Australian science writer Margaret Wertheim got together with her artist sister to crochet a coral reef to draw attention to the endangered Great Barrier Reef. The project visits New York this month. She’s joined by local participants Barbara Van Elsen, founder of the NYC Crochet Guild, and Njoya Angrum, founder of the Harlem Knitting Circle to talk about physics, crocheting, global warming and grassroots needlework.
More about the reef
See the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef at the World Financial Center
Having been reared by people who went through the Depression and war rationing, I hate wasting yarn. I see participating in this project as a great way to use crafting energy between project and supporting the maintenance and recover of the coral reef.
Suggestion: those who send in reef pieces shoud also send in a monetary donation of each piece sent. I do this also for books donated to the library (a small nominal donation) to offset processing (catologuing, covers, shelving) costs.
Awesome, I'm going to go check it out.
How does "hyperbolic" relate to the fractal geometry underlying coral and reef growth?
I'm so glad to see a story about this. Several women from my knitting group are crocheting pieces for this project. It's amazing how much like coral they look. If you want to talk about grassroots crafting, look at the knitting and crochet website Ravelry (http://www.ravelry.com) which has grown to over 100,000 members worldwide in less than a year, simply by word of mouth.
I make bobbin lace is there such a group for bobbin lacers?
Is it too late to contribute some crocheted coral? I'd love to join in!
Cheers to Margaret Wertheim for this amazing project that has captured the hearts of many people here on Staten Island.
Yes - there's time to contribute your coral pieces. There's been so much interest, that we've extended submissions to the New York Reef, to be added in May. You can visit the World Financial Center In The Loop blog for more info.
www.wfcintheloop.blogspot.com
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