My Crafty Family

My brother-by-another-brother Matt (see here for an explanation) gave me some awfully crafty Christmas presents. I'm so impressed with his ability to get me gifts that I genuinely like and want. I'm especially enamored with the book shown above, Knitting for Peace. Now I've just got to figure out which of the projects to knit first, and when. I guess I can use my new knitting calendar (see below) to work out a schedule.

Knit for Peace

My friend Amy, who is truly one of the most skilled knitters I know, is going to be organizing a Knit for Peace event through the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo. Happening later this year, the event will aim to bring together Jewish and Muslim knitters from around Buffalo to make the funky potholders you see above. All proceeds from the purchase of supplies will go to Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam ('Oasis of Peace' in Hebrew and Arabic), a village in Israel established jointly by Jews and Palestinian Arabs of Israeli citizenship. The village is comprised of fifty families that live and work together on a hillside looking out towards the west and the Mediterranean Sea.

I know that the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is so intense as to even make the above description somewhat contentious. But I congratulate Amy on starting a dialogue with Buffalo knitters interested in peace.