2009 PROJECT 1: THE RED SCARF PROJECT

DETAILS COMING SOON!

Misti Chunky Ribs & Ruffles Scarf | Free pattern from Misti International, Inc. | CLICK HERE FOR PDF

GALS FROM MASON-DIXON KNITTING

Last Friday, October 17, In the Loopers had a surprise visit from the authors of the new Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines. Kay and Ann hung out for an hour, chatted and signed books as we worked on our season projects.

Visit their blog, www.masondixonknitting.com, and read the post about stopping by the Winter Garden on their busy book tour.

Thanks Ina!

OUR GOALS

Before the busy holiday season begins, set a goal of making TWO pair of socks or TWO sets of hats & mittens. We have ONE month to accomplish this goal, so let's get busy!

The recipients-a seafaring worker or a mother and child-will appreciate the care and creativity in our warm, handknit pieces as the temperature drops outside.

Join us for our next evening session on October 29 under the palm trees in the Winter Garden where we'll continue to help each other through the projects. The final lunchtime session with Ina Braun is November 21 where she will continue to give instruction for socks knit on double pointed needles as well as assistance with the hat and mitten patterns. REMEMBER to bring your own needles (see post below for needle sizes). We still have sock, hat and mitten yarn in the stash.

We'll collect handknit pieces through December 1, 5pm, either at the In the Loop events or in our offices. We'll deliver the pieces to the two charities on Tuesday, December 2. Please make sure that each piece is completely finished-all ends woven into the fabric and lightly blocked.

We're around the office if you need assistance with a pattern, so call or email us from the blog.

Happy Knitting!

A SEASON OF SOCKS

In the Loopers are working on socks this season! Our next session is FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT 12PM IN THE WINTER GARDEN. We'll be under the glorious palm trees again.

Ina Braun, our intrepid knitting teacher, will conduct several SHOW AND TELLS: 1) turning the heel 2) working with double pointed needles (DPNs) and 3) knitting socks on two circular needles.

To make the most of this session, bring a sock knit through the heel flap. It's easy, once you get your stitches arranged on the DPNs, it's just straight knitting to this point. You can also start from the beginning in this session because the next meeting is in two week, October 17, perfect amount of time to work up a pair of socks to this point. Ina will repeat these tutorials.

Here are several pictures of a sock in progress:





Ina recently discovered a great sock tutorial on Purl Soho's Purlbee (click here to link). The pictures coupled with the instructions are really helpful in visualizing the sock's several sections, in particular the heel.

SOME REMINDERS TO PARTICIPANTS
Please bring your own needles to the classes. For these patterns we are using DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES. Bamboo is highly recommended. SIZES US 2 OR US 3. These needles are affordable and a great investment. Word on the street,: everyone who learns to make socks always has a pair on the needles. Just in case, we will have a few sets on hand for use in the class.

We have some yarn, washable wool/acrylic blend from Encore called Colorspun D.K., purchased from our main charity, The Seaman's Church Institute Christmas At Sea, who distributes our handknit socks to men and women working at sea.

Hope to see you this Friday!

FALL SEASON PROJECTS

We're about to post new projects, stay tuned!

SUMMER INTO FALL

Many thanks to everyone who participated in the making of the New York Coral Reef! The exhibition of both Chicago and New York reefs has been a great success and continues to draw the thousands of Winter Garden visitors with its beauty. It's on view through September 1.

Stay tuned for the fall In the Loop dates and project patterns, we'll post them in early August.

Happy knitting and crocheting this summer!

Hello to UK Reef

UK Crafters are busy creating their own Coral Reef and we wish them well.
IFF's Toxic Reef will be on display at the Hayward Project Space 11 June - 17 August. The UK reef will be exhibited at the Royal Festival Hall next door, is being sponsored by Southbank Centre in partnership with the Crafts Council.

