Back in August I took part in a yarn storming event -- similar to 'yarn bombing' but with a more peaceful name chosen by the organizers. The event felt more like a public art installation than a storm-the-neighborhood-with-graffiti-in-the-night sort of thing. Not that that's bad :) this was just sort of different.
The event took place in broad daylight, was approved and supported by the city of Somerville, and even covered by the local community access station. Volunteers from all over the community donated their knit pieces and came together on a Saturday morning to put up the entire work. We covered fences, benches, trees, and lampposts with hand knit panels. It was a lot of fun!
I'd never taken part in yarn storming / bombing before. Although I've been impressed with some installations I'd seen by Magda Sayeg of knitta, please and projects by J. Meredith Warner of knittingcommunity.org, I have preferred to keep my woolly fibers for sweaters, blankets, and wearable accessories. But this time, turning knitting into public art was really cool. I knit a few panels to fit one of the trees in the park (in the first photo) as well as numerous fence tip posts from scrap yarn I had lying around. Many more were made by knitters in the community, young and old. They all had little tags that explained the project in case people wanted to take a bit of the art home with them.
The storming was part of a much bigger effort called the Wrap Around Project. Created through the Nave Gallery as an annual sale of knitted goods to benefit the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC), the Wrap Around Project has grown into a yearlong campaign to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in the area. "Somerville's homeless population is comprised of elders, single working adults, disabled individuals, and many families with children from newborns to teenagers. The typical homeless family that SHC serves is a mother with two children.... In 2011 alone, the Somerville Homeless Coalition prevented 225 individuals from becoming homeless through their case management and housing program services. 86 of these individuals were children. Additionally, through programming like Project SOUP, 1,400 people had access to food." (navegallery.org)
Boston area folks: If you have items you would like to donate to the 5th Annual Wrap Around Sale to benefit the Somerville Homeless Coalition (SHC), the Nave Gallery is seeking knitted, crocheted, and sewed donations of scarves, gloves, hats, bags, blankets, decorative pieces, etc. Donations can be dropped off from October 27th-Nov 10th at: Nave Gallery, 155 Powderhouse Blvd., Somerville, MA; Blue Cloud Gallery, 713 Broadway Ave., Somerville, MA; Magpie, 416 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA; Mind’s Eye Yarns, 22 White St., Cambridge, MA. Please include your name so that we can thank you, and a list the materials used (e.g. wool, cotton, acylic, etc.).
Or, come do some shopping! Sale Dates and Hours:
Saturday/Sunday, November 10-11, 1-5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, November 17-18, 1-5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, December 1-2, 1-5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, December 8-9, 1-5 pm
Saturday/Sunday, December 15-16, 1-5 pm
Also, a Cupcake Reception will follow:
Saturday, November 17th, 1-5 pm
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