Posts Tagged ‘Vancouver’

Blossoms abound

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Photo by Connie Prain

Keep sending in the blossoms! Mandy and I are really excited about the contributions that we have received from makers near and far for our cherry tree project.  (To find out more about the project, visit the Historic Joy Kogawa House website). Every time we open a package of blossoms, we marvel at how unique and special each flower looks. Our contributors have ranged in age from nine to seventy, and it has been such an honour to see so many people contribute to a cause that I think is so worthy. At last count, we had several hundred blossoms, and we think that the tree is going to look beautiful!

We have decided to have one more cherry blossom knit-in/yarn bombing talk here in Vancouver. The event will be held at Vancouver City Hall on Monday, February 28th from 7 pm – 9 pm. Needles and yarn will be provided and we’ll be showing our favourite images of yarn bombing.

Here are the official details:

Knitters to Take Over City Council Chambers

Yarn Bombing Event to Raise Awareness for Historic Joy Kogawa House

When: Monday, February 28, 7 to 9 pm

Where: Council Chambers, Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver

You are invited to come and knit or crochet pink blossoms for the Joy Kogawa cherry tree. Meet knit-graffiti  artists Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain, authors of Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, and help them create an art phenomenon at one of Vancouver’s favourite literary landmarks: Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 West 64th Avenue. Blossoms will be sewn onto the tree on Sunday, March 6, 2 to 3:30pm, and will be in place throughout the month of march. Drop by to help or just to watch the magic happen!

If you are local, we hope to see you on the 28th or on March 6th at the house when we decorate the tree! Rumor has it that some well known Canadian fiction writers will be there to assist us with the decoration.

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Love Not Bombs

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Lovers Lane by the Knitorious M.E.G.

Image provided by The Knitorious M.E.G. with permission.

Every street should be a lover’s lane – a Valentine’s Day knitted wish from the The Knitorious M.E.G in Southeastern Virginia, USA.

Image provided by The Knitorious M.E.G. with permission.

Melissa, a new yarn bomber, also got up around her town with some fuzzy love notes. She says:

‘I’m in a small town and today I went yarn bombing and did quite a few. The first photo was done at an elementary school. This one I was a bit concerned about, it’s on a busy road and halfway through the second heart my old teacher pulled in across the street and started eyeing me up. Everything was okay and I snapped a pic. So then I headed downtown and began hanging up little crocheted hearts anywhere they would go. I hung them around the courthouse, banks, stores, ext.  ‘…So I got some weird looks but all in all my bombing experience wasn’t a bad one…’

In addition to the hearts, Melissa also made some hats. She says that this bombing experience won’t be her last.

Get out your needles and hooks and knit something warm for a loved one – whether they be a friend, lover, relative, kid, pet, or your favorite inanimate object. Wishing you a day full of cinnamon hearts, good cheer, and very few dropped stitches.

Like Melissa’s heart garland? Design Sponge online featured a free pattern for a similar garland last month. This could be a quick and easy way to brighten up somebody’s Valentine Day. Choose someone who might not easily embrace V-Day and spread some handmade goodness.

Valentine’s Day Knit-In in Vancouver

For our February 14th, Mandy and I will be knitting and crocheting more cherry blossoms for Historic Joy Kogawa House with young writing students at Christianne’s Lyceum here in Vancouver.  If you have a young crafter aged nine or up, send them to knit with us – there’s still room in the workshops that run between 9-12 pm and 1-4 pm.


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Canadian graffiti

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

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Photo courtesy of Knit Girl

A little bit of East Van Pride. I remember a friend once who coveted a silver necklace charm that said “I Heart East Van” on a cross for years. This piece totally reminds me of this. I’m glad that KnitGirl is back to tagging, and putting the political into purling.

Closer to my home in the downtown core, a bunch of people are dressing tree stumps along the Granville Strip. These stumps were once large trees, that were cut down in a day to make way for rapid transit. The centre of our city hasn’t looked the same since.

Check out their work at the Tree Cozy Project. I like the sentimental look and somewhat spooky nature of these pieces.

It appears that these pieces are mostly machine made garments, with a bit of handspun wool, felting and ribbon adornment, but I look forward to chatting with these makers and investigating their materials further.

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Posted in installation, KnitGirl, Taggers | 4 Comments »