If you follow what’s going on in the craft world, chances are you know about what’s been called yarn bombing, yarn storming, graffiti knitting and/or guerrilla knitting. It’s a crafty way to reclaim city space and make your town, city, village more personable and less drab. It’s so easy to get lost in a sea of concrete and brick and asphalt- Why not liven it up a bit? Crafters around the world are doing just that, covering statues, lightposts, bike rails… bus stops… the bus stop above was adorned in Tel Aviv by the group Savta Connection.

As generally happens in life, some people love it. Some people hate it. Either way you crack it, it opens up a dialogue about engaging with public space. For decades artists and kids hellbent on vandalism alike have used public space and walls as their canvas. Some of it is great, others not so much.

But what urban knitting does that street art doesn’t is bring the tactile into the equation. You can touch it and feel the different types of yarn involved. It’s taking street art just one step further. With this in mind, I was ecstatic when recently I discovered the project in the video below called “Sniff.” First of all, go watch the video… then keep reading.

Okay, now that you’ve seen the video, you know what I mean about it also taking street art a step further. And this is just the beginning! After you calm down again after the awesomeness above, maybe have a cup of tea or something, you may have some questions like…

1. Just what is going on with that dog? You can see how the did it over here.
2. Who made this? Karolina Sobecka.
3. What else has she done? By clicking over to her website you can see other projects listed on the left-hand side of the screen. I suggest Wildlife, which will both make you feel like you’re in a Disney movie and ask yourself, “What animal do I want running beside me as I drive to the grocery store?”

Or you may have totally different questions or ideas entirely, in which case I urge you to explore them. Search for solutions to the question. Brainstorm the execution of that idea. Just let your mind wander where it will, and try checking out other urban art projects like this one:

Also recommended, Sarah Corbett’s (of Craftivist Collective) essay My Right to be a Craftivist.

The post above the line was originally posted on the now defunct collaborative blog Make and Meaning on January 4, 2010.

Photo from Flickr user serenity_now.

Years ago, when I had first returned to North Carolina, I kept hearing about the amazing works of local artist Sherri Wood. I ate lunch under one of the installations of the 1200 hats she made with women in the North Carolina Correctional Institute for Women. I read about her Tattoo Baby Doll Project. I read Issue #5 of Knit Knit with the photo of her pieces Comfort Room and L.A.T.C.H. on the cover. I eagerly followed the progress of her Mantra Trailer. I interviewed her about her Passage Quilts for my book, Knitting for Good!

So, I was happy to hear that Sherri has started a blog over at Daintytime.net and in one of her first posts, part of a greater mending tutorial, talks about the “unpredictable geography of mending.” Also of note, her Modern Mood Quilt Craft Along tutorial Welcome to blogland, Sherri!

Crafty Links:
*Crochet Ombre Necklace tutorial (via Cut Out + Keep)
*The Great Owl Crochet Along at (Itsy Bitsy Spider Crochet)
*Electricity in Bhutan help women weavers earn extra money
*The emotional knitted sculpture of Johan Ku (via Ecoterre.com article)
*Stethoscope Cozy Crochet Pattern!!!! (via Meet Me In The Day Room)

[Photos above from Sherri Wood's Flickr account of Passage Quilts.]

What’s happening? I disappeared… But finally got internet in my apartment for the first time in over a month. Network “Waterloo” (named after one of my favorite ABBA songs) is up and running!

One of the coolest things about writing about craftivism has to be all the amazing events/projects/people I get introduced to! Faythe Levine sent me an email about an amazing project that her friend Tanya Aguiniga is currently doing. Tanya is trying raise $7,000 for this project, and could use your donation if you have some change to spare for crafters helping crafters. Here’s a little excerpt from the project’s website about what Tanya is doing with this new project called Artists Helping Artisans.

I am a furniture designer/maker looking to start a brand new artist collaborative, Artists Helping Artisans (AHA), which will focus on helping artisans in marginalized communities whose craft traditions or livelihoods are at risk. With the current economic crisis, and tourism dwindling, many of these craft communities are in dire need of help.

A large scale exhibition of my work is scheduled for Sept 2010 at MACLA, Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latinoamericana, in San Jose during the Zero1 Biennial. MACLA has allowed me to use the exhibition to showcase (and kickstart) collaborative works with artisans—and for the first time in my art career, allow me to become a catalyst for social change through the creation of craft.

