Archive for the ‘Submission Call’ Category

A Flutter of Butterflies

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

If you are driving around the Fraser Valley (that’s in British Columbia, Canada),  you may notice a flutter of woolen butterflies.

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Danielle of DeeDee’s Devotions, has been adorning trees with little creatures. She says:

I decided to do crocheted butterflies so I dug around online and found a simple pattern. I swear all I do is make butterflies these days. I think by the time I finish yarnbombing butterflies I’ll have made about 110. I put up about 50 today.

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Props to Danielle’s dad who also has helped her install the butterflies. This picture makes me smile:

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Dad and I also went to Central Community Park and pinned up a bunch of butteflies there. Dad was surprised by a lady who shouted “Is that Yarn graffiti?!” ha ha! He said it was so she hopped over the fence and grabbed one of the butteflies. Apparently she heard about yarn bombing on the CBC and by the way she jumped and waved at me (Dad told her I was the one who crocheted them all), she was pretty darned excited about it!

In other news,

KnittaPlease has posted a submission call for knit graffiti photographs for a new book that will be coming out next year (found via the Subversive Yarn Network)

There will be a Yarn Bombing Stitch and Bitch event at the Davie Street Book Warehouse this thursday evening. Come one, come all!

On twitter? Don’t forget to use #yarnbombing so that we can find your knit graffiti posts!

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Stitches on the Bridge

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Volunteers attaching knitting to Skye bridge

Photograph from the BBC

I’ve been waiting to see how the Stitches on the Bridge project would turn out for months now.

Participants were called to knit or crochet items to be  joined and mounted on the bridge in order to create a colourful display of knitted pieces from around the world. All pieces will eventually be sold to raise money for charity.

A short news piece with the taggers in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMRG_QieMbw

And in Scots Gaelic with better photos and interviews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymxVvPinxjc

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Workshop at The Reach

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

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Artist Barb Pearson. Photo courtesy of the Abbynews.com Photographer: John Van Putten.

We will be part of a workshop with artist Barb Pearson at The Reach Art Gallery in Abbotsford on May 31st from 1 to 3pm. We hope to see some of you there!

If you don’t live in British Columbia, or Canada for that matter – there are two great projects that you can contribute to this month:

PS122 Gallery in New York City is running YARN THEORY

As part of the upcoming Yarn Theory exhibit at the PS122 Galleryin New York City’s East Village, we’re inviting knitters and crocheters of all stripes to tag the big old wrought-iron fence that rings the building with knitted or crocheted “knit-fiti”.The building has been scaffolding-ed up for years, and it needs beautiful crafty people like you to pretty it up. Please join us in festooning PS122 with yarn! The fence-decorating has already begun. We hope to have a lot more done before the show opens on April 25. In order to do this, we need you to add to our project! We have supplies, generously supplied by Lion Brand Yarns. All are welcome to participate any time between now and May 17, when the show closes. If you’d like to join the fun, please contact organizer Karen Eubel, keubel at hotmail.com, or DanielYuhas, daniel.yuhas at gmail.com

And, the ever lovely women of Art Yarn (UK) have started a new project called Knitted Nature.

Artyarn invite you to take part in the Knitted Nature project, an installation work at Touchstones Rochdale Art Gallery, for UK DIY. We are now collecting knitted and crocheted leaves and flowers from around the world which will contribute to a hanging installation to be displayed in the En Plan Air exhibition from June 2009. You can use any leaf or flower pattern you desire, any colour
and texture you wish. Make sure you include your name when you send them to us as you will be credited alongside the installation.

Now there, no excuses – get thee to the hooks and needles!

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Soundtrack

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

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DJ photo courtesy of Steve Rhodes.

Just when I think I’ve seen (heard?) everything, I find this. Yarn Bombing has a soundtrack – the ‘finest deep minimal techno mix’ presented by DEEP MIX MOSCOW RADIO.

In other news, Magda Sayeg (recently interviewed here by the Gothamist) is at it again with another community project in Brooklyn, NY that you can contribute to:

69 Meters: A Public-Art Project on Montague Street

The Montague Street BID and artist Magda Sayeg, of Knitta Please, will be installing knitted artworks on all 69 parking-meter poles along a three-block stretch of Montague Street, the main shopping district in Brooklyn Heights. Community members are invited to participate. If you can knit, you can contribute art! (And if you’re a non-knitter, you can help install the artwork.)

Magda Sayeg’s Instructions for Community Knitters

Each piece is a rectangle of knitted material. (Then we wrap it around the pole and attach it with tiny clear zip-ties.) Instructions are as follows:

Pattern
Since each piece is a simple rectangle, there’s not a detailed pattern. To make the prototype in the photo to the right, here’s what I did:
- used three strands of 4-ply yarn held together
- cast on 10 stitches
- knit 110 rows in stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl the next row)
- bind off loosely, tie in ends (the pieces will be attached to the poles using zip ties, so no need to leave any dangling strands of yarn on your piece)

My finished pieces are about 39 inches long and 6 inches wide (resting). When they’re attached to the pole, they’ll stretch out to 9 inches around, and that will cause them to shrink up to 36 inches high, which is the height of the meter pole.

