, but if I had a Bakfiets Bicycle  from Dutch Bike, Co. of Seattle, perhaps I could have!

I want one!

Dutch Bike, Co. also had another CRAZY bike that kept going up and down the street past me, each time I tried to run after it taking a picture, because it reminded me so much of what I was trying to do at the time — gather people in a circle for a little unusual creative connection with people they don’t really know.  I give you the Conference Bike!!  I enjoyed my

crazy , giggling mass of people!

there it goes again!

early evening in Ballard and had quite a few lingering loungers, a few returning friends and new acquaintances!

Here’s Diem Chau (new Ballard business owner, artist!) taking my picture as I take her picture!

 

Diem!

 

 

Now this coming weekend, on Saturday from 12 – 4:30pm, I will be back in Ballard, this time at the lovely green-roofed public library.

And then sunday, I’ll be at the Beacon Hill Library.  Please come, even for just a bit as you get out of the sun!

• 23rd of May, Sat., 12 noon – 4:30pm, Ballard Library meeting room, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W.  206-684-4089 , directions

• 24th of May, Sun, 12:30 pm – 4:45 pm, Beacon Hill Library meeting room, 2821 Beacon Ave. S.
  206-684-4711, directions

Where I’ll be this weekend….

Just a quick note as we head towards the end of the week.  This weekend I’ll be participating again in a “Seattle Summer Streets” event.  This time in Ballard on Friday…

• 15th of May, Fri, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Ballard “Seattle Summer Streets” Party,  22nd Avenue connecting to Bergen Place Park 

I had a really fun time about a month ago at the Greenwood Summer Streets Party, so I hope this rain clears up so we can all play in the street again (although playing in the street in the rain does sound about perfect to me.  Today I gardened in the rain and liked just getting soaked, try it.  But I doubt anyone would want to crochet in the rain.  But…I may be doing just that if it rains in June as I install this thing.)

Then on Saturday I’ll be heading back to the Broadview Library for another go up north.  I hope you can make it, and take some time to go to Carkeek Park while you’re there!

• 16th of May, Sat, 12 – 4pm, Broadview Library meeting room, 12755 Greenwood Ave. N., 206-684-7519, directions

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!