Women with Sharp Sticks Take Over Library

(La Crosse, WI) The first day of spring saw the La Crosse Public Library taken over by 200 women and children wielding sharp sticks.  Staff, overwhelmed with the influx, gave up and not only picked up their own sticks, but offered refreshments and prizes to the spirited crowd.

If you missed out on Knitting for Peace Day, mark your calendars for next March 21 and start preparing your own knitting program.  La Crosse is the home to Betty Christiansen, author of the wildly adored book, Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place, One Stitch at a Time.  For the book, Christiansen interviewed people all over the world about how knitting improved the quality of their life. I haven't yet read the book, but had the pleasure of knitting across from Betty yesterday, and heard her talk about how knitting has even been employed successfully in prisons and serves to calm inmate behavior.

There was a huge amount of enthusiasm about the program, and no one was disappointed. From 12-8 pm, the library welcomed knitters of all ages and experience levels to come to the library and knit.  There were people on hand to teach knitting, and there was lots of sharing of stories, needles and projects among the more experienced knitters.  Some folks brought their own projects, and there were opportunities to knit a basic square to contribute toward afghans that will be pieced together and donated to community organizations.  Here's an article with background on the program.  My friend Skully, a primo Florida knitting maven, who was so excited to hear that I lived in the same town as Betty Christiansen, blogged about the event on her Florida Knitters blog. And here are photos from the day.