To read more about it:
UK Reef e-Newsletter

Added Crochet Coral Workshop May 13

By popular demand, we've added one more Crochet Coral Workshop to our Spring '08 Season. Join us as we create coral pieces for the New York Coral Reef.

Tuesday, May 13, 6pm - 8pm

Location:
2 World Financial Center
2nd Lobby Level,
Seating area near Elixir


Directions:
from The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Exhibit in the Winter Garden:
Go up the Winter Garden Stairs.
Turn right and walk along the corridor,
past the Beaded Crochet Coral display case,
walking toward 1 World Financial Center.

from the Liberty Street Pedestrian Bridge that crosses West Street:
Go past the Infant Crochet Coral display case.
Enter 1 World Financial Center, turn right.
Cross the bridge connecting 1 WFC and 2 WFC.
Keep to the left, walking toward the Winter Garden.

Where & when to submit Coral Pieces

Additional Drop Off Dates & Times
to submit coral pieces for the New York Coral Reef.
Submission Deadline: May 17, 2008

WHERE AND WHEN

1.
May 12-16, between 9am-5pm
Drop pieces off at the arts>World Financial Center office
Our office location:
arts>World Financial Center, Brookfield Properties
Three World Financial Center,
200 Vesey Street,
2nd Lobby Level
(enter off Vesey Street - near the Vesey Street pedestrian bridge that crosses West Street. Go up the escalator to the 2nd level, turn right.)

2.
By mail to be received by Friday May 16.
Send pieces to:
arts>World Financial Center
Brookfield Properties
200 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10281
c/o New York Coral Reef Project

3.
May 14-17, see hours below
arts>World Financial Center information desk in the Winter Garden

We're presenting Corporate Carnival, a theater piece by Women's Project (read about the event here). You can drop off finished coral pieces with our staff at the info desk.
Come see the show and drop off finished coral pieces.

Wednesday, May 14
Thursday, May 15
Friday, May 16
hours:
12pm-2pm
6pm-8pm
Showtimes are 1pm and 7pm


Saturday, May 17
hours:
12pm-2pm
3pm-5pm
6pm-8pm
Showtimes are 1pm, 4pm and 7pm

Samples for inspiration

Would you like to see some of the pieces that went into the current New York Coral Reef Exhibit? Click here

Interested in adding to the New York Reef ?

WFC In the Loop invites you to add your crocheted coral pieces to the exhibit at the World Financial Center. The deadline is May 17 to submit your work.

If you're interested, please email us at intheloop@brookfieldproperties.com and you'll receive information about how and when we'll be collecting pieces.

Our next scheduled meetings for In The Loop are
Brown Bag Social, May 2, 12-2p
After Work Social, May 7, 6-8p

More meeting dates can be added if there's an interest.
Let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

Fiber Arts & Science podcast

The WNYC Radio interview with Margaret Wertheim, Barbara Van Elsen and Njoya Angrum was the 2nd most frequently emailed item by WNYC.org visitors in the past 7 days !

Fiber Arts & Sciences: The Hyperbolic Crochet Reef (The Brian Lehrer Show: Tuesday, 08 April 2008)

Listen here to the episode:

Also, click here Brian Lehrer Show April 8, 2008 show page and email it forward to your friends.

Crochet Instructions

If you're new to crochet, there are lots of video instructions online.

Here's a link to a really nice one: NexStitch
The creator is Amie Hirtes. Read about her in the Identity link on her website.

In the News

Everybody's talking about The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Time Out New York
Coral fixation
Reef madness strikes the World Financial Center
by Adam Rathe
Click here for the Article

WNYC Radio, The Brian Lehrer Show
Fiber Arts & Sciences: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef
Interview Margaret Wertheim, who along with her sister Christine curated the exhibit, Barbara Van Elsen, founder of the New York Crochet Guild
and Njoya Angrum, founder of the Harlem Knitting Circle
Click here for link to the show page

Submissions to New York Coral Reef Extended

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 10 from 6-8pm.
We'll meet near The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit, in the Winter Garden near the grand staircase.

