A hunger strike in the jail

Working with incarcerated women, has its trials and tribulations, especially when the jail is in Bolivia, a country known for being prone to strikes, marches and revolts on almost a daily basis. This same cultural phenomenon is also found within the jail, this year alone the facility has had two hunger strikes already.

When a group of incarcerated women decide to go on a hunger strike, the entire jail is put under a state of emergency and total lock down, meaning visitors, lawyers or artisans like me can’t go inside the jail for an undefined time. The entire incarcerated community has to undergo the state of emergency, as a consequence of the protesting group.

This makes my work very difficult, since during these times I can’t deliver yarn for any of the orders we receive or do the quality control I need for the work in progress.  This is one of the glitches of working with incarcerated women. My knitters are also affected because their work is slowed down, and therefore so is their income.

This time around the strike is due to a complaint made by one of the prisoners, who sent a letter to the press stating that drugs, alcohol, prostitution and abortions where common within the jail. The interesting aspect of this is that some of the women inside the jail took offense of this statement and took it upon themselves to start a hunger strike demanding that the author of the accusatory letter be removed from the prison and taken elsewhere. The group of protesting women feel’s humiliated by the accusations and wants the letter to be retracted. They don’t want people on the outside to think these accusations are true. However, it is common knowledge that alcohol and drugs are found within those walls.

It’s interesting for me to hear their reaction. It seems to me that if said actions are happening within the jail, it would behoove the prisoners to have more protection and stricter controls in order to protect the women and children within the jail from being exposed to the many downfalls of drug and alcohol abuse, which can lead to unwanted pregnancies, violence, abuse, depression, prostitution and more.

None of the girls on my team are involved in the strike, yet they are experiencing the downfalls of the issue in place. Prior to the strike they requested that I leave them with a lot of work, should the strike begin and get prolonged. Knitting keeps them busy and out of trouble. Let’s hope they are busy at work, and staying safe while knitting in peace.

~Namaste

Alpaca Creations

I love sharing Knitting Peace's latest news, creative endeavors and creative process. Here are a few images of what we have been up to.

These colorful pieces are hand knit Alpaca Cowls, which can also be worn as a shoulder cover as well as a skirt. They are very popular, because of the colorful pallet and versatility. We love these!

Knitting Peace Alpaca hand knit Cowl

 Available on our website and on SALE now at
 http://www.knittingpeace.com/knitting-peace-store/accessories/cowls.html 

Now, not all of the new designs get posted on our website, some must go through several rounds of evaluation, re-defining and tweaking.

Our latest prototype was just finished. One of my favorite knitters Louisa, had a bit of a hard time bringing my vision into physical manifestation . However I have to admit, I love what she made!

We will tweak the prototype a bit here and there, with an end result of a beautiful hand knit chunky Alpaca Sweater dress available for Fall 2011, no worries!

I love this color!

Alpaca Sweater Dress

  

Knitting towards a greater good

We just recently started an internship program at Knitting Peace, which has been an incredible blessing. I didn’t realize how much work I was postponing until Beatriz came along, and got my wheels spinning in motion. It’s fascinating how the Universe works, we truly are powerful beings. 

I had set the intention of attracting a team of supporters to help me take Knitting Peace to the next level, and bam… I feel like I have an army now.  It’s amazing how much can be accomplished with strong intention, honest self evaluation and grounded clarity. What seemed impossible and a burden is now clear open space, with infinite possibilities.

In my moments of doom and gloom, I had forgotten why I had chosen to work with incarcerated women, and why Knitting Peace existed and what it stood for. Luckily, with the help of Beatriz’s soft presence, my girls had the opportunity to open up and share with her what Knitting Peace meant to them and how our work together has benefited their lives.

Hearing what each team member had to share, expressed so lovingly was a gift for me. These women did not sound like repressed, fearful women who are incarcerated. They expressed themselves like warriors who were on a path towards something better.

Xenia shared that she hoped Knitting Peace would continue to grow, and that she could continue to work for us even after she restored her freedom. She looked forward to assisting me in creating new designs and putting her talents to good use.  She felt she made a difference in Knitting Peace and was proud of the work she did with us.

 

Rosario, mother of 2 expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to work. She shared that very little work was available to them, and that through Knitting Peace she was able to work continuously throughout the year and support her children in staying in school while she remained incarcerated.

I am once again reminded of the importance of our work, and inspired to continue on this path. It’s a very exciting time for Knitting Peace, we can’t wait to see what else the Universe has in store! 

Winter Line Sneak Peek

Our new 2011 Winter line is coming together. Here is a sneak peek.
Hand Knit Alpaca Sweater Dresses, to wear day and night for work or play.

Everything made by our team of incarcerated women in Bolivia.

 Enjoy Knitting Peace!

