Scene in Easton: Random Acts of Warm, Fuzzy Kindness

About 400 handmade scarves were given away to anyone who wanted
them by "Chase the Chill, the Original" along Northampton Street and
the surrounding area on Saturday.
Click on any photo for a full size view.

By Christina Georgiou

About a dozen volunteers, along with members of the Easton Fire Department, led by Easton textile artist Susan Huxley gave away about 400 hand knit and crochets winter scarves for the fourth year in a row in Easton on Saturday morning.

With a clothesline set up in front of the city's main fire station at the five-point intersection at the edges of the Downtown and West Ward neighborhood, "Chase the Chill, the Original" volunteers offered scarves to any and all who passed by and  desired them.

A Chase the Chill volunteer drapes a scarf
on a traffic signal pole for a passerby to
find and claim.

Some of the scarves were also draped on nearby trees, parking meters and other handy locations within a few blocks of the volunteers' gathering place for other passersby to find and claim. With tags that said,
"TAKE THIS SCARF...if you're cold or if you like it," recipients seemed pleasantly surprised by the gifts, and smiles and thanks were seen and heard along the 500 block of Northampton Street for about 45 minutes--the short  time it took for the hundreds of colorful, fluffy neck warmers to be happily snatched up and taken home.

The scarves were stitched by a dedicated group of volunteers over the past year, though one core member, Angela Boehm of Bethlehem, again created and donated a truly impressive number of them--166 in all.

Yarn for the undertaking is donated by the knitters themselves, as well as by community members--Huxley is always on the look-out for free wool that can be transformed by the group into next year's "scarf bombing," she said.

As recipients gathered at the clothesline strung between trees along the sidewalk, Huxley encouraged some of the recipients who seemed to be in more need to take a few scarves and distribute them as holiday gifts for loved ones too.

A happy recipient shows off her new scarf
Saturday at the Chase the Chill giveaway
event in Easton, as organizer Susan Huxley,
right, and a young volunteer tag more
scarves.

"My grand-daughter will love this one," said one senior, as she picked out a few.

Anyone who knits or crochets can get in on the action and donate to the annual  event, and Chase the Chill holds several public stitching gatherings a year as well, where volunteers can work on scarves to be donated.

Each donated scarf is photographed and documented by Huxley before being distributed, in and of itself a massive undertaking, considering the approximately  2,000 scarves that have passed through her hands.

The event has become so popular too that at least five other Chase the Chill groups have sprung up in the U.S. and Canada. The closest is in Emmaus.


"It's all about a random act of kindness," Huxley said, as one person marvelled at the amount of time and effort that went into the scarve giveaway.

To learn more about "Chase the Chill, the Original" or to get involved, visit the group's Facebook page.

Volunteers head off to drape scarves in the surrounding area
for lucky recipients to find and claim during the Chase the
Chill event on Saturday in Easton.

 

 

Art Show Highlights Annual Scarf Bombing Event

Images from the Easton scarf-bombing event, "Chase the Chill", such
as the one above by Robin Phelps, will be highlighted at an art show
at the Family YMCA of Easton, Phillipsburg & Vicinity, starting today.
The show also includes the photography of Matt Smith of The
Express-Times and Christina Georgiou, publisher and editor of
The Easton Eccentric.

 Nearly four years ago, Easton textile artist Susan Huxley started "Chase the Chill", which celebrates the beauty and art of stitching, the worldwide yarn graffiti trend, and random acts of kindness.  Participating knitters and crocheters make hundreds of scarves that they hang outdoors for anyone to take on the first Saturday of November.

During the three years it has taken place, various photographers and news organizations have covered the event in Easton, as well in other places. The event has grown well past Easton's borders, too, with like efforts taking place as far away as Canada.

Starting today, the Family YMCA of Easton, Phillipsburg & Vicinity will exhibit photos highlighting photos of past Chase the Chill distributions and some of the scarves that will be part of this year’s Chase the Chill happening. Featured will be images by Christina Georgiou of The Easton Eccentric, local photographer Robin Phelps, and Matt Smith of The Express-Times.

An opening for the exhibit is set for Friday, September 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Family YMCA, located at 1225 West Lafayette St. The show runs until October 27.

"The purpose of this exhibit is to show you the faces, creativity, and energy that are the driving forces behind the annual Chase the Chill scarf giveaway," said Huxley, who is curating the event. "Thanks to this gallery, now there’s an opportunity to showcase the images of some of my favorite photographers...who have been documenting us crazy Chillers. In fact, no event feels complete without one of these talented people along for the ride. These shooters have taken a journalistic approach, yet there is an artfulness to their work. While sharing the same subjects, all three have created unique perspectives and styles."

For those who would like to take part in this year's Chase the Chill scarf bombing, or even just create a scarf for themselves or a loved one, there's plenty of opportunity to get involved.

There will be a community knit-in (and crochet, too) on Saturday, September 14 from 10 a.m. to noon. Anyone who wishes to participate should bring their needles, hook, and yarn to the upstairs lobby at the Family YMCA.

