I don't know where the many of readers of this blog are located, but if any of you happen to be in Duluth, MN on March 6th, you might want to check out the "Night for Squares" event. Happening at Northern Lights Books and Gifts, this event is a get together to knit squares for Afghans for Afghans. There will be a second event on April 21st to sew the afghan squares together.

Also, Mvhul (ravelry link) points us to an event in Cambridge, MA. She says:

"The Eastern Massachusetts Abortion (EMA) Fund, the Boston-area affiliate of the National Network of Abortion Funds, is hosting a get-together at Spark Craft Studios in Cambridge from 5 to 9 p.m. on March 5th.

The invite reads: Let’s get together! Join the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund for a an evening of good company, crafty pursuits and choice conversation. EMA Fund board members and volunteers will be on hand to answer your questions about EMA’s function and future, or just help you pick up that dropped stitch. Stop by for a bit or knit the night away. The event is FREE and refreshments will be provided. Bring your friends and those extra skeins of yarn, because we are de-stashing–buying and selling our extra yarn with all proceeds going to abortion access in our area!"

Obama supporters are all over the internet showing their support in yarn form. Here is a sampling of what I've seen lately.

Patterns:

knitcircus has not one, but two, free hat patterns.

A "Yes We Can" hat and a "Hope" hat.

Tobinknit has her own take on the "Hope" hat.

Yarn:

If you just want to create your own pattern using candidate-inspired yarn, the internet has you covered, too:

Mama E is dying up the "Yes We Can" yarn.

Black Bunny is offering up "Audacity" yarn

A portion of the money from the sales of each of these yarns is being donated to the the Obama campaign.

I'm embarrassed. I know there is a war on. I know we have Americans (and even *more* Iraqis) dying or injured daily. I know our economy is tanking, and I know more and more of us are having trouble holding onto our very homes. I know our Constitutional rights are being stripped, one by one, or even two by two, on a regular basis and it makes me sick. Rachel Maddow tells me that she is a war issues voter, that this is her priority in the 2008 election. I feel so narrow and one-track, so much less evolved, when I think of this.

But I really want to get married. That's all I can think about when I consider our next president.

You see, I’m a lesbian. I can't get married like many, well, like everybody else, can. Oops, sorry, in Massachusetts I could, but I'd have to live there and I kind of like my home now, and my kids have their friends and all that…you know, all that uprooting, ugh. And after all of that, my marriage license would only be good in my state of Massachusetts, and possibly New York. Should we cross the state line into Rhode Island, all of our rights would vanish.

I’ve been with my partner for 21 years. As my son says, we've been together longer than many people have lived (at first I thought he’d heard of some horrible plague overtaking the adolescent community, but eventually I got his meaning). We've been together for 21 years, but we have *none* of the rights that you all marrieds have -  well, except for those we've spent oodles of money contracting for with a lawyer. Crazy, ain’t it? Geez, I just want to get married.

But which of the candidates will give me this? None that I can see. Kucinich was my guy, but we all know how that went down. Clinton is a friend to our community, I believe this, but I just keep thinking she'll end up as unable as her husband was to give us what we really need. Obama, well, I worry that he's not truly on board with any of this:

See? I think he likes to sidestep that messy marriage debate when it comes to our community, reverting to the safer "political football" argument. And I really had to dig to find anything even remotely relevant to our community's needs on his website, a short blurb on enforcing hate crimes legislation. Um, I need a little more, Mr. Obama.

And dig as I might, I couldn’t find anything on Clinton’s site related to my rights, to marry or otherwise. Well, at least Clinton spells out her opposition to marriage loud and clear. Yay?

Marriage is what we need, a common term that conveys the same meaning to all about what we have built, my partner and I for 21 years, but so many more of us for even longer. A common language of rights and responsibilities that is understood by police, hospital staff, teachers, town clerks, even the guy at the mini-mart. A word that gives the message to all that we are equals in the eyes of the law. We are waiting, have been waiting, for a long time, and frankly, I’m getting old. I really need this sooner rather than later. But I just don’t see a “sooner” happening.

For now, I guess it’s time to become more evolved. Doesn't mean I'll be satisfied.

The first of the knitted toys for our giving project rolled in last week:

These three cuties are now gathered together and can't wait to meet the other toys destined to comfort a child. I wonder which toys we'll see next week...

The due date for the toys is March 18th. That's plenty of time to get one started and finished. If you would like to get involved, you can read the details of the project here, or contact us for more info.

On February 3, Jason Vassell, a black student at UMass Amherst, was attacked by two white men (who were not students at the university).  The white men not only called him a "nigger" and hurled other racial epithets towards him, they kicked in his dorm room window and rushed in to attack him.  A fight ensued, resulting in the two white men being stabbed multiple times. Now Jason is being charged with two counts of assault with intent to murder and two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  Meanwhile, one of the attackers is being charged with disorderly conduct, asasult, and a civil rights violation.  The other attacker still has not been charged with anything. 

