“My goal is to make this an American tradition.” (w/ Jayna Zweiman, founder of the Welcome Blanket Project, co-founder of the Pussyhat Project)

Looking for a way to build community and make political change using your artistic skills or an interest in crafting? 
Jayna Zweiman was an architect recovering from a life-changing head and neck injury when she found the knitting and crocheting community. It became a critical part of her recovery, and, ultimately, activism. Since then she’s founded multiple projects focused on giving crafters a political community that helps educate people through art and provides real, tangible resources to people in need. After co-founding the Pussyhat Project in 2016, she created the Welcome Blanket Project, which gives knitters the chance to create blankets that are turned into educational exhibits, then sent to refugees and asylum seekers through a network of organizations serving the immigrant community. Jayne talks about the logistics of starting and managing a project of this scope, the challenges of making that project sustainable in the long-run, and the joys of creating political communities that welcome introverts.

Episode Links:

Welcome Blanket Project: Website | Facebook | Instagram

Jayna Zweiman: Website

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Credits:
To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat.

Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.