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June 04, 2006
How about a ply? I'll take a ply.
Got a blue square to spare? Just one square? Blue. 15x15cm (that'd be 5.91in, a touch under a sixer). Saw this over at Casa Knitted Terrorists aka glittyknittykitty and went to check out the I Knit - Knit a River page, I Knit is working in conjunction with WaterAid. The squares will be used to form a river which will flow er be walked thru London to Downing Street, a spectacle to be created to bring the lack of water plight of the developing world to world leaders.
Square, blue, 15x15cm. Easy. Send them here - I Knit, Knit A River, 7 Courthope House, Hartington Road, London, SW8 2HS.
Water, very easy to take this particular resource for granted.
Especially when living in an area where you do have running potable water 24/7. Year round we have water shortages here @ Casa Zib. Summer months we have water coming in - if we're lucky - enough to take care of the dishes and maybe a load of laundry/shower/etc. During the hottest times the 'if it's brown flush it down' part is rather difficult do accomplish. Plastic containers in the house for storage. Last summer several times the public fountains/faucets were dry as well. Yeah, definitely not like growing up where we had two deep artesian wells. Drought conditions suck big time.
Still, our water eventually comes back. The inconvienence I piss and moan about over a 24-48+ hour waterfree time are nothing compared to what people live with all the time. At least we can go buy a six-pack if our backup is out. I just can't imagine not having anything but a comunal well, if that, as your one and only water source.
So, got a square to spare?
Posted June 4, 2006 05:16 PM
Comments
When I look at the photos in my own backyard, I am struck with the lushness and greenery compared to so many less watery places in the world. And yet, even here in southern WI, we are draining our aquifers faster than they recharge and allowing, nay encouraging, rainwater to run off either to the Mississippi or the Great Lakes system. Water is the next the big global crisis, for sure.
Posted by: elizabeth at June 5, 2006 12:01 AM
When I lived in New Hampshire, our main well was 16 feet deep, hand-dug, lined with stones, and often had garter snakes under the big stone covering the top. That well almost always gave out in late summer and we had to run a plastic hose over the ground about 200 feet to the swamp well, also about 16 feet deep and hand-dug. The water in the swamp well was OK but not very drinkable, so we had to get drinking water from a spring a couple miles away for a month or two. Fun for a while (eight years) but I don't know why we never had a deep well dug.
Water is such a gift... so when do these squares need to be in London? I haven't seen a deadline on any of the web sites, but maybe I'm just not observant.
Posted by: Lynn at June 5, 2006 02:36 AM
I didn't find a set date - yet nor did Purlpower who posted this to the Worldwide Knitting Events section of the Knittyboard. Will update once there is a date :)
Posted by: zib at June 5, 2006 06:21 AM
Oh man. Let's have my hubby (HWWV) read this. He's the one who allows a broken dishwasher to run for three hours or more (with lots of fresh water being blown through the whole time) and insists the thing "works fine." Water just isn't expensive enough in these parts. If it were, he may agree that the dang thing doesn't work--and that we are wasting the stuff hand over fist, or whatever platitude works best here.
(P.S. Finally got the washer-fixer to come; it's fixed. No more waste of water)
Posted by: Wendy at June 5, 2006 07:26 AM
I've done three so far.....
Posted by: glittrgirl at June 5, 2006 11:33 PM
The deadline isn't until Spring 2007 - so loads of time to knit blue squares!
Posted by: glittrgirl at June 6, 2006 09:44 AM
Thanks for the update Glittr!
Posted by: zib at June 6, 2006 09:46 AM
hi
excuse my interuption.
I just wated to say thank you for all the support and for any contributions you might make to the river.
If I don't receive a single blue square it will be fine because reading message boeard like this makes me feel like the idea alone is helping to keep global water issues a topic of discussion.
Peace, and thanks again, you're inspring.
Gerard
I Knit
Posted by: gerard at June 14, 2006 11:59 AM
