Yarnbombing

Rapid City Presidents

2010-03-03T05:03:44Z

Article from the Rapid City Journal. This image is for sale on their website.

Becka, of the Textile Center in Minneapolis, MN (which will be doing some yarn bombing of its own this month) sent me an article about a mother and daughter team yarn bombing presidential statues in Rapid City:

Earlier this month, colorful cowls or scarves were draped around the necks of the presidential statues of John Kennedy, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Taft, Lyndon Johnson, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and the antique fountain on Sixth Street. John Adams, and George Bush Sr. were bundled up the following week. Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin Roosevelt were dressed in new knitwear during last week’s cold front.

The daughter Joleen Klubek is quoted as saying: “I feel that we’re doing art and helping the homeless people at the same time.”

Read the article in the Rapid City Journal here. Photo gallery of images here.

Furthermore:

More Olympic yarn bombing – the Beautiful pillars at the Squamish Arts Council by Krisztina Egyed – wow!
Eastney - First Yarnbomb by Claire Sambrooke. Nice colours, nice beach.
Amazing knitted tree and The Nature Pillar, a crazy, floral beanstalk, over at the Snail Garden.

W2 writers series

2010-02-24T03:28:40Z

W2 Media Centre

Mandy and I will be giving a brief reading from the Yarn Bombing book at the W2 Writers Series tomorrow night:

Date: Wednesday February 24th
Location: W2 Culture + Media House 112 West Hastings Street across from the Woodwards Building.

Doors open at 6:30
First Reader 710ish
Hosted by Sean Cranbury & Hal Wake

Program:

Opening Remarks: Sean Cranbury

Introducing Honoured Special Guest Michael Nichol Yahgulanaas who will showcase a video/interactive discussion about his work.

From there we will go to a streamlined line-up of 5-7 minute readings from our writers including two breaks. Like this:

Rhonda Waterfall
Weldon Hunter
kc dyer

Break

Steven Galloway
Leilah Nadir
Alex Leslie
Caroline Adderson

Break

Leanne Prain & Mandy Moore aka The Yarn Bombers
McKinley M Hellenes
Timothy Taylor
Brad Cran

Here’s a video about the series: http://realvancouverwriters.com/2010/02/19/cool-video-about-w2-real-vancouver-writers-series/

Plus, there will be prizes, a cash bar, and great art and photography on the walls.

Wool on wheels

2010-02-19T06:27:15Z

(Mitten photo courtesy of Lady Ducayne) Machine knit Vancouver 2010 mittens are worn by lots of folks, including dinosaurs (why is this image not licensed under Creative Commons? I need it).

Oh yeah, did we mention that we’re living in the middle of an Olympic city? In addition to some knitting controversy, the Olympics have brought many transportation changes – Vancouver has a new underground train, we have a temporary street car, and many streets have been shut down to accommodate pedestrians only. One of the strangest additions to these foot-friendly streets are the pedicabs that seem to have popped up overnight. The crowds are so thick, I honestly can’t see how anyone can cycle through them. Just as one would expect of a city filled with Olympic sponsors, our pedicabs are adorned with corporate advertisements and not much else.

Our transportation needs some yarn. Take a look at what Carol Hummel has been decorating in Nepal:

She says:

When the rickshaw driver walked up and saw me “bombing” his rickshaw, he stood there as if it was like any other normal event of the day… when I finished, he stood back, looked it over, approved it and then rode away on his bicycle rickshaw… As he pedaled away the yarn blended into the colorful surroundings as if it was just another patch of the Nepali fabric of (very colorful) life… And then another bicycle rickshaw pulled up and gestured me to do his rickshaw, too!

Beautiful. Vancouver needs to bring out the hand-knitting (and crocheting). Who is with me?

The Lady Bomb

2010-02-05T05:20:48Z

The Olympics comes to Vancouver. Our city is awash in corporate advertising, tourists, scary black vehicles, athletes…and yarn!

Oriana sends in some images of her installation ‘Old Lady Bomb’:

She says, “My first tag was the old lady statue just outside Stanley Park, at Denman and Cordova. Sorry for the horrendous quality of the photos (camera phone), but it made me feel special. Thank you for bringing this into my life!”

This statues often sits with flowers, picked from the Stanley Park flowerbeds, in her arms but this is the first time that I’ve seen someone make it look winter-chic. Way to go, Oriana!

Woo-tastic

2010-02-01T03:39:02Z

I was running errands with my partner Jeff this afternoon, and we walked pas the Davie Street Village Garden (home of Jessica Glesby’s knitted wall)… I looked up, and suddenly it was raining cats and dogs…literally….