Needles and Yarn
• US 19 needles
• 4-ply worsted-weight yarn
• acrylic or blend
• green, blue, yellow, and pink only! Pick any shades, in any combination, as long as they’re in those four color families Suggested brands include Red Heart “Super Saver” or Hobby Lobby’s “I Love This Yarn”. Other yarns can be used, but keep in mind that results will vary: for example, Sugar ‘n Cream yarn is much lighter than Red Heart Colors and Designs
• please use darker shades on at least one end – that end will be installed on the bottom of
the pole, where it may get more attention from dogs, etc.
• use any designs or pattern that you like – I love stripes, but do what you like best

Deadlines
• ASAP: Go to www.montagueBID.com, follow the registration link, and let us know how many pieces you can commit to knitting. That’s the only way I’ll know how many pieces I
still need to knit!
• May 5: All pieces must be received at the BID office (address to the right) by May 5th.
• May 13: Installation! More details as we get closer to that date!

Questions?
Contact Chelsea Mauldin at the BID at 718-522-3649 or info@montagueBID.com

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Generating yardage in NYC

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

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Photo courtesy of Wonder Mike</a

Spinners: Robyn Love has an invitation for you to join her in New York City:

Spindle 7 – Guerilla spinning comes to the #7 train! Watch for it – any day, any time!

Spindle 7 is an ongoing performance in which Robyn Love brings her drop spindle on the #7 train during its run in Queens. As she spins wool, she invites other passengers to comment and participate, teaching them how to spin and giving out homemade spindles and fleece along the way. Part counterpoint to the sea of iPods, iPhones and other electronic gadgets on the train, part conversation starter among the diverse communities who use the #7, and 100% fun, Spindle 7 is funded, in part, by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

On Sunday, April 19th from 10:30 am onward, filmmaker Marcia Connolly, will be documenting Spindle 7. Spinners and anyone who wants to learn to spin are welcome to join Robyn on the #7 (the last car). Fill up the train with fiber! Let’s teach people this technology that is almost as old as humankind. Ride between Main Street, Flushing and Times Square and generate some serious yardage.

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Yarn Bombing DIY Flickr Pool

Saturday, January 24th, 2009

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The crafty ladies behind ArtYarn have done it again – they’ve started a Yarn Bombing DIY Flickr pool to collect work from UK artists (though I notice some names from North America too – so it looks like it is evolving into an international project)

Check out the pool – I love this add on to some of Banky’s stencil work by KPdalston:
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Very clever!

If you would like to to join, here is their call for entries www.ukdiycraft.com

The ArtYarn team will be selecting their favorite yarn bombs to appear in print at the UK:DIY exhibition at the Turnpike Gallery, Leigh UK, so the brighter and wackier the better!

These ladies constantly amaze me. A while back I wrote about their call for submissions for a shed jumper (that’s a sweater for a shed). Here is the completed product:

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Photo courtesy of Art Yarn

Art Yarn, we’re awed, humbled, and amazed by your work.

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Last call, knitted lobsters and YouTube

Friday, May 30th, 2008

This is not yarn graffiti related, but still amazing. A friend sent a link to this knitted lobster today. Wow.

Knit graffiti related: a YouTube video (made by RubyMellon) of Aliza from the DIY Baltimore blog. Aliza demonstrates knit tagging and reflects on what knit graffiti means to her.

Last chance: Today is our final day for submissions for patterns for the Yarn Bombing book – so if they aren’t in yet – send them fast (okay, okay – we will probably take a few through the weekend). Mandy and I will be making decisions on the patterns in the next few weeks and be in touch with everyone who sent submissions to us.

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Submission Call

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

Are you a knitter or crochetier? Do you design (or want to design) unusual pieces of street art out of yarn?

If so, you should design a pattern for Yarn Bombing: The Art of Knit Graffiti, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2009.

A DIY guide to the art of yarn graffiti and a history of hand-crafted textile street art, Yarn-Bombing will feature patterns such as street-smart disguises, useful wearable tools like gloves and tool belts, street art such as knit car cozies, bike covers and headlight toques, and outdoor installations such as crochet shawls for leafy trees. The sky’s the limit as long as it’s knit or crocheted! Projects should be fun, colorful and a little bit wacky.

Designers are asked to submit a sketch and detailed description of their project, along with a brief bio, by the submission deadline of May 30, 2008.

There is no entry fee, and you are encouraged to submit multiple designs. Please include your complete contact information (email and mailing addresses) with your submission. Hard-copy submissions will not be returned unless an SASE or International Mailing Coupon is provided.

Digital sketches (under 2MB) can be emailed to mandy@yarnbombing.com

You will be notified via email if your design has been selected for publication. Selected designs will need to be knit or crocheted by their designers over the months of June-August, and mailed to the publisher for photography and editing by August 30, 2008. Patterns and any accompanying diagrams must be mailed to mandy@yarnbombing.com by the same date. Designers who are chosen to participate will receive the yarn necessary to complete their project, an honorarium, a free copy of the book, and credit for taking part in the book.

For more information, please visit Arsenal Pulp Press (arsenalpulp.com) or join the Yarn Bombing mailing list (leanne@yarnbombing.com).

If you have any questions or concerns regarding submissions, please contact Leanne (leanne@yarnbombing.com) or Mandy (mandy@yarnbombing.com)

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