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Eve Jacobs Carnahan had a long career as an elections lawyer before her experiences with the American electoral system gave her the idea for something different. In 2018, she started Knit Democracy Together, a project that aims to fuel productive conversations about improving democracy with pairs of needles and wool.

Knitting is an act of love, Carnahan said.

Thursday afternoon, Carnahan and New Hampshire Humanities presented a knit model of the New Hampshire State House in a 50th Celebration & Knit Democracy Together Exhibit Unveiling at the state library. Carnahan created the woolen replica by combining patches and chords knitted by people from all over the state. Over the past several months, she hosted knitting circles in six parts of New Hampshire, inviting community members as well as students in local schools to participate. Carnahan led her guests in knitting while facilitating discussions about preserving and advocating for democratic action.

Dori Hamilton, who knit her square remotely, sourced her own wool from the sheep she used to keep on her farm in Lisbon. Hamilton believes in knitting for a better world.

Her connection to American democracy runs deep: Hamilton was a nurse in the Navy as well as the senior nurse at the White House under the Carter and Reagan administrations. She volunteers for the General Federation of Womens Clubs, for her local farmers market and for the Lisbon Area Historical Society museum. While Hamilton thinks theres plenty of room for democracy to improve, she didnt knit her square for lack of hope.

We all have a say in our government as long as were willing to participate, she said.

Thats the tricky part, though its difficult to get people to attend events like Carnahans if they dont already care about democracy, which means that most of the people involved in the state house reproduction werent exactly branching out.

Michael Haley Goldman, the executive director of New Hampshire Humanities, was candid about this. Hes proud of his organizations partnership with Carnahan.

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Were not only talking about it were actually doing something, he said. But Goldman is well aware that their scope of participants is limited. Everybody in the room on Tuesday was white, and almost everyone was an older woman with a standing interest in fostering democracy. And in knitting.

Theres still a long way to go for us to find out how to get everybody in the same room, Goldman said.

Sophie Levenson can be reached at slevenson@cmonitor.com.

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Knitting together to foster conversations on democracy - Concord Monitor