A delightful parade of little cats and dogs encased in crocheted raindrops.

The handiwork seems to be by WooWork. Howie – you are a master of amigurumi and yarn bombing cuteness! In a city where it rains so hard, your work is a delight. It definitely made my day and that of many others.

Be sure to check out the following via WooWork.com:

The edible cat

The shark fin soup

and, the crocheted spy wear.

“Um, this guy is kind of awesome,” said Jeff. Yep, I agree. Howie, we can’t wait to see what you get up to during the Olympics!

Inspiration

2010-01-27T07:19:58Z

Photo from Strickbombe (Germany) ‘Do what it says on the label / Einfach die Anleitung folgen Read. Pretty obvious concept. I put this tag up outside a charity secondhand book shop. Grosse Erklärungen erübrigen sich, oder? Ich hab’s vor einem awo-Bücherladen aufgehängt.’

Check out more about this tag at http://strickbombe.blogspot.com/2010/01/read.html. She talks about her favourite knitting books, reading, and knit graffiti.

—————————————————————————————-

A new year is well underway (hello 2010!), and I’ve been seeking out new knitting inspiration – luckily the internet and the world of knitters, crocheters, and blog writers always provide. Here’s the latest round up of yarn graffiti links:

New photos of yarn graffiti at the National Gallery of Australia: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalgalleryofaustralia/page25. (scroll down)
Cute indoor yarn bombing with flowers and pom poms: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sbristow/4293458441
St. Louis represents: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artfinder12-2/4285661744/

Waldorf school image from Ourhub.com. Provided by: Nancy Taylor

Wow! A Waldorf school in Denver created a yarn bombing project with students, and it is a beauty: http://denver.yourhub.com/Denver/Stories/School-News/Story~718191.aspx.
A yarn bomb on Westminster Bridge: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22360009@N07/4284652489/
Nifty slideshow over at the Pattern Project: http://patternproject.tumblr.com/post/344683594/living-in-a-city-that-the-average-temperature-is
Another knitted motorcycle, this one cute and colourful, over at the University of Portsmouth: http://www.flickr.com/photos/create_up/3635734971
If you are looking at attempting knit graffiti for the first time, Instructables has a set of step by step instructions to get you started: http://www.instructables.com/id/Yarn-Bombing. I really love the last photograph of the knitted shopping cart.
And, if you are looking around for silly things to hide about in, I’d suggest that you consider the Skeletoque, aka the Skeleclava (http://www.instructables.com/id/Skeletoque-aka-the-Skeleclava/).

I’m feeling really inspired by the patterns that people have been knitting from the Yarn Bombing book, such as:

Weird and Twisted’s rectangular tags and mushrooms: http://weirdandtwisted.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-yarn-graffiti.html
New Zealand’s Fibre Alive has made tons of tulips and mushrooms for the Greytown Arts Festival and our annual Garden Party at Scarlet Oak Cottage: http://fibrealive.typepad.com/fibre_alive/2010/01/another-year-is-dawning-oremus-hymnal.html
A version of our tree sweater created by the staff of 88 Stitches in Langley, BC: http://www.88stitches.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=113&Itemid=39

I love how that even though the pattern is the same, every knitter brings their own colour choices, tension, and personality to each piece.

Submission Calls

Art Gallery of Peterborough submission call

The Elegant Spider Knitting Circle is going to yarn bomb the Art Gallery of Peterborough and they need your help!

To celebrate the current art exhibit which includes Knitting Sprawl by Yarn Bombing book contributor Robyn Love, The Elegant Spider is calling all knitters and crocheters to create pieces to adorn the pillars outside the gallery (The pillars are two different sizes: 35” and 38”.)

Bring your family and finished pieces to Family Day at the Art Gallery of Peterborough on February 7, 2010 at 1:00pm to have them attached to a pillar and participate in an art exhibit: This will be Peterborough’s first mass public yarn storm. We invite you to add pieces until the end of the exhibit run on March 7th, 2010. To donate yarn for this project or to obtain yarn for your creation, please contact Kate Siena at ksiena@cogeco.ca

firstsite yarn bombing

Image from firesite Centre website.

If you live in the UK, get your yarn bomb on in Essex at the firstsite Centre in Colchester Currently home to an exhibition of the amazing UK Hyperbolic Crochet Crochet Reef, Firstsite is having an event on Saturday, 30 January. Find out more about this workshop and others via their website: http://www.firstsite.uk.net/coral_reef.html (click on the Coral Reef Events PDF in the left hand navigation column).

