I've never seen a yarn bombing ........ well, not until I visited Salt Spring Island this weekend on a knitting retreat.
Some amazingly creative knitters, under the cover of darkness no doubt, had decorated a planter in the main square with beautiful knitted tulips and gnomes. A notice ina nearby (decorated) tree informed onlookers of what they were seeing and reassured them that the "offending" graffiti would be removed soon.
We were told about it while shopping for supplies in the amazing Stitches Quilt Shop and trotted down the road for a peek. We weren't disappointed.
Yarn bombing aka knit graffiti has a history rooted in slow activism and a presence since 2005 (possibly earlier too). Knitting itself has been used as a tool to point out how fast-paced life is and that a simple act of handcrafting can instil some peace into the day. It's also a great feminist tool to illustrate how productive and creative women are in their everyday moments.
Although Germain Greer was dismissive of women's textile art (linked here) working with fibre is often an easy and portable craft to carry around during daily life. Readers of portable crafting for the obsessed will know that since discovering circular knitting needles I am rarely without a sock or scarf or whatever when out and about.
Only now I know that I'm being an activist!
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