Tuesday, August 5, 2008:  Grannies leaflet outside Free Library at Logan Circle at 6:30 p.m.  Some Grannies go inside to hear Nancy Pelosi speak and hope to be able to ask questions.  This IS a Granny Event.  Grannies planning to go inside should NOT wear Granny t-shirts or buttons.

Thursday, August 7, 2008: Granny demo at Rittenhouse Square (18th and Walnut St. entrance), from Noon to 1:30 p.m.  This IS a Granny Event.  The focus will be on bringing the Pennsylvania's National Guard home.  HR 2402 calling for this in the State Legislature is buried in the Veterans Committee.  NOTE:  There will also be a press conference (organized by Pittsburgh women) on this issue on the same day in Pittsburgh, PA. Contact:  Helen Evelev at  helenevelev@aol.com or call her at  (215) 351-2225.

Saturday, August 9, 2008:  Nagasaki Day Peace Vigil in front of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, 18th and Parkway, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  This is NOT a Granny event, but Grannies mourn the fact that our country dropped a nuclear bomb in 1945 (63 years ago) on this date on the Japanese city with the largest Catholic population in Japan.  Contact:  the Brandywine Peace Community at brandywine@juno.com or call them at (610) 544-1818.

Thursday, August 14, 2008:  Granny Meeting, 1319 Locust St., 10:00 a.m. to Noon.  NOTE CHANGE:  The day-long meeting was moved to August 28; August 14 is now a regular Granny Meeting.  Elisabeth Leonard is the facilitator.  Please send your agenda items to her at elisabeth_leonard@verizon.net or call her at (215) 382-1531.

Sunday, August 17, 2008:  Vigil close to Senator Specter's home, Schoolhouse Lane.  This is NOT a Granny event.

Thursday, August 21, 2008:  Grannies meet together with the Hospital Workers Union (1199) Retirement Group, at 1319 Locust St., beginning at Noon.  Grannies meet briefly with each other before this meeting at 11:00 a.m. at Lois Durso's home (1326 Spruce St., Apt. 1803).  This IS a Granny event.

Thursday, August 28, 2008:  Day-long Granny Meeting to discuss the Middle East, 1319 Locust St., 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  This IS a Granny event.

Thursday, September 11, 2008:  Bill Kay (the Grannies' troubadour) will be at Love Park doing a Peace Vigil from 5 to 7 p.m.  He would like to have Grannies participate.  We will discuss this more at our next meeting.  Contact:  Bill Kay at ifdogsrunfree@comcast.net

Sunday, September 21, 2008:  Granny Peace Brigade Vigil close to Senator Specter's home on Schoolhouse Lane.

Save the Date:  Saturday, October 4, 2008:  United for Peace and Justice, Delaware Valley Network, is planning a parade and festival.  We plan to march across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia to Camden, march down Broadway in Camden, and hold a festival in a location to be decided.  This is NOT a Granny Event, but Grannies are involved in planning for it.  Contact:  Nina Huizinga at huizinga.nina@yahoo.com or call her at (215) 528-6130.
 

The Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia is joining the Grannies of New York and Denver, Colorado (and others) in knitting "Stump Socks" for our Iraq war veterans.   Three yarn shops in Granny areas have been contacted and have agreed to support the project:  Rosie's Yarn Cellar at 2017 Locust Street here in Center City, The Tangled Web at 7900 Germantown Ave. in Chestnut Hill, and The Ewe and I at 221 Haverford Ave. in Narbeth.    All three have received a copy of the patterns and the information below and are looking forward to helping you when you come in.   (Thanks to Granny Gloria Hoffman for speaking with The Tangled Web.)

After hearing about the New York Grannies working on this project, samples were made and sent to the Head of the Prosthetics Division at the Philadelphia Veterans Medical Center to get their input on whether these would be useful and, if so, which sizes and colors would be most appreciated. 

The samples were given to amputees at the Center who were asked to use them and then share their comments with staff.   We knew from both the New York and the Denver Grannies that the socks had to be able to be machine washed and dried; after a careful check of available yarns, the samples were made in knitting worsted weight (Plymouth) Encore and (Berroco) Comfort yarns.  