The exhibit includes the New York Coral Reef, a collection of beautiful pieces made by the New York Crochet Guild, Harlem Knitting Circle and many more craftspeople. Because there's so much interest in continuing to make more coral pieces, In The Loop is coordinating the extension of the New York Coral Reef. This will be added to the display in May when the Toxic Reef leaves for it's next show in London.

In The Loop meeting

View of the Winter Garden

Getting to the World Financial Center Winter Garden is easy and worth the trip
Click here for Map and Directions

Coral Reef Installation In Progress

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is being installed this week in the Winter Garden, and it's looking fantastic already.

Stop by Friday's In The Loop Brown Bag Social 12-2pm and you'll get a sneak preview before it officially opens on Monday.

Get your creative minds and hands going on this important project - we'll be adding coral pieces to the exhibit in May when the Toxic Reef leaves for it's next exhibition in London.

Coral Reefs grow in the Winter Garden

shown here: Institute For Figuring's "Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef"
2007 exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center.

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef will be an exhibit at the World Financial Center Winter Garden beginning April 7 through August. In The Loop invites all interested parties in contributing their own coral pieces, to be incorporated into the exhibit beginning May 17. Patterns, samples and lessons will be available at the Brown Bag and After Work Socials listed in the Spring Season schedule. Click here for pattern instructions.

What is a Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef?

What began as an experiment in modeling mathematical space, The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is an exquisite exhibit of handmade pieces made by hundreds of craftspeople from around the world. Previously shown at the Chicago Cultural Center, Andy Warhol Foundation Museum and other exhibit halls, the Coral Reef will be on display at our very own Winter Garden at the World Financial Center beginning April 7.

Curated by Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring, the exhibit will include parts of the Chicago Coral Reef and the Toxic Coral Reef (made of yarn from strips of plastic bags and other otherwise toxic materials).

Workshops hosted by NYU's Institute for Humanities, co-sponsors of the exhibit, have set the New York Crochet Guild and Harlem Knitting Group into creative work mode - making coral pieces that will be assembled for the first time in this exhibit.

The New York Coral Reef

The newest addition to the project will be the New York Coral Reef. In The Loop invites all interested parties in contributing their own coral pieces, to be incorporated into the exhibit beginning May 17. Patterns, samples and lessons will be available at the Brown Bag and After Work Socials listed in the Spring Season schedule.

For more information on the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef
visit the Institute for Figuring website
http://www.theiff.org/

Read the New York Times Article by Patricia Cohen
Want to Save a Coral Reef? Bring Along Your Crochet Hook.

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Exhibit at the World Financial Center Winter Garden

"Crochet Coral and Anemone Garden" with sea slug

by Marianne Midelburg.

Photos by Alyssa Gorelick

Monday, April 7 - Sunday, August 31
7 am - 11 pm daily
World Financial Center Winter Garden (beside staircase)

Curated by
Margaret and Christine Wertheim
Institute For Figuring


Bursting forth in a colorful, crocheted panoply of loopy "kelps", curlicue "corals," and fringy "anemones," this wooly homage to Earth's endangered coral reefs is a beautiful marriage of traditional arts & crafts and hyperbolic geometry. This exhibition, featuring The Toxic Reef, New York Reef, and Chicago Reef, raises awareness about these disappearing marine treasures.

Visit the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at New York University's Window on Broadway, located at Broadway and East 20th Street, April 5 - May 18.

Support provided by the New York Institute for the Humanities, the Humanities Initiative and the Sustainability Task Force of New York University. The New York Reef has been made under the auspices of the New York Crochet Guild and the Harlem Knitting Circle. The Crochet Reef Project has been funded in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Please note that the Winter Garden may be closed to the public for private events.

Coral Shapes Patterns

How to make crochet coral pieces

Here are the basic instructions for crocheting the basic coral reef hyperbolic shapes.

