Safe Passage on Ashland

Per the Chicago Public Schools' website:

The Chicago Public Schools has launched the Safe Passage program to increase children’s safety as they come and go each day. This section offers helpful tips to parents and children to keep students safe on their way to and from school, in their homes, in their neighborhoods before and after school, and throughout the school day. 

These measures were expanded after Mayor Emanuel authorized the shutdown of 50 public schools, largest school consolidation in American history. The new paths kids take to school often cross gang territory lines. Chicago is city where being "in a gang" can be as simple as living on a certain block. Check out This American Life's two part episode covering a South Side Chicago high school.

The day before school started, we put up three pieces on Ashland, along the Safe Passage route from the shuttered Trumbull Elementary School as part of our own #SafePassageProject. This is one of them. The next will be up here in the next few days.

Uptown and Stewart Elementary School Anti-Violence Gift

Here are the daytime pictures! We had a lot of help on this one and had the debut of a new member. Check out our Flickr set for the details.

See the rest of the photos after the jump...

Fast work at Wilson and Kenmore Pt. 2

With Spring Break nearing it's end and classes at Stewart Elementary about to start up again this Monday, we sprang into action and put up more work. Two bike racks, another pole, some clean-up stitches on the previous poles, and three skinny fence posts that will hopefully be a precursor to a larger striping project.

Let's just hope people find this work "charming" and "cute" so that it stays up and is seen as it was intended: Brightening and hopefully making people feel safe in a dark and sometimes violent entrance into an elementary school.

Fast work at Wilson and Kenmore

Just put up a few quick and dirty (i.e. thrift store-bought Fun Fur scarves) pieces at the Stewart Elementary School at Wilson and Kenmore.

There was a shooting there last Friday, just as Spring Break was starting, and we've got a group goal of snazzing up the place before school starts again.


CPD and Clean Streets be nice to us and leave our work up at least until the kids come back to class! Fun Fur is much less disturbing than bullets (but not by much).


Pictures to come... as long as the pieces remain up there.

Citizen Skate Shop and Micro-Fiber Militia

Well, not officially but we like their style and love them in the neighborhood. Check out their site and come give them some love if you're in Chicago.

Here's the up-close version of the knit piece by Rich Stich-n-Bitch.

Garish in Uptown

The cursive writing beneath the flower says "Garish"

 

Wilson and Clarendon

Rich Stich n'Bitch has lived in the Uptown area for awhile now. She FINALLY has gotten her ass off her chaise lounge to go tagging. Note the torn t-shirt woven in the wool. Perhaps someone's a little upset about the economy and taking it out on her wardrobe?

Oldy but goody

From this summmer (ah look at the flowers, how we miss them!).

State and Lake construction

Recent work 'bout Chi-town

We've been a little quiet on blogger while we guss up our flickr page but on the streets of Chicago, we're still up to our old tricks.

"Fall to Spring Timeline" on State

In front of our fav. yarn store, LOOPY YARNS. A big artistic piece from Timeline, another member of the crew who's breaking out on her own.

Stop into Loopy Yarns and tell them the Micro-Fiber (Fibre) Militia sent you!

Lincoln Park No Swimming

A little mohair bit from the Rich Stichin' Bitch.

Lincoln Park Tunnel

We're in a museum!

Well, in FRONT of one at least.

We got busy during Looptopia. These pics are from the day after (luckily minus the rain from the previous night). Always fun seeing people digging our work. This gave the people waiting in line something to look at besides teens pretending to be stuck in the lions' butts.

Apartment complex bench

Sandberg Terrace bench near Clark.

Lake Michigan rail

Towards the Loop and above a tunnel.

Lake Michigan tunnel

The cross-over tunnel somewhere south of Fullerton. Closer to the Water Tower (we think).

Columbus and Illinois afghan bench

Near the River East theater.

Couple things about this one:

a) Yarn is made out of cotton and MILK FIBER. So awesome. Another Loopy Yarn purchase.
b) We made this on-site. As in, we had a meeting then went to this concrete park and crocheted this specifically for the bench in a couple of hours... frequently while sitting on the bench.
c) We really dig this idea and might keep it up as the weather gets nicer.

Get your newspapers here!

We had a bad day and decided to take it out on the city! By covering it with yarn! That's had hours spent on it!

Corner of Randolph and Wabash.



btw, we love Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Though we'd do bad things to Keith Olbermann that we wouldn't do to Rachel.

Experiment in balls of steel

This was meant to be an experiment with our super new obsession GLOW-IN-THE-DARK YARN!!! A new find from Chicago fave Loopy Yarns. Strangely enough, it became an experiment in balls of steel.

Yep. Underneath a security camera at the Prudential Center right off of Michigan. The experiment is if it's still there after a couple of hours and how big of a deal the security guards will make of it.

Hey... we gave them a smile and a wink into the camera! It's just yarn!