I have wanted to create collaborative works with artisans I met in Chiapas and Oaxaca since a trip in 2007. For the MACLA exhibition, I plan to spend June 2010 in the highlands of Chiapas working with Mayan women to collaboratively create new functional art pieces. Chiapas is a place whose struggle for indigenous cultural preservation has led to one of the richest artisanal traditions in Mexico, and for the same reasons, is one of the most economically repressed regions.

Also… Have you heard about the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs happening in Seattle August 13-15? Along with an awesome schedule of events, they’ve also assembled a fantastic list of speakers! Although I’m biased, I think Susan Beal’s Craft Activism discussion will be brilliant!


[Photos above of Chiapas, where Tanya is proposing to do this work, from Flickr users skino and magnusvk, respectively.]

Right about now you are probably wondering what is The Papered Parlour?

About a year ago, I got a lovely email from Claire Heafford, a fellow Goldsmiths alum, telling me about a new space she was opening up in London. From her email:

The space is called The Papered Parlour and it’s now home to artists, designers, musicians and theatre practitioners. The venue comprises a cafe, an artist’s studio and a gallery space where we will be running craft classes, hosting performances and putting on exhibitions. It’s all based on a cooperative sharing model of artistic practice, and it’s deliberately located away from East London in attempt to dialogue with a non arts audience.

A few days ago, I got an email from Claire saying how The Papered Parlour currently has a 1 in 3 chance of winning £50,000 via The Barclay’s Business ‘Take One Small Step’ Competition! And how do they win this money!? Through votes, of course! Through one little clicky click over here in fact.

Not up for voting?* I have some links for you here:
-“The Brazilian Etsy”
-Knitting in public hits Charlotte, North Carolina (my hometown!)
-Kentucky yoga center moonlights as art studio for the disabled community
-Tsia quite rightly recommended this Reggie Watts video over at Supernaturale
-Photos from Australia, knitting for the war (Thank you, State Library of S Wales!
-The Papered Parlour video for the competition (last attempt to get your vote)

*Really?

Last night, I went to an event put on by DC’s “?Transformer Gallery, a panel on sustainability with Nancy Bannon, Bruce Dwyer, Ian MacKaye, Eve Mosher, Abigail Satinsky with moderator Jeff Hnilicka.

While the gallery has nothing to do with the cartoon pic above, I just wanted to reiterate the possibilities and growth that are embedded to the very word “transform.” And how it’s important to keep transforming in your work, because as we all know thanks to a giant toy company that shall not be named, there’s always “more than meets the eye.”*

This weekend Transformer has scheduled a lovely list of events that I wish I was able to go to! Just in case you’re able, I’ve copied and pasted the schedule (text directly from the Transformer site, I added individual links to provide more information) below.

Sustainability Lab back in action!

June 2 – 12, 2010

On June 2, Brooklyn-based cultural worker Jeff Hnilicka returns to DC to continue Sustainability Lab at Transformer. Having just participated in Empire Builder – an epic train voyage to Portland, OR during which over 30 participants created guerilla public programs for fellow travelers while en route to Open Engagement, an initiative of Portland State University’s Art and Social Practice MFA concentration – Jeff & Transformer invite DC audiences to participate in several new, interactive programs that continue to investigate emerging models of cultural production, the sustainability of these models, and their impact within communities.

Upcoming events include:
*Friday, June 4, 5 – 7pm: “Seeding the City” with Brooklyn-based artist Eve Mosher at Fathom Creative
*Saturday, June 5, 1 – 7pm: “A Day of Dischord,” featuring performances by Andalusians and the Aquarium
*Friday, June 11, 1, 3, & 5pm: “10 Dance Moves for Washington, DC – a dance lesson and travelogue”, and
*Saturday, June 12, 1 – 6pm: “Home Grown” – an afternoon of conversation, local foods, music, and art with Jeff Hnilicka and DC-based photographer Cynthia Connolly
Please click here to download a full schedule of Sustainability Lab activities in June.

All events are free, some require advance registration.

EXHIBITION HOURS: Wednesday – Saturday, 1 – 7pm & by appointment

So excited to see such great work being done in my new hometown! Now off to find work so I can stay here… the not sane part about moving to a big city. My grandmother still thinks I should join the Army. For real.

*Sorry I couldn’t help it. It had to be done.