Stats Dec-30

For those of you who like statistics:

I estimate that 250 people contributed sweaters for this project.

I received approx. 310 packages from 36 different states and 2 countries outside the US.
I received no packages from 15 states.

California sent the most packages, approx. 80.
New York sent the second most packages, approx. 56.
Massachusets sent the third most packages, approx. 24.
The remaining 33 states sent less than 12 packages each.

I received an average of 222 sweaters per month for 10 months.
I received the most sweaters, 329, in December and the fewest, 24, in March.

Let me know if there are other stats that interest you.
-nina

FAQ

There are 2 questions that I hear most often about this project.

1) Why are you only representing the American Military Casualties? What about all of the Iraqi military and civilians?

A: As I explain in the "About" section of the website, I had originally intended to represent all deaths associated with the Iraq war. However, I can not fit that many sweaters in my tree. Instead, I chose one number that is symbolic and feasible for the scale of this project. I encourage others to carry on the project, and invite anyone to coordinate the effort to knit some 30,000 sweaters to represent the entire casualty count.

2) Why not spend your time doing something more worthwhile, like knitting sweaters for needy children in war-torn Iraq?

A: There are many volunteer organizations currently knitting sweaters, afghans, hats, socks, etc for needy people. Volunteers who contribute to those efforts are motivated by a desire to help others. My motivation for this art project was different.

My motivation for Red Sweaters was to inspire other people to think and reflect about how this war is affecting their life. This project may, for example, inspire hundreds of people to volunteer to knit those sweaters, afghans, hats, and socks. People who otherwise would not have thought to do so. It may inspire others to join rallies or listen to the news, or bike to work instead of drive, or put a "support our troops" magnet on their car, or talk to their children about war.

I feel that the donations and actions I could make on my own are nothing compared to the donations and actions from hundreds of inspired people.
-nina

Sweaters are up!

Today we hung 1500 red sweaters in the tree. That is the number of American casualties from the Iraq War when this project began in Feb/March. I will continue to add sweaters to the tree until the number of sweaters is equal to the current number of casualties.

Click on the image below to see a gallery of images of the installation, or go to www.redsweaters.org/gallery







-nina

Big Day Tomorrow!

We reached our goal yesterday. We now have as many sweaters (plus a few more) than the current number of American casualties from the Iraq War.

Tomorrow we will hang about 1500 sweaters in the tree. That is the number of casualties there were when this project started back in March. The remaining 600+ will join the installation as they are ready. I will continue to add sweaters until the total number is in the tree, and after that, as more Americans die in the war.

I'll be taking pictures all day of the installation process, and the final out come. Check back here for the link to the Installation Gallery.

Please continue to send in sweaters. We have reached our goal, but the casualty number continues to rise, and I am not going to display every single sweater that I receive. Please make sure you are using Red Heart Super Saver Medium Weight yarn, preferably in Cherry Red color, to guarantee that your sweater will hang in the tree.

Special thanks to Alice, Catherine, and Lisa for contributing so much time darning and tying sweaters together in preparation for the display!

Hope to see some of you at the installation tomorrow. Bring a crochet hook and a scissors and you can help prepare more sweaters for display :)
-nina

Sketch

I did a quick sketch of how I think the tree will look (more or less) once a few of the sweaters are tied to the tree. I'll show this sketch to the climber so he has a rough idea of how I want the sweaters to look in the tree. I thought you might be interested in seeing the sketch, too.



-nina

Special Thanks

Special thanks to the 4th grade students at Highline Elementary School in Aurora, CO for participating in this project!

Teacher Bruce Lilly and a parent volunteer Sheila Sanchez taught the children how to crochet, then helped them to make a red sweater. Lilly writes, "I have a classroom
full of future crochet lovers thanks to this project. They also have a more personal understanding of the casualties in Iraq."

Thanks guys!
-nina

We have a climber!

The installation date is set - Thursday, Dec-29.

It took a while to figure out how to get the sweaters in the tree. The best option I found was to hire a professional tree climber.

Keep sending in those sweaters! I'd like to hit 2000 at least by Dec-29.
-nina

3 weeks til showtime

Hi,

I updated the sweater count today. We still need just over 200 sweaters to tie today's number of American casualties.

Please send in the sweaters that you have complete. I am going to hang as many as I have on New Years Eve and New Years Day, and need all the sweaters I can get between now and then.

I also need help getting the sweaters ready for display. If you are in the bay area and can help, please email me! All you have to do is tie some knots :) But I have a special way of tieing them, so no need to send in your sweaters pre-tied together.

Thanks for your contributions!
-nina