——————————————————————————————

We’d like to thank the Vancouver Museum for having us at their event last week. We had a great time meeting so many crafters, and catching up with Yarn Bombing contributor KnitGirl! Check out her photos of the event over at Strathcozies: http://strathcozies.blogspot.com/2010/01/diy-night-at-mov.html. I wanted to dive straight into that big pile of yarn.

A Night of Social Crafting

2010-01-18T04:03:33Z

Dolls by Mia Hansen. Image courtesy of the Vancouver Museum.

If you are in the Vancouver area, Mandy and I will be signing books at the Vancouver Museum this coming Thursday, January the 21st. Come see Yarn Bombing contributor Knit Girl give a talk on craftivism as well as many other crafty-related events. From the official press release:

A Night of Social Crafting

Come celebrate the creativity and community of the growing DIY craft, art and design movement in Vancouver.

Generously sponsored by OPUS and Blim, there’ll be materials and workshops in a range of art and craft media from paper to yarn. Workshops (listed below) will begin at 8pm. There will also a mini Got Craft market, along with music, snacks and local brews.

Activities are geared so that everyone can participate – from the craft newbie to seasoned creators.

Blim: button-making and screen printing workshops

Knitgirl: Knitting and Craftivism

Kirsti Wakelin: drawing/ exquisite corpse.

If you’re super-proud of what you make at DIY@MOV, MOV is providing exhibit space so that your creation can be on public display in a museum. Think of the bragging rights!

$15 – Tickets available online or at the door.
MOV Members Free

Happy Holidays!

2010-01-16T22:34:23Z

Mandy and Leanne will be taking some time away from blogging to enjoy the holidays, knit up a storm, and rest up with family. We’ll be back with yarn bombing goodness the first week of January 2010.

In the meantime, we leave you with some random y-bomb links to round out 2009:

Yarn bombing puzzles and charms Christmas shoppers in Ecucha

Art Yarn’s Yarn Forward project grows and grows.

The BYOB crew (Bombing Yarn Over Bend) offers instructions via Cyclocross magazine on how to cozy up your bike.

Tasmanian Renegade Craftivism

New crochet yarn bombing blog: Crochet the Day

Memory through knitting: the Elegant Spider remembers the victims of the Commemorates Victims of the École Polytechnique shootings in Montreal through yarn bombing. Watch the video here.

You have got to love husbands who leap from the car to take photos of yarn bombing! Via Twitchy Fingers.

Macleans Magazine pronounces Yarn Bombing part of the lingo that made 2009. We like to be topical.

We are looking forward to 2010 and lots of new knitting and crochet madness! Happy holidays dear yarn-bombers, stormers, and wool enthusiasts…here is wishing you a warm and wooly season, and fresh new things to cast on in the New Year.

Oh, Montreal!

2009-12-08T06:19:08Z

Introducing the newest member of the Yarn Bombing community, Pixie Knits:

Photo courtesy of the Pixie Knits website.

A grad student in Montreal, she writes “My goal was to reclaim beauty and playfulness within art making and to connect with other marginal knitters in town. It’s still very humble, but I’m hoping to gather a crew to work on larger installations over the Winter.”

If you live or visit Montreal be sure to note that she is looking for playful collaborators.

And, on an unrelated note, Mandy and I will be in Bellingham this coming Wednesday, December 9th at the Whatcom Weavers Guild. We’ll be chatting about yarn bombing – find out more details on the Whatcom blog.

‘Defeat the Sorrow’

2009-12-01T05:40:37Z

Image courtesy of the Paper Button Blog

The days have been dark and long, and I’ve been chewing lots of vitamin D myself, so I was pleased when I came across this fuzzy tree. Kari, a fine arts student at Northern Illinois University, created this luscious work in her 3D Forms and Fibre Class.

In her artist statement, she says:
For my self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), I often resort to my own remedies of eating dark chocolate, swallowing extra Vitamin D pills, and turning up the heater in my home. But instead of focusing on myself, I decided to create a public art piece that displayed to other Northern Illinois University members with “winter blues,” colors to intrigue curiosity and a discovery of triumph over their depression. Therefore, I named this piece “Defeat the Sorrow” to prompt the viewer, even though they may not be aware of it, to forget their sorrows and depression during these shortest lighted days of the year and to accept that there are still bright, encouraging, and colorful objects in their surroundings. With gray and dull images spread throughout the NIU campus like dead grass, bare trees, and departing animals, it is encouraging to see one tree that still bears resemblance of life.

To read more about the work, visit her blog post on the project or read about her other work on her blog The Paper Button: Handmade Items that Hold You Together.