And, all of the scarves bombing the YMCA hall are for sale, with proceeds benefitting the Family YMCA of Easton and Chase the Chill.

Instructions for making individual scarves on display at the Family YMCA are available on the hand stitching website, www.ravelry.com. While patterns are for sale, each of the displayed scarves has a date attached--that's the day people can download the instructions for free, Huxley notes.

"This is another step toward a new project about to launch, called 'Scarf a Day'. The name says it all: one scarf pattern every day, free," Huxley said.

Of course, people are also invited to donate any hand stitched scarves and/or yarn to this year's Chase the Chill too.

For more about this year's scarf bombing event in Easton, set for Saturday, November 2, visit the "Chase the Chill: The Original" Facebook page.

The Family YMCA gallery, located at 1225 Lafayette St., is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays rom 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information about the show, contact Lori Metz at 610-258-6158 or Kyra Lysynecky at 610-258-5055 or visit www.familyymca.org

Updated on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 6:28 a.m.

Scene in Easton: Chase the Chill 'Bombs' Southside

Angela Boehm, Rachel Hosterman and Susan Huxley
prepare to hit Southside and drape the neighborhood
with warm, handmade scarves.

Since their last stealth giveaway in November, when they "bombed" the West Ward and Downtown with more than 500 warm, colorful handmade creations, Chase the Chill stitchers have been busy knitting and crocheting more new scarves.

With about 100 more in hand, four of the group—Susan Huxley, Robin Phelps, Angela Boehm, and Rachel Hosterman—decided to do another random scarf bombing on Easton’s Southside.

Rachel Hosterman, in stealth scarf "bombing" mode, looks for a
likely spot for a random act of kindness in Easton's Southside
on Saturday afternoon.

On Saturday, they drove around looking for suitable spots, hanging a handful at each place they stopped.

Information contributed by Susan Huxley, photos by Robin Phelps. Thanks!

Are you part of a community group that's having an event or contributing to the quality of life in the community? We'd love to know about it! Email us!

Scarf-Bombing Chases Post-Sandy Chill

By Christina Georgiou


Scarves "bombed"around the West Ward
 blow in the breeze  on Saturday.
The colorful, warm, wooly neckwarmers
were claimed quickly.
Click on any photo for a better view!

 "Chase the Chill" has held a scarf-bombing event every November for the past several years, but this year, it's timing was especially appropriate.

Led by local knitter and needlearts teacher Susan Huxley, volunteers donate scarves they've handknitted to the cause and then drape them from trees, sign posts and whatever else is handy.

The scarves have tags inviting lucky finders to take them if they like them.

Last year, Chase the Chill distributed more than 200 colorful bits of wooly warmth in the Downtown district.

This year, however, there were so many--509 to be exact--that the group festooned both a section of the West Ward near the Easton Area Community Center and Centre Square.

"I can't believe the jump from last year. I couldn't believe it. I kept recounting," Huxley said. "People really stepped up to the plate."

 Charity knitting groups, such as the Palmer-based "So Other May Be Warm" who contributed 56 neck-warming items, as well as individual knitters contribute to the cause.

Angela Boehm, of Bethlehem, was a large part of the increase in donations,  contributing 163 items this year.

Boehm said she enjoys knitting nightly, along with a cup of coffee and watching soap operas as a way to unwind at the end of the day, and contributing to Chase the Chill is a perfect outlet for her hobby.

"I was doing one or two a day at one point," she said.

Other contributors that enjoy knitting and crocheting said they too enjoy their hobby for similar reasons.

"I knit every day," said Grace Hochella, of Allentown.

Hochella said she's enjoyed the crafts since learning it when she was 11, but became a "serious knitter" after her father passed away a couple of years ago.

"I find knitting healing and unifying," she said. "It's scientific. It uses both sides of the brain. It's a wonderful healing art."


A passerby claims a scarf.

 Finders of the scarves probably agree, for checking back on the sites Chase the Chill "bombed" every one of the colorful labors of love had been claimed--within the hour on Centre Square, and within 2 1/2 in the
West Ward, where the majority of the scarves were distributed.

The decision to bomb the West Ward with scarves came not only because of the greater number of contributions, but also because a large section of the neighborhood had been without power since Monday in the wake of "superstorm" Sandy, leaving most residents without heat  for the week as well.

That situation was rectified a few hours later, not only by the scarves, but when power was finally restored to the neighborhood later in the day.


Easton knitter and knitting teacher Susan Huxley, left, chats
with Angela Boehm amd Grace Hochella



   

Scarf-bombing volunteers caught in the act.



More about “Chase the Chill...the Original” can be found on the project's Facebook page. Anyone can participate, and the group takes donations of yarn as well. Each of the donated items is also photographed and documented on the page.

"So Others May Be Warm" meets regularly at the Palmer branch of the Easton Public Library and donates the fruits of their knitting to a variety of good causes. Information about how to join the group and meeting times is at the bottom of the branch's webpage.