Photos by Daniel Caballero Mercado

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The Economy and Style... must they go hand in hand?

With the economy at question mark, I imagine spending in most households has become questionable as well. Debt is at an all time high, and a lot of people are experiencing for the first time, what it means to live and spend within their means. In most countries this is the norm, however in the US and other developed countries, this is a new way of living, a new and hard concept to swallow.

Having lived both in the US and Bolivia, I have experienced both contrasting mind sets regarding consumerism and know what a huge shift the US is going though at the moment.  In Bolivia, most people don’t go shopping every weekend, and there aren’t huge discount sales on every street corner. I have yet to go “window” shopping with my girlfriends, and doubt anyone holds a credit card with a $10,000 spending limit. Life is very simple here; when the first winter breeze comes the fashionistas run out to buy a new sweater or coat, maybe both … but not a whole new wardrobe. 

I can appreciate both life styles; I love fashion and loved living in LA where there are so many pretty things to see and try on, which are always going on sale.

So, with the economy in mind, fashionistas at heart and practicality at hand, I am creating a new line which is not only beautiful and as always socially conscious… but can be worn all year long, and in many different ways. Versatile is my new theme, and I plan to make all of our new pieces Versatile, and layer friendly, so they can be worn in the spring, summer, fall or winter.

Our team of knitters loves this new concept, and is busy at work with our new collection. Here is a sneak peak of one of our finished pieces

 How many other ways can you think of wearing this beautiful Alpaca accessory? And what would you call it? We would love to hear your input, please share!

~Namaste

Learning to Knit Again

Learning how to knit at the age of 9 was challenging, especially since I am left handed. I remember being one of the only girls in my class to actually do the knitting assignments myself. Most girls in my 4^th grade class had their nannies or grandmothers do their knitting homework for them. Although I had a hard time learning how to knit I still loved it, and practiced constantly until I was able to figure out on my own how to combine and create stitches which were new to me. 

Last week, my knitting skills where challenged yet again. I decided to learn how to knit on a machine, with the intention of designing our new Knitting Peace knitwear. Luckily for me my mother in law is an expert knitter (hand and machine) and was kind enough to teach me the basics of machine knitting. After a few hours of playing with the machine, and getting a handle on what mistakes to avoid, I was able to knit this piece.  It’s my first, and I love it… as I loved the first tiny scarf I made, with my pink yarn back in the day of pigtails and chubby fingers.

I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s a start.

 Learning to Machine Knit

Knitting Peace's coming Winter Line!

Its August already, winter is on its way out in Bolivia (although is still very cold) and the fall is on its way in on the Northern Hemisphere.  This flux in seasons tends to spin me into frenzy. I live in a state of mind of the never ending winter, where I am either designing for the cold, living in it, or traveling towards it.

I am currently both living in it and designing for it. August is an exciting month for Knitting Peace, it’s the month in which we prepare our Fall/Winter line for our clients in the US and Europe.  Our team of knitters is excited to see what new techniques they will learn, and new colors we will be using. They are anxiously waiting for me to get them started on the new line.

This season I felt inspired by the bright colors and thick cozy sweaters displayed on the runways during fashion week. Jade Green, Scarlet Red, Plum and Rust are colors that I loved seeing on the runway. Don’t get me wrong I love Grey, but my girls and I are ready for a more brilliant pallet to work with.

    

   2011 Runway Fashion that is inspiring our new Knitting Peace Line!

 Vogue Knitting

                                     Max Azria Tracy Reese            Alexander Wang, Zero +Maria Cornejo, Karen Walker
                       

                                                          Marc Jacobs                                           Jill Stuart and DKNY

With all the changes happening in Knitting Peace and our plans moving into motion towards expansion, it seems incredibly appropriate that our new line should reflect an expanded and more brilliant look. Our new Alpaca hand knits will be more intricate, colorful and ultra thick and cozy.

We recently purchased a knitting machine for thick yarn, which I just learned how to use. It’s not as easy as it looks, but a lot faster.  At first I resisted the move towards machine knitting, I felt it did not compare to hand knitting and would make our product industrial. However I soon realized that in order to grow and expand, I needed to increase our production capacity significantly which becomes possible by using a knitting machine. The machine allows us to make certain pieces of the garments quicker, and then add intricacies and the cozy touches by hand knitting them on. This also makes the girls work a lot easier and allows for a quicker turnaround of finished product, which translates into more money for them.  The finished product is still ultra soft, however more beautiful and of better quality. We love this, and know that you will too!

Our new line will include hand knit and hand finished products, in bright colors and cozy ultra soft Alpaca fiber Our pieces promise to be thick, long and the sweater you will wear everywhere this winter. We are very excited to launch our new line, so stay tuned on www.knittingpeace.com for more Knitting Peace news to come. 

~Namaste