Jason was an exemplary student: he has a long history of volunteerism and has been tutoring and mentoring middle school students and disabled adult men for some time now.  This is his first brush with the law, and I feel that the charges against him are unfair.  I'm part of the committee seeking justice for Jason Vassell, and we are trying to get the word out to the Western Mass community about what's happening in our backyard, as well as to open peoples' eyes about the institutional racism that exists in our courts.  This incident bears an uncanny resemblance to  the case of the Jena Six, where white students made racially motivated threats and attacks against black youth, and when a violent altercation finally erupted, it is the black men who are most severely punished.  

Please take the time to read the facts about the Jason Vassell case at www.justiceforjason.org.  If you decide to support the case, please also take the time to sign the petition, which will be presented to the prosecutor with a request for Jason's charges to be reduced.  If you are affiliated with UMass, feel free to leave a message about the lack of diversity on campus!  Hate crimes  happen at least once a year (whether homophobic, racist, or anti-semitic) and the campus administration continues to ignore both our failing diversity rates and the fact that the campus environment allows things like this to happen.

For those of you who are local, there will be a vigil on Feb 27th, and a rally on March 12. 

Back in December, I decided to try to knit all of the democratic contenders. I wanted to finish them in time for Christmas and use them as ornaments. Sadly, it turns out I'm not that fond of knitting dolls, so I've only just now finished my first: Hillary. I don't think I'm ever going to make another doll like this again, so if anyone feels like making an Obama, I'd love to see it! You can probably use almost the same pattern, although I might make him a bit lankier and cut out the cleavage part.

Hillary pattern:
knit in a dkish weight - part tahki cotton classic, part whatever was sitting around in my stash, cotton or blend on size 3 dpns.

I've finished my toy for the charity knitting project and thought I'd share him. I'm a little bit attached to him and I'm calling him Obamy Bear, but I realize the child who adopts him will probably want to give him a different name.

Susan Stamberg of All Things Considered talks about knitting on size elevens during Watergate and other knitting/political memories. The piece aired on Sunday's show, but here is the link via the NPR website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19134473 .

Cleveland.com is reporting that official Obama campaign gear is getting difficult to come by.

All the more reason to pick up some yarn and let your needles make your political statement for you!

See the sidebar to the right for some design ideas and send us links to other liberal knitwear you find on the web.

In response to my search for Hillary Clinton-related knitted projects, Fran (ravelry link) agreed to let me post her story:

"My Statue of Liberty sweater was knitted with Hillary in mind. I have knitted three Statue of Liberty sweaters. The first is in the collection at the museum at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

The second I am wearing in the picture of Hillary and myself. This picture was taken in Chappaqua, NY when I was the election coordinator in charge of the Democrats. I took this picture when Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton were voting in the 2004 presidential elections.

Hillary was so happy to hear I had knitted this sweater. She just loved it and called Chelsea over to see it. It was then Hillary told me she knits, too."

So, Hillary Clinton is a knitter, huh? Maybe she's a KnittingLiberally reader! (If not, someone should pass her our link.)

Thanks, Fran, for sharing your photo and story with us!

This is good:

I have looked and looked and looked. Help me out:

Do you know of a Hillary Clinton-related knit? A charted logo?

It would be nice to have knitting options for both candidates represented here.

Somebody's needles must be flying in support of Hillary! Post anything you find in the comments or by email.

If you are excited about the Obama primary sweep yesterday, channel that energy into your next knitting project.

Emilee Knits has shared an Obama campaign logo chart:

If you knit it up, share a picture of the project with us here!

Well, Mitt Romney is out of the race. And, while I'm glad to not have to listen to his slimey voice anymore, I am also left feeling uneasy. Romney was annoying, but McCain and Huckabee both really scare me.

And don't forget, KnitLibers, a vote for the Democrats is a vote for the terrorists:

"In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror." - Romney

In all of my years of voting, in many different districts and two different states, I have never been offered the seemingly ubiquitous "I Voted" sticker. Where can these stickers be found? Who hands them out? How am I to prove I did my civic duty with pride?

I like stickers of all kinds and it makes me sad when others get free stickers while I am denied.

Moving on: The real, less whiny, reason for this post is to pass along a more comprehensive list of Super Tuesday Events than I offered in my last post.

Head over to the Super Fat Tuesday site for all sorts of fun options for tonight.

AND VOTE!!  Happy Super Tuesday.

Knit. Vote. Blog.

Shameless use of celebrities?

Maybe. Do I care? Nope. I'm liking the ride on this bandwagon...

Help promote the Knitting Liberally site by adding a button to your site.

Want a nifty little button like this on your site?

It's easy, just add the following code to your site, and we'll even host the image for you:

<A href="http://www.knittingliberally.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://knittingliberally.com/files/images/KL_BUTTON.jpg" alt="Knitting Liberally" border="0"></A>

Are you in a Super Tuesday state? If you aren't sure, go here or here to check.

Go ahead and check...I'll wait...

If your state's primary is tomorrow, please set aside some time to head to your local polling place and cast a primary vote. Consider it a practice run for your task in November.

If you are in Western MA, reward your good deed with a few beers (or sodas) and some great conversation at the Northampton Brewery. The knitters will be joining the drinkers, around 7:00 pm, for a Super Tuesday Results-Watching Event.

If you aren't in Western MA, check here and here for a Drinking Liberally group to help comfort you as you watch the returns.

No matter what your plan is to get through the ups and downs of percentage-watching, just know: it's going to be a long night. Pack some extra yarn.