Two of my good friends sent me info on Knit the Bridge – Pittsburgh while I was in Cleveland (thanks, Hannah and Amanda!). I thought it was the coolest concept and wanted to participate, but I wasn’t in Pittsburgh. Until 3 weeks ago.  Now living within the city limits of the ‘Burgh (and being a library card holder in Allegheny County – yay!), I finally felt I could show some crochet love for my hometown.

You might be asking yourself, what is “Knit the Bridge?”  Stop and think what it might be about. It is literally knitting a cover for a bridge. More specifically, the Andy Warhol Bridge in Pittsburgh.  A project like this is called “yarn bombing” and it’s where crocheters and knitters cover public items–statues, parking meters, trees, a bridge– in crocheted/knitted panels.

Here’s a definition from KTB’s website:

What is Knit the Bridge, Pittsburgh?

Knit the Bridge is a vision for a grassroots, community-led arts project that would bring the many diverse communities of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania together to create a large-scale, aesthetically stunning, fiberarts installation on a bridge in downtown Pittsburgh.

Two years ago, I came across a yarn bombing of Fred Rodgers in Pittsburgh sporting his classic red sweater. Yarn bombing is a quirky way to introduce more people to fiberarts and sometimes raise awareness for specific projects or foundations.

One of the reasons I really like this Knit the Bridge project is because they recycle the panels once the installation is over. They’ll wash and donate the yarn panels (which can be sewn into blankets) to local shelters, nursing homes, and other organizations.  Very cool!

I signed up to crochet a railing which is 105 inches x 9 inches.  I got out my I hook and some bright pink, orange, and yellow acrylic yarn until I read this requirement for panels: “Yarn: Please use black acrylic yarn only.”  Not as fun as I originally planned, ha, but I guess all black railing covers are fine, too. Everyone’s got to play her part.

No picture of my WIP, but it’s just a black strip of crochet, so I’ve taken the liberty of recreating it in Microsoft Paint:

**Not actual photo – Digital representation

You can read more about KTB – Pittsburgh here.  If you’d like to be part of the project, it’s not too late!  Panels are due Saturday, June 1st and range in size from 17″ x 17″ (partial panel) to 34″ x 72″ (full panel).  You can register to make a panel here at the Knit the Bridge website.