Crocheting Away My Pain
Putin became the 21st century Hitler. I call him Putler.
I am an American. However, I was born in Moscow and lived my youth in the Soviet Union. I speak Russian, and I have friends in both Russia and Ukraine. The war in Ukraine is the biggest tragedy of my life. When Putler invaded Ukraine, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to pick up a rifle and go to Ukraine to fight, but then I remembered my CPAP machine and the distilled water it needs, and I didn’t go. Instead, I ended up watching the news non-stop. Then I started sending money to different organizations supporting Ukraine.
However, I am a mathematician, so I tried to figure out whether I could help Ukraine by doing math. At first, I posted math problems from Ukraine Olympiads. Then I started discussing what we could do with my PRIMES colleges. The result was a new program, Yulia’s Dream, in honor of Yulia Zdanovska, a 21-year-old brilliant young Ukrainian mathematician killed by a Russian-fired missile. Yulia’s Dream is a free enrichment program for high-school students from Ukraine who love math.
All these activities didn’t help me with the pain. So I started crocheting. I bought yarn in the colors of the Ukrainian flag and crocheted a hyperbolic surface of constant curvature. The first picture shows the thingy from above. The second one is there for you to estimate its size: this is the biggest crocheting project I have ever finished.
![Hyperbolic surface in colors of Ukrainian flag](http://tanyakhovanova.com/BlogStuff/Geometry/UKFlag3rows2Sm.jpg)
![Hyperbolic surface in colors of Ukrainian flag on my head](http://tanyakhovanova.com/BlogStuff/Geometry/UKFlag3rowsMe3Sm.jpg)
For a free Ukraine! Let democracies win over dictatorships!
Share:
![Share on Facebook Facebook](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/facebook.png)
![Share on Twitter twitter](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/twitter.png)
![Share on Reddit reddit](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/reddit.png)
![Pin it with Pinterest pinterest](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/pinterest.png)
![Share on Linkedin linkedin](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/linkedin.png)
![Share by email mail](https://blog.tanyakhovanova.com/wp-content/plugins/social-media-feather/synved-social/image/social/regular/48x48/mail.png)
Olga Kravchenko:
Tanya, very similar thoughts and feelings.
21 April 2022, 5:53 amGreat idea on colors!
Loretta Kelley:
Thanks for doing this Tanya and for sharing your thoughts with us. I don’t crochet but I do knit and you’ve inspired me for my next project.
25 April 2022, 8:58 pm