As you know Wool & Water is an unexpected knitwear label, however when it comes to knitted statements of protest about discrimination and inequality I have to cast on & knit, even if it is a hat.
I participated in the January Women's March here in Amsterdam (along with nearly 5k men, women, children & dogs!) and knitted myself a Pussyhat to wear while marching.
I loved the simplicity of this design by Kat Coyle, the hat represents my belief in equality for all, my refusal to be silent and accepting of the global sweep of fear and hate and by wearing this vivid hat on the March, it helped me contribute to the beautiful image, a sea of pink, identifying us all as a movement, that cannot & will not be ignored.
Soon afterwards the Women's March Netherlands officially organised as a group and there were more marches being planned & organised. I was contacted by several people enquiring about Pussyhat commissions and so I decided that in exchange for donations (€15- €30 per hat) to the global women's health initiative She Decides*, I would happily knit for those asking. My (lovely) husband offered to donate the funds for the yarn as his contribution and so the knitting began.
The orders came in pretty quickly and luckily I was able to enlist one of my recent knitting students to help me get through them all. Now the last ones are being finished off & will head out to their new owners ready for the next & upcoming Marches in both London & Amsterdam. And of course I knitted them in 100% wool, a blend of Alpaca & Wool from Drops so they will also keep these protesters warm!
For information about the next Marches here in The Netherlands visit the Women's March NL page on Facebook & to sign up for the next March on Saturday 11th visit the event page here.
Check out this site: We Have the Best Words for banner inspiration.
Stay Curious!
*She Decides was launched by Dutch Foreign Trade & Development Minister Ploumen in response to Trump's banning of US financial support to any foreign health organisation providing information about or access to safe abortion. It is an attempt to plug the gap created by Trump's decision.
I am Alice and I run Wool & Water and Wool & Whiskers, a unique Bow Tie label from my garden studio in Amsterdam, fuelled by copious amounts of green tea.