198 countries peace project

[knitting_needle_ninja]

A few weeks ago, I was on Ravelry in the Knitting our Way to Peace thread, "Patterns to Promote Peace on Ravelry", when I brought up a project I would like to do for my senior thesis show this fall. The other Ravelrers were enthusiastic, and now that things have temporarily settled down a little, I’d like to get started with it.

The idea is this: a flag for every nation of the world, sewn together to make a long garland. At the center would be the words “Let there be Peace on Earth.” I think it would be much more meaningful if it was a group project, rather than an individual one.

So, here we are. I would like a little help with this, but of course, there are guidelines. If you would like to participate, PLEASE READ ALL OF THE RULES CAREFULLY BEFORE BEGINNING!

General Information:

1) Please sign up for a country before you begin to prevent repeats.

2) To sign up, please go to this post on my blog. There you will find all of this information, along with the master list of countries. To “claim” a country, just post in the comments. I’ll be assigning countries on a first come, first served basis. As each country is taken, I’ll put the name of the volunteer next to it.

3) I’m also opening this up to members of two groups on Ravelry, plus my blog readers, so the list might fill up quickly.

4) Some countries and territories are in the middle of political upheaval, and have more than one flag. I leave it to you to decide which flag you do, or even both.

5) If there is a territory (not a sovereign nation) that you think should be included, feel free to make a flag for them.

6) There are occasional buyers who attend these senior thesis shows. If the piece sells, I would like to donate the money to a peace promoting organization. Any suggestions? I was thinking something like the Red Cross, that helps every nation regardless of politics or religion.

7) Because the words at the center come from a Christmas song, I’m shooting to have the show in November or December. Of course, all those in the Columbus, Ohio area are welcome to attend, and I will be posting more information on that as it becomes available.

cool If the response is good, I’m thinking of opening this up to other causes as well. Who’s up for a gay pride flag? Are there flags for religions that we want to include?

Construction and shipping:

1) The height of each flag should be 20 cm, or 8 inches.

2) The materials are open, but keep in mind that each flag will be hand-sewn together. Knitting, crocheting, weaving, felting, quilting, embroidery, tatting–I don’t care, but it must be fiber. You could even paint on canvas, but I ask that if you do, please remember the dimensions, remove the stretcher before shipping, and please leave enough blank canvas at either end for me to sew, as I don’t want to damage the painting.

3) I would like to receive all the flags no later than September 1, 2008. I am currently studying abroad in Italy, so I will post the address once I return to the States, in either late April or early May.

4) Feel free to send your personal messages with your flags. I would love to display them at the show.

5) I want to give credit where credit is due. Please include your name (real name or screen name, doesn’t matter), along with the name of the country it represents.

Thanks in advance to all who volunteer!  

[wynter_myst]

I've got a question.

Will the flags be 20cm/20cm squares? Since you only put a height requirement.

Thanks~  

[Silver Mist]

I volunteered to take France on your blog. ^^ I'm excited about this and cant wait till my school quarter is over so I can start on it. ^^  

[bookaholic]

Is Brazil taken yet? smile  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

I'm leaving the width requirement open, just keep it fairly proportional. I was thinking more along the lines of 20x30 or 40 cm.

The complete list of countries, along with the ones that have been taken, can be found on the blog.  

[bookaholic]

This is a great idea, and I think I might send the link to a couple of my friends too. smile  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

Please, feel free to! I just added your name to the list this morning. Thanks for volunteering!  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

I have standardized the width requirement for the project, as I've had to re-think the layout and how the flags would be sewn together. In the original plan, it was going to be one long banner, but once I added up all the figures, that banner would be long enough to circle the entire gallery at least twice! Thus, now it will be more of a quilt structure. According to the new plan, flags should be either 12" or 16" wide (about 40 cm).

If you have a blog or podcast, I would greatly appreciate a quick mention. So far 60 people have signed up, but we still need a lot more for this project to work. Please pass along the information to as many people as possible. Sign ups end on August 1.  

[knitting_needle_ninja]

We're up to 95 sign ups! Woot! I am so overjoyed!