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Deborah, Eileen and Una
Rita Alves and Brenda Leary
Carol Grogan and Bernie Reid
are expanding their operation to stools, brushes and even an expertly decorated anchor. These exceptional pieces aside, Susan notes that even the most inexperienced crafters can lend a hand. “Everybody is able to contribute something, you don’t have to knit and you don’t have to crochet, you can come down and wrap a CD in a piece of wool, do a bit of weaving,” she says. Along with showing the local community what membership in the ICA has to offer, this event acts as a publicity vehicle for the ICA’s national campaigns, their charity work for the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland or Knitted Knockers, their initiative to help women who’ve undergone a mastectomy. Susan and the Louth Federation are overwhelmed with the support they’ve received from local businesses and community. Following their success with the first yarn bomb, the Louth County Council were happy to welcome the ICA back to Dundalk for International Women’s Day
2017, and while in the previous year they were limited to one week of yarn bombing, the council have now extended that stay from International Women’s Day until after the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. Susan says, “Louth County Council have been fabulous, they saw the great response last year. I’d advise people to have proper permits. You also have to take care when attaching pieces to trees, particularly in nesting season.” In regard to the organising of Yarn Bomb Dundalk, Susan applied for planning permission for this project last August and would advise other Federations to allow plenty of time. Not only have the local council been of support but the whole community turned out on International Women’s Day in Dundalk. “Women’s Aid were here, they had the One Billion Rising and did a flash dance but they also invited all of the girl’s schools, the co-ed schools and the women’s clubs and dance groups. We had the radio here,”
says Susan. “Myself and Bernie, Federation Treasurer, were nearly hoarse going around all of the people we were chatting to, telling them about the ICA. It was an ideal opportunity.” Even with the success and growth of Yarn Bomb Dundalk, Susan isn’t ready to set her project aside just yet as she explains, “At our last National Advisory Committee meeting in January as I was giving my report, I spoke of all the things we have done during the year and that I was busy preparing for this. I hope I encouraged every Federation President to do the same and that next year for International Women’s Day we would have a National Yarn Bomb.” “I think in the bigger counties it would be great, even if you never get a chance to visit each guild, we can all work on something together. This year I went back to Portugal, to Lagos and saw crocheted chimneys. I put it up on Facebook but I think people were afraid I’d have them up steeple jacking!” AUTUMN 2017 | ICA HOME & LIVING | 35
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