Welcome to Project Peace 2017!

The pattern is now available. Two versions are uploaded to your library upon purchase; one for the DK weight, another for fingering weight. The knit-along began on December 1 but it’s never to late to begin your journey with peace. Catch up by reading previous posts on the blog or jump in now. Knit peace this December and read daily tips about personal peace building on The Healthy Knitter blog.

Please help make this peace initiative grow All these actions on Ravelry will help bring awareness to peace through knitting: click “add to my favorites,” put “in queue,” start “a project” page. Finally, purchasing the pattern will support the chosen non-profit organizations to help invest in a sustainable future for our world (see The Healthy Knitter blog for details).

What’s a peace-along? There will be a daily tip on how to infuse more peace into your life. These tips will be available on my blog each day from December 1-21. They’ll be simple things, some from me and others from a few guests.

The theme for this year is the “ripple effect.” The pattern is affectionately referred to as “ripples of peace.” When each one of us chooses peace, the effects extend or ripple to others.

The pattern story. The shawl pattern begins with a few stitches and slowly grows to symbolize how our own actions manifest to reach others. Garter ridges incrementally get farther apart similar to the effects of throwing a pebble in the water. Finally, a simple to knit lace border with a modified old shale pattern completes the ripples.

The ripple. This year, I am charging for the pattern so that as a “kindness of knitters” we can collectively pool our resources to reach out and impact others. Throughout this past year, many knitters have risen to the occasion to help those in need as a result of natural disasters and other dire situations. I’m grateful and in awe of what our community has accomplished. With PP17, I want to focus our attention on building long-term, sustainable futures for our world. I’ve chosen the following organizations to promote a connection with fiber, nature and family. More details will be available on the blog. Let’s gather and build a healthy future.

The three organizations are:

1. Camino de Paz, a middle school north of Santa Fe, New Mexico teaching children how to run a sustainable farm intertwined with an academic curriculum. Funds will be used to incorporate fiber knowledge in the curriculum.
2. The Wilderness Awareness School, connecting youth and adults with nature.
3. Every Mother Counts, a non-profit organization committed to reducing maternal deaths during childbirth in the US and globally.

Pattern modifications. I designed this pattern to be easily adaptable. The photos show the “smaller” size in DK weight yarn. Yardage requirements are available for both a smaller and larger size. I refer to the “smaller” size as the “finish me in December” size. This pattern is extremely modifiable for any weight yarn. You can easily substitute worsted weight yarn (use a larger needle size and find a gauge of your liking) and follow the pattern as written to achieve a larger shawl.

Yarn information for the original DK version.
Smaller size: 300 yds/274m for Color A, 150 yds/137m for Color B, total of 450 yds/412m of DK weight yarn.

Larger size: 450 yds/411m for Color A, 150 yds/137m for Color B, total of 600 yds/549m of DK weight yarn.

Sample shown in Malabrigo Silky Merino (51% silk, 49% wool; 150 yds/137m per 1.76 oz/50g skein Color A: 410 (Spring Water); Color B: 437 (Pradera).

Some other examples include: Peace Fleece (in sport weight), Abundant Earth (Verdant), Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, Madeline Tosh DK, Malabrigo Arroyo, Rowan Felted Tweed, Swift Yarns, Wonderland Mad Hatter.

Special yarn available for this project. Several indie dyers and/or shops are putting together kits or special yarn bundles for this years Project Peace. Several of them are also donating a portion of the yarn sales to an organization of their choosing. This list will be added to as we progress. For now, you can contact the following for special yarn options:

• Yarn Scout for Malabrigo and hand-dyed kits

Needle information. US 8 (5 mm) 32-inch/80 cm circular needle or size needed to get gauge. Project is worked back and forth in rows, circular needle needed to hold large number of stitches.

Yarn information for the fingering weight version: 420 yds/385m for Color A, 420 yds/385m for Color B, total of 840 yds/770m of fingering weight yarn.

Any fingering weight yarn with 420-450 yds/385-411m per 3.57oz/100g) per skein will work. There are so many wonderful indie-dyer options. Check out some of my favorites Yarn Scout Tinderbox, The Farmer’s Fiber Daughter, Swift Yarns, and Lichen and Lace.

Needle information. US 6/4mm 32”/80cm circular needle or size needed to get gauge.

Finished Measurements for fingering weight version
After blocking: 67 in/170.2 cm long and 28 in/71 cm wide

Please join me to promote peace for self, our families, communities and the world. Knit peace this December, reflect and incorporate peaceful tips into your day. Spread peace by telling everyone you know about Project Peace. Take this information to your LYS, knitting groups, friends that knit, etc. With Project Peace 2016, I threw a pebble in the water so to speak and the ripples were wide and far-reaching. Now, let’s see how far we can take this.

Can you help me spread peace? Share this information as far and wide as you can. How many knitters can we get involved?

• Download the pattern.

• “Fav” the pattern…please make sure you do this so Project Peace stays at the top of “What’s Hot”

• “Start a project” on a project page

• Share on social media…tell all your friends.

• Use the hashtag #peacealong2017 and #projectpeace2017 on Instagram.

• Subscribe to my blog to get updates on Project Peace.

• Inform your LYS and hold your own KAL and peace-along in December.

• Ask your LYS to share with all their followers.

• There are two active threads related Project Peace on the Healthy Knitter Ravelry group, join us.

December 21 is World-wide Knit-in for Peace Day. As a group last year, we created this day. When I recently told a friend’s daughter (age 11 years) about PP and World-wide Knit-in for Peace Day she said “I hope in my lifetime I see December 21 officially recognized as “world-wide knit-in for peace day.” I shook my head and replied “me too, Lauren, me too.” It’s possible…we just have to come together and choose peace.

All these actions bring Project Peace awareness on Ravelry.