Yarn Bomb number 3

We’ve worked hard this term to create a yarn bomb that builds on last term’s theme but is also different. Unsurprisingly, we chose Spring and have been knitting and crocheting flowers, butterflies, garlands and squares. A late arrival to the theme were pom pom chicks who are currently standing guard over the main office.

A very big part of the project is the construction. We walked around with various items trying them out, finding the very best place to fit them in. The teamwork required to install a yarn bomb relies on a keen eye or two, the power of discernment but also, more imporantly a true spirit of adventure. It may be that you are wondering where this spirit finds its outlet but if you’ve ever stepped from chair to chair, trying to find the exact spot where that carefully crocheted butterfly will hand, you’ll know what I mean.

It’s one of the real pleasures of installing a yarn bomb to witness other people’s reactions. I’ve spotted a number of staff and students taking photos, stroking the wool and gently repositioning the odd leaning chick. Because we have hung butterflies and flowers on the ceiling people are looking up and reaching to touch them. A yarn bomb is definitely a hands on experience, from its very beginnings to the finished ‘bomb’.

Yarn bombing

Yarn bomb flower

To Yarn Bomb – Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

Our lunch time knitting sessions have a new focus and we are knitting and crocheting with a view to a departmental yarn bomb. The project has inspired non-knitters to pick up needles and non-knitters and non-crocheters to start making pom poms.

It’s one of life’s small pleasures to see somebody who has always wanted to be knitter discovering the magic that 2 sticks and a ball of wool can create.

Knitting paper chains

In our working lives success is measured in meeting targets, exceeding goals, being innovative and proactive and above all, doing our jobs well. Knitting isn’t all that different except as the holder of the needles you get to be the boss. You set the goals, you choose the pattern (beginner, intermediate, advanced), you choose your wool and then it’s all up to you. Your workforce is comprised of balls of yarn and a needle or two and it’s up to you to make them work.

Not everything will be a success. I have jumpers with one arm longer than the other, hats that are too large for a human head, a sock with no foot in it (that’s the most tricky part) and more Granny Squares that challenge the concept of ‘square’ than I can count. Yet each of these attempts are one step closer to the perfect jumper, hat, sock and square. I can’t say that I’ve mastered all of the above but I am perfectly happy to keep trying to meet my own targets.Our yarn bombing project is a truly collaborative endeavour and the enthusiasm for it seems unstoppable. Watch this space.