‘Team Cranberry Squared,’ Girl Scouts, Help 'Knit the Bridge'

More than 600 hand-knitted and crocheted creations were draped over the Andy Warhol Bridge in Pittsburgh over the weekend as part of the “Knit the Bridge” project—and one of the colorful coverings belongs to the Cranberry Area Girl Scouts and friends.

In a partnership with 50 local residents and the Cranberry Public Library, the scouts created the blanket for the yarn bombing, a public art project that swaths unconventional objects in knitted or crocheted material.

Headed by four members of Girl Scout Troop 20668, the group dubbed themselves “Team Cranberry Squared.”

According to the Knit the Bridge blog, 12-year-olds Katie Bablak, Sydni McConnell and Kara Ristey assisted Scout leader Patti Ristey with teaching three of the troops how to knit for the project.

Library patrons also knitted rows on a square that was stationed at the Cranberry Library.

The Team Cranberry Squared panel consists of 36 individual knit 8×8 inch squares in shades of cranberry red, according to Knit the Bridge. 

The upper right corner of the panel also has squares of blue and green to represent the township municipal building, which contains the community’s library, police department and government offices.

Those in Cranberry should be familiar with the public knitting concept. As part of Cranberry Community Days in July, volunteers yarn-bombed a number of trees at Cranberry Community Park.

The Knit the Bridge project in Pittsburgh, which was created by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, is expected to be the largest yarn bomb in the nation, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Knit the Bridge panels were installed over the weekend and will remain in place through Sept. 7.  

One the display is removed, the blankets will be cleaned and donated to homeless shelters, senior citizen centers and animal rescue groups, the PG reports.

Sharp-eyed Patch reader Carl Benjamin spotted the Team Cranberry Squared panel Monday on the Warhol Bridge Monday and sent in a photo.

Have you seen the Team Cranberry Squared panel yet on the bridge? What do you think about the project? Tell us in the comment section below.