Knitting Nation Phase 1: Knitting During Wartime was part of a public art event by Allison Smith called “The Muster” that took place at Governor’s Island as part of Armory Week in 2005. The event was a curated selection of installations and performances that answered the question: “what are you fighting for?” It was inspired by Civil War reenactments and the crisis of wartime: “A call to arms for art”. Collins’ army of knitters constructed a massive, knit American flag that blanketed the ground. The collaboratively created flag was dirtied, stepped and sat on, and defaced representing Collins’ views on the Iraq War.