One week later
I lived in Brookline, a town mostly surrounded by the city of Boston, from the ages of 8 to 18. Every Patriots Day there was a debate in our house about whether or not we should make the massive 5 block journey to Beacon Street to watch the Marathon runners go by. And for seven of those ten years, I went to Copley Square anywhere from two to six days a week to take ballet classes at the Copley Square Ballet Studios, which were located on Boylston Street, directly across from the Boston Public Library. And more or less directly above where the first bomb was detonated last Monday afternoon.
The events in Boston over the past seven days have left anyone with any connection to the city dazed and confused. My overwhelming question is Why? Why would anyone target a group of people at a sporting event? What exactly are you trying to do, beyond maiming and injuring as many people as possible? What could possible be the goal in this act? Two pieces in newspapers that have stood out for me in the past few days are this column by Richard Askwith in the Independent, and this one by Boston author Dennis Lehane in the NYT. I think the message that I've come away with from everything is happened is that even though some people are capable of huge, overwhelmingly evil acts, we have a duty to fight back by not fighting each other. By not making assumptions about motivation (as if any reasoning could even begin to justify what happened last week), or cultural heritage. By not making the kinds of broad, sweeping generalizations that make it too easy to dehumanize the people around us. By helping.
I'm a bit far away to do any helping personally, as much as I might like to. But what I can do is give money. So, for the next three months (until 15 July 2013) all proceeds from the sales of Travelling Hats (or any of the patterns included) will go to The One Fund Boston, a charity set up by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help the victims of the bombings and their families. I was going to do this for the Boston Toque pattern in particular, but Boston in the last week could have been any city in any part of the world. This is a tragedy that could have happened anywhere, so it seemed silly to limit this to one pattern.
So, to recap: 100% of all proceeds from the Travelling Hats ebook, or from the Boston Toque, Delhi Beanie, Copenhagen Hat, Paris Beret or London Slouch, from 15 April - 15 July 2013 will be donated to The One Fund Boston. And for ease of purchase, here are "Buy Now" buttons for all (you can click on the linked text to be taken to the Ravelry pattern pages for each, with more information about sizing, yarn requirements, etc). Thanks.
Travelling Hats ebook ($20)
Delhi Beanie ($5) - an easy-to-knit beanie with a knit-purl stitch pattern.
Boston Toque ($5) - a textured, outer layer of aran-weight rustic yarn with a soft alpaca/wool lining for the coldest winter days.
Paris Beret ($5)- intricate lace worked in worsted weight yarn for a quick but satisfying chic hat.
The events in Boston over the past seven days have left anyone with any connection to the city dazed and confused. My overwhelming question is Why? Why would anyone target a group of people at a sporting event? What exactly are you trying to do, beyond maiming and injuring as many people as possible? What could possible be the goal in this act? Two pieces in newspapers that have stood out for me in the past few days are this column by Richard Askwith in the Independent, and this one by Boston author Dennis Lehane in the NYT. I think the message that I've come away with from everything is happened is that even though some people are capable of huge, overwhelmingly evil acts, we have a duty to fight back by not fighting each other. By not making assumptions about motivation (as if any reasoning could even begin to justify what happened last week), or cultural heritage. By not making the kinds of broad, sweeping generalizations that make it too easy to dehumanize the people around us. By helping.
I'm a bit far away to do any helping personally, as much as I might like to. But what I can do is give money. So, for the next three months (until 15 July 2013) all proceeds from the sales of Travelling Hats (or any of the patterns included) will go to The One Fund Boston, a charity set up by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help the victims of the bombings and their families. I was going to do this for the Boston Toque pattern in particular, but Boston in the last week could have been any city in any part of the world. This is a tragedy that could have happened anywhere, so it seemed silly to limit this to one pattern.
So, to recap: 100% of all proceeds from the Travelling Hats ebook, or from the Boston Toque, Delhi Beanie, Copenhagen Hat, Paris Beret or London Slouch, from 15 April - 15 July 2013 will be donated to The One Fund Boston. And for ease of purchase, here are "Buy Now" buttons for all (you can click on the linked text to be taken to the Ravelry pattern pages for each, with more information about sizing, yarn requirements, etc). Thanks.
Travelling Hats ebook ($20)
Delhi Beanie ($5) - an easy-to-knit beanie with a knit-purl stitch pattern.
London Slouch ($5) - cute and funky, worked in reverse stockinette with circular lace details and twisted stitch columns.
Boston Toque ($5) - a textured, outer layer of aran-weight rustic yarn with a soft alpaca/wool lining for the coldest winter days.
Paris Beret ($5)- intricate lace worked in worsted weight yarn for a quick but satisfying chic hat.
