longest bookmark in the Canberra Weekly

Warmest thanks to the good people at the Canberra Weekly for covering this fabulous local event, in support of the National Year of Reading.

a mighty impressive yarn

My goodness. I knew the Canberra's Longest Bookmark team had been busy these past 8 or 9 months, but it seems the capital's knitters have been even busier.

Just look what confronted me when I rocked up to Civic Library today {above, below, everywhere}. Astonishing.

That's me {lying down, which is SO something I would do} with the Dickson Library team, headed by the amazing Elena, on just some of the four kilometres of bookmarks - yes, that's right - 4km - of knitted bookmarks, a fabulous National Year of Reading initiative that has not only helped promote a deep love of reading, but has really become an enormous community project, with over 220 registered knitters, including knitting groups. Knitters ranged from children to the elderly including a number in their eighties, and schools, public libraries, local and international authors, nursing homes, all contributed to the project.

Can you believe how busy some knitters have been? I met a woman who had contributed 600 to this cause. Here is my measly contribution - below:

Two.

Well, it's been a busy year! But I must admit, the gorgeous knitters at this event still gave me a gracious round of applause when I showed off my creations {and did I hear laughter as well!?}. They were too kind - trust me, too kind.

Here is the official ceremony for the Longest Bookmark, with Elena Battey {in blue, above} giving us some facts and figures.

Next was me - talking about this fabulous National Year of Reading, and how special this event was for our community.

And then we also heard from Karen Hansen, Acting Director, Libraries ACT {in red, below}. Karen said it was wonderful to see people with personal challenges such as Parkinson's disease, MS and arthritis, or on bed rest, taking part in this project - and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Here is me with CBCA member and amazing reading activist Julie Long {centre} with Elena Battey, checking out the astonishing array of contributions. Volunteers are now being sought to help sew the bookmarks into blankets which will be donated to a local charity in 2013.

Here are some supersonic stats:

• 367.5 kilometres of wool used in project
• the total length of all bookmarks, laid end to end is 4 km
• all wool, needles, materials were donated
• bookmarks were received from as far afield as London, Germany, New Zealand, and from all over Australia
• a creative array of bookmarks were submitted along with the regular ones, including sunglasses, a doll, embroidered bookmarks and individually decorated bookmarks
• over 5,000 bookmarks donated by anonymous knitters
• 24,500 bookmarks have been received - and are STILL coming in!

Did you know the benefits of knitting?

• Calming; occupies different areas of the brain whilst freeing up others
• Eases stress by releasing serotonin into the body
• Increased communication skills
• Can help with obsessive/compulsive disorder 
• Mildly obsessive, so can help with other addictions
• Occupies the hands so can assist in stopping smoking
• Has been known to help sufferers of post-traumatic stress syndrome - both in knitting and the observation of knitting

and the benefits for school age children:

• Knitting helps kids with maths, reading, concentration, control , follow-through and a sense of mastery
• Improve hand/eye co-ordination, small motor skills and communication

It's not too late to contribute! See here for more.

Oh - and how did we get those impressive aerial shots? Handsome young man with a cherry picker to the rescue . . .

Thank you, Mr Cherry Picker man! {need to get me one of those. . . }

Boundless Festival wrap up with Andy Griffiths

 

The Boundless Festival of Australian Children's Literature wound up today with a spectacular author meet-and-greet with Andy Griffiths at the National Library of Australia.

Andy spent a few days in Canberra, visiting schools, lunching, dining and sharing his expertise with a range of lucky people. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in one of his workshops at the ACT Writers' Centre, and you can also see the COOL Awards event here.

Today's event at the NLA was simply glorious. I would say over 300 people turned up - and to see dozens upon dozens of young kids - especially boys - clutching Andy's books and spending time leafing through the pages while they waited {most patiently!} to have their book signed, was so very special.

I hope the following photos explain just how vital author visits like this are for young kids and the development of a love of reading. Andy is a generous, warm soul whose adoration for kids shines through - and these lucky kids were simply agog at the chance to meet him {+ some adults, too!}.

A huge congratulations to Belle Alderman and her team for this year's inaugural Boundless Festival. If you didn't get to this time, I hope you'll have a chance to indulge in this glorious event next year - please spread the word.

Happy reading - and perusing!

Andy with NLA bookshop's Matt (grey tee) and Leanne Barrett, CBCA ACT President (right)

with the lovely NLA Bookshop staff

the fan pics begin...

Andy started signing 30 minutes before the event officially opened

some eager fans, queuing patiently

this was the queue 30 mins before event start-time

the queue - about 15 mins before the event was due to start

the queue - about 15 mins before the event was due to start

NLA Marketing Manager, Maureen Brooks, introduces Andy

 

Andy reading The Naked Boy and the Crocodile, in support of the Indigenous Literacy Foundation