Reef Crochet General Guidelines

Any basic crochet stitch - single, half double, double or triple - can be used in the patterns. Feel free to alternate stitches within a pattern. Feel free to change yarns as it strikes your fancy. Try using different hook sizes to achieve different looks. Work with a single strand of yarn or a combination of yarns worked together with a large hook. As long as you increase at a steady rate, you will achieve a hyperbolic form! Experiment with a variety of materials including: cut up old t-shirts, cassetter or video tape, cut up plastic bags, cut up old sweaters, use collected/discarded twine, or cut up plastic beverage bottles.

RUFFLE
Make a chain to any length. Crochet any stitch (single, half double, double or triple) back along chain increasing at a steady rate – increase one in every third stitch (stitch one in the first stitch, one in the second stitch and two in the third stitch and so on) or every fourth stitch or every ninth stitch. Increasing more frequently will make it a ruffle or “crenellate” faster, increasing less frequently will take a while for the piece to start to ruffle, but you can make a much larger piece.

Turn work at the end of the row. Make more rows as desired, changing yarns and stitches as desired, and working increased stitches as desired to shape piece.

Experimentation is encouraged!

CIRCLE
Chain about 4. Join chain with a slip stitch to form a ring. Work stitch of choice into the ring until it’s filled up. Join your last stitch to the first stitch with a slip stitch. End off, or make more rounds as desired. Make increases on subsequent rounds to shape piece. Increase at a steady rate of increase to see the piece ruffle faster.

CYLINDER
Make a chain to any length. Join chain with a slip stitch to form a ring. Work a stitch into each chain; join your last stitch to the first with a slip stitch. Continue to work in rounds, changing stitches and yarns as desired. You can alter the shape of the cylinder by occasionally working an increase (making 2 or more stitches into the same stitch) or a decrease (working 1 or more less stitches on a round).

CORKSCREW
Make a chain to any length. Crochet any stitch (single, half double, double or triple) back along chain - working 2 or more sets in each chain to make it curl. When you reach the beginning of the chain, chain again to same or different length and repeat to make additional corkscrews!

Experiment with different and multiple kinds of yarns.

Patterns provided by Institute for Figuring for Workshops held at
New York University Department of Art and Art Professions

ONE MORE MONTH

Last week we mailed two large boxes full of blankets, vests, booties, and hats. Afghans for Afghans will hand carry them to Afghanistan. We'll keep you posted on their trip. Thanks to everyone for their time and effort!

We have one more month in this season, and we have some wool left. So let's continue with these projects and we'll send one more shipment to AFA at the end of March.

If you need yarn, email us.

Our next meeting is March 12, 6-8 p.m. in the Winter Garden. See you there!

AFGHANS FOR AFGHANS ANNOUNCES DEADLINE

Afghans for Afghans has announced the next deadline for receiving much needed blankets, hats and vests. The charity in San Francisco must receive all finished items by February 29. In the Loop will collect the items on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 in order to prepare for shipping on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26.

After two working sessions there are probably 1-15 blankets in process, a few hats and several vests. Feel free to email us if you've finished an item and would like to drop it off early.

Hope to see you at the next After Work Social on Tuesday, February 12, 6-8 pm.

OFF TO A GREAT START

We're off to an amazing start--7 blankets and 2 vests were started last night at the season's first After Five Social!

Our crocheters and knitters are racing to meet the mysterious February deadline (still unannounced by afghans for Afghans).

Remember there is yarn available. If you'd like to start a project--hats, blanks or vests--before the next event, send us an email and we'll arrange to meet you with the yarn and the In the Loop pattern booklet.

For the next After Five Social, February 12, bring you tools!!! We have measuring tapes, finishing needles and a few crochet hooks, but no knitting needles.

And our official IN THE LOOP CRAFTING EXPERT, Ina Braun of Tante Sophie Fiber Studio, will be in the house for the first Brown Bag Social of the season, January 25 , to help with the patterns.