Response from people at the Prosthetics Department at the Veterans Medical Center indicated that these yarns were very comfortable and that the preferred colors would be brown, khaki, black, medium or dark blue, dark red, medium or dark green: basic sock colors.    It was suggested that it would be best if knitters avoided using flamboyant colors.  Subtle stripes are fine - if you feel up to it!

We are asking those of you who knit - and/or have friends who knit - to visit the yarn shops mentioned.  You can bring the pattern and information below with you however the shops have received copies of the patterns. 

Make your stump sock(s) and get them to me - I will collect them and get them to our contact at the Medical Center.  They can be brought to a Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia meeting or sent to Lois Durso, 1326 Spruce Street #1803, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Patterns below are for three sizes - small, medium and large.

A.  Small Size*
Yarn:   Plymouth "Encore" and Berroco "Comfort" knitting worsted weight
Needles:  16" round needles in sizes 6 and 8 and you will need size 8 double pointed needles for the decrease rows.
With a 16" size 6 round (or double pointed needles), cast on 72 stitches and work in K2 P2
ribbing for 3 or 4".    Switch to size 8 needle(s) and work in stockinette until piece measures 9" long,
including ribbing.
Decreases: 1.  K6, K2 tog, K6, K2 tog around the row.  2.  Knit one round.   3.  K5, K2 tog, K5, K 2 tog across row.  4.  K one round.  Continue to decrease in like manner until 9 stitches remain.  Weave stitches together.  Weave in ends.

B.  Medium Size
Same as for small but use size 8 needle(s) for the ribbing and size 10 needle (s) for the stockinette rows and decreases.

C.  Large Size
Same as "Medium" above but start by casting on 80 stitches.   Note:  You will end up with 10 stitches to be woven together.

N.B.  Please note that the important thing is to work in multiples of 8 stitches.   You can make a Small size by starting with 64 stitches and following the instructions for the B.  Medium Size (using sizes 8 and 10 needles) above.  You will end up with  8 stitches to weave together.  

Similarly, you can make an extra large by starting with 88 stitches.   You will end up with 11 stitches to weave together.  I was told that they would need twice as many in Medium, Large, and Extra large sizes than in the small size.

If you can, please do wash and dry the sock(s) before mailing.  

*****It would be wonderful if you would enclose a note with each sock saying something like - "In thanks for the service you have given our country" or "Made with Love (or Made with Thanks) by Granny (your name) of the Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia" or something brief so the recipient will understand you appreciate the sacrifice he or she made. 

Meeting with Congress people and Pending Legislation:  Paula Paul collected a packet of information about pending legislation.*  Here is a summary.  1) House Resolution 3797, 2) Senate Bill 2426, 3) Senate Bill 2130, 4) A bill about the Military Budget that went to the Military Budget Committee, and 5) House Resolution 4959 Iraq Strategic Agreement on Congressional Oversight.  Look below for a full copy of Paula's material.     All of this is in preparation for appointments we plan with various Congress people when they are on break in March.  We want to go as representing many groups.  Why just in the room we can name these groups:  Granny Peace Brigade, United for Peace and Justice, Code Pink, WILPF, ACLU, ADA, Sierra Club, and Kol Tzedek.  We also want to get constituents to go to the meetings.  Contact:  Paula Paul at pauladance@aol.com or call her at (215) 438-9319 (H), (267) 253-7849 (cell). 

Meeting with Mayor Michael Nutter:  We want to talk with him about the relationship between the city budget and the cost of the war.  We want him to go public as being opposed to the war.  Contact:  Marlena Santoyo at marlsan@cavtel.net or (215) 247-4385 and Ruth Balter at nalydiv@vzavenue.net or (215) 545-4486.

Grannies to help in New Orleans?  Do we want to go?  Contact:  Jean Haskell at jeanhaskell@comcast.net or call her at (215) 977-9382 (W), (215) 870-3886 (H).