We have done some rough, dare I say guestimates, on the amount of squares we have received for the river.
WaterAid have grown concerned about our capacity to sew up the river, I share those concerns. We had no idea how successful this campaign would be. The amount of people who have made and sent squares, I've said this before, is inspiring and breathtaking.
I am not sure if anyone reads this but, once again, thank you.
Thank you to all the people who come to the different I Knit London group events and make squares and helped us sew it together.
Thank you to knitblogland, your blogs have spread the news of the campaign all over the world.
Thank you to the thousands of people who anonymously sent in squares.
Thank you to the thousands who sent warm wishes and encouraging, inspirational messages with their contributions.
Thank you to Mindy from San Marco, Texas, we talk about you all the time as yours was the first ever square we received through the post.
Thank you to all the teachers who have brought the river to their students and helped them learn a new skill while developing their social conscience.
Thank you to Olga Cowden, I know you must have spent a fortune posting the fliers.
There are too many people to thank and I have so much sewing to get on with.
WaterAid campaigns are using the river to lobby the German Embassy in London mid Febuary. Germany host the G8 summit this June so they have much power and influence as Chancellor Angela Merkel sets the agenda, as yet sanitation and water are not on the agenda. (more on what we can do will follow soon) There is no date set for this event yet as the campaigns manager is awaiting a reply to the request for a meeting. As soon as there is a date I will post it here. If you would like to join WaterAid at the event we would love to see you there. You can leave a comment or email.
I doubt we will be using the full river, not just because it is not all sewn up but also because it's too big for this event. We will use it all later in the year, more than once! We have also had to bring the deadline for squares forward to the end of this month/early February, I hope this does not disappoint too many of you but we really had to as there is not enough time to sew it all up.
We found another use for some of it, post WaterAid campaign events. Battersea Dogs home are asking for blankets for the animals they care for. We can sort them out! I've been to the dogs home twice, I live a short walk away and while the animals are very well cared for and made very comfortable it's still heart breaking to see them in their pens waiting to be taken home and loved. I hope you would agree.
There will, of course be more Knit a river news as well as photos,, I'll keep you posted. But, I almost forgot, the stats!!!!
Hiya
Wwe counted the number of squares in a bag then counted the number of bin bags...we guestimated that we have 34,000 squares so far.
The river as it is = 14 rows wide - 34,000 / 14 = 2428 squares long x 6inches = 14571 inches long
1457 x 2.5 = 36427.5 cm long
36427.5 / 100 = 364.3 metres long
364.3 x 3.28 = 1194.9 ft long
the London eye is 135 metres high
Canary wharf is 800 foot high
The tv tower in Berlin is the 4th tallest building in the world, it stands at 368 metres
The Empire state building is 1453 feet high – if we do not receive another square and all the squares are sewn into a river it would be just over 250 shorter than the Empire State Building
5 comments:
Fantastic!
Are you bringing squares to the pub tomorrow? I'd be happy to help with sewing (generally)
Great idea about the dog blankets too :)
Wow!! That's absolutely brilliant. Well done everyone!
The awareness, outpourings of love and care which have gone into this river, for all the school groups who have started youngsters on their first steps to a lifetime's crafting pleasure and uniting those around the globe who can still be moved to the effort to make some stranger's world a bit better, you two are truly an inspiration. Where next shall we channel these energies? baby clothes for hospitals and orphanages? gift parcel toys scarfs and gloves for people overseas? blankets for needy folk in hostels? hats for elderly war pensioners? merchant sailors freezing on arrival in Northern climes? Look back at what you have started...now anything is possible!
I've been knitting away at my square and it's nearly done! I'm sorry but I'm a very slow knitter. :(
I know tomorrow's the first of Feb, but if I send it or bring it in by the end of next week is that too late? Just one square, but I do want to help. :(
That's such great news! And I am always here reading, even if I don't comment very often.
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