So every year on Super Bowl Sunday, Morgaine at Carolina Homespun hosts a “Spin For Peace” event. If you’re in the area and not committed to watching football — or looking for a way to be not committed to watching football — it’s a really great event.

As 2011 started, Morgaine asked me to make her a series of special batts for the event, and they’re presently on their way to her. We spent a while talking and thinking about images and symbols representing peace, and we settled on a prayer flag. With their long and storied history rooted in Indian Buddhist sutras, and repurposing battle flags, I wanted to find things that were symbolic and meshed with that for the underlying theme of all the blends. There are traditionally five colours: blue, green, red, white, and yellow. So I needed a theme that tied all of these together with a message of peace.

It was a really meditative process, actually. I thought about it a lot. I listened to music thinking about it (hey, I always listen to music when I’m working on blends, but I was a little more specific this time). What finally settled things for me was my favourite version of a classic, much-covered song. Go ahead, give it a listen. I’ll wait.

So. I made an olive branch, and I took a line from the song, and these became the prayer flag.

Green: Olive Branch (Merino/Tussah Silk/Alpaca 50/25/25)
Blue: How Many Seas (65% Merino / 20% Rayon From Bamboo / 15% Carbonized Rayon from Bamboo)
White: Must The White Dove Sail (50% Organic Merino / 20% Cashmere / 20% Tussah Silk / 10% Carbonized Rayon from Bamboo)
Red: Before She Sleeps (50% Mixed Wools / 30% Alpaca / 20% Rayon from Bamboo)
Yellow: In The Sand (50% Merino / 25% Tussah Silk / 25% Superfine Alpaca)

But of course it wouldn’t be complete if it wasn’t flying together, so there are a dozen special batts that are called Prayer Flag, because there’s a stripe of each of these in there together.

So. They are done, and they are on their way (along with a little something purple called Namaste, because it seems no shipment to Morgaine is ever complete without a little something purple). Go join Morgaine and spin for peace!