Marie at 1 Write Way

Scenes from Saturday, April 5, 2025

The day was successful but exhausting. It started with me picking up the beginnings of the watch I was knitting for the Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon ….

… and taking it with me to a Hands Off protest at the state capitol.

And I knitted while standing …

The protest was great. They estimated that over 1,000 people showed up, a huge number for Tallahassee. It was actually FUN. Most of the signs were angry, but the people themselves were good-natured and friendly. Here’s a couple of my favorite signs.

We had lunch with a friend afterward, and I continued to knit.

I kept knitting while my husband drove us home. I kept knitting while he made dinner. I kept knitting while we watched TV. At a few minutes before 10 PM (EDT), I finished.

I still need to block (handwash and air dry) the hat. And I still need to randomly select a winner from my donors.

I will complete the other projects (socks and a scarf) that I’ve written about (Knit for Food Knit-a-Thon 2025). They will take a lot more than a day to complete.

Thank you all for your support. This was my first fundraiser, and I am so glad I participated. We raised over $500,000 for Meals on Wheels, World Central Kitchen, Feeding America, and No Kid Hungry.

At a time when I often feel helpless, this experience showed me what good can be done when people come together.

Raji on my bed, impatient because it’s meal time.

Marie A Bailey

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30 responses to “Scenes from Saturday, April 5, 2025”

  1. Congratulations on finishing the hat! (Do you know the song “Finishing the Hat?” It’s from Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George.

    That is quite an achievement to do all the knitting, even while attending the protest. I can’t imagine–even if I could knit. 😉

    The Philadelphia march and rally was great, too!

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        • I was getting mixed messages here about whether there would e another 50501-style protest. Finally, a local Indivisible group said there would be no protest on the 19th, but they are encouraging everyone to do something like hold food drives or meet on their own and figure out what to do next. That was disheartening but unsurprising, especially for Florida. I don’t know all the logistics that goes into planning a protest but Florida has made it more difficult in recent years. Meanwhile, I keep writing to my reps. Occasionally I call, but I prefer to write.

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            • I’ve heard about another one for May 1. I also heard that even though the protests on April 19th weren’t nationally organized, more people turned out.

              Sorry I haven’t kept up with your (or anyone’s) posts. I’m so behind, and I know it’s pointless to try and catch up. I just get overwhelmed with all the bad news and my meager efforts to make a difference. And it’s a pity because reading and commenting on posts usually makes me feel better 🤷🏼‍♀️😊

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              • I’m having a hard time keeping up with everyone, too–especially now during poetry month. Dip in when you feel like it.
                The one last Saturday did seem to be very big-even in red states.

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                • We’re planning to go to a protest on Saturday at our capitol. We’re even making signs this time 🙂
                  Unfortunately, Florida State University is holding graduation ceremonies this weekend so traffic and parking will be crazy. Meanwhile, I’m writing postcards to all the senators and now SCOTUS (from the Card Campaign).

                  All I can say is, YAY, CANADA!!!🇨🇦

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                  • I am so bad at sign making!
                    There’s a big protest in Philadelphia tomorrow that I can’t go to. Bernie’s going to be there! We’re hoping to get to a local one though later in the day.

                    Good for you with the postcards.
                    And yes, YAY, Canada!

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    • Thank you, Lisa! The hat was a very easy knit 2, purl 2 pattern, and I’ve learned to “feel” the stitches as I go. But I knit a lot of patterns where I dare not look away … not unless I’m willing to rip everything out and start over because of my mistakes ;-)

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    • OMG … 12,000!! That is so awesome. My husband would have loved to have been in DC. I guess our turnout was pretty good considering the protest had competition from a festival occurring at the same time.

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  8. Yay you! The hat looks perfect and the turnout for the protest is impressive. Small steps going forward is worthy of note. How else can we get progress up and rolling again?

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  9. Great post of productivity.     I also went to local protest in cold rain with my upright walker. Feel more inclined to have positive messages rather than chants. Was too rainy to fly my white doves but next time want to sing “Do you hear the people sing?” then release the birds… Assuming MG doesn’t massively flare.      Did you have police presence? Were 5 cops1 sheriff to guard 50 grey haired female protestors. Really didn’t feel safe but only one black face was there as were afraid.. Am furious so picking/combing wool and needle felt the nebs into forms which my orange cream cat quietly pulls apart.   Too brain fogged to figure how to do link. Go to Vermilion County First uner community tab for the coverage. I am the nurse in cap grimly trying to stay upright.    There’s said to be another protest on 4.19 which is sons birthday. So many horrid things have happened on that day, eachtime he cried it wasn’t fair. Hope this is a positive protest. That said,I wast to put 45 in timeout at gitmo for a month to stabilize the response. Am envisioning a playskool pullalong phone and mr microphone,bag of marshmallows to keep him occupied as the dementia puts him at toddler level.    This is getting ridiculous. Exhausting,scary ridiculous when I am on SS and disabled.Cheryl Carlson

    Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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    • Hey, Cheryl, good to hear from you! And kudos to you for making it out to a protest!! And in the rain. Bless you. I’ve gotten mixed messages about April 19th. The Indivisible group in my area is not planning a protest so I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing (calling and emailing representatives, etc.) and hope the pressure on them to do something (that is, to save us from the Orange Felon and his lackeys). I always feel like I’m shouting into the darkness 🙁

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    • Thank you. Yes, I was attracted to the Knit-A-Thon in part because of the organizations the donations would support. And, yes, yes, … tRump and his lackeys 🤢

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