Stitches West

SK1 and I made the migration to the knitting whirlwind of Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA. Despite harrowing wintery conditions and near-nonstop precipitation, we immersed ourselves in fiber splendor. The workshops were great and some of the food was fine, but we did not want to leave without at least a little bit of tagging activity.

Since the Hilton Santa Clara (across the street from the Conference Center) was suffering from Anonymous-Convention-Hotel-Decorating Syndrome, we concentrated our efforts there. It seemed only appropriate to decorate with the products of our workshops.

Our final tag was left as a cheerful message for a fellow yarn bomber.

Knit 4 Peace! SK2

Our 1st Anniversary...........awww......

SK2 and I headed out on a drizzly MLK day in January 2010 to drop our first joint bombs. We were so nervous! A very successful outing that kept us motivated and the creative juices flowing. In terms of K4Ps, it seems to me like it's been a long year. Perhaps because we lived our lives in between bombs and upon reflection I can read between posts what you cannot.

Technically, these were not the first bombs; they came after my initial tag of a visitor's car to my neighbor's house one evening and SK2's likewise tag to a van in the parking garage where she works. Don't forget SK2's incredibly creative Snakey Wire Cozy covering cables for her computer!

And then it was time to seriously test the waters and we haven't looked back. Ideas have come and gone, but we're still persevering when we have the time and energy and opportunities. OP1 came into the picture and added his voice to the chorus, not only here, but internationally! As well as KS4 who put the idea into my head of using not only yarn in the knitted pieces, but creating a bit of mixed media, an idea that OP1 brought along as well. I feel like a rechargeable battery when I'm with any of my partners in "art-crime"! And with experience I've gotten bolder, no longer looking over my shoulder to see if the knitting police were after me, but realizing that you can do things in broad daylight that might catch people's attention, but not their suspicions. Heartening in a world where suspicion and distrust can seem rampant.

I wasn't going to let today go by without acknowledging this anniversary. I'd had my eye on some drain pipes near my place of employment. Unlike MLK day last year, today dawned warm and sunny (if you consider 10 degrees over the freezing mark on the thermometer as warm, which I definitely did at 7 a.m.!) There are 2 other pipes which may or may not get "enhanced", but for now, getting this particular one up, which is so different from past tags, was my goal. A few quick pictures and still time to head to the bagel shop for a soy latte and "the works" bagel with cream cheese. YUM!

From my mother's and mother-in-law's gifts from years ago (two rather large boxes of buttons, pins, tie and ear clips) I found a combination that made for an interesting face. It makes me laugh, plus the ruffle on top forming a shaggy head of hair says, "Beaker" (as in the Muppets). Until the piece was done, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. That's always how my art is - I definitely don't have an emotional reaction until the piece is finished, and again when it's been planted, pictures taken, blog posted. Then I feel like running around like a 5 year old saying, "MOM! Watch THIS!"

Knit 4 peace!
SK1

Here we go again

I returned to a job at my local yarn store a few weeks ago. One of the first things I did was to resurrect the "VOTE" sign I'd created for our primary in June. I'm happy to say the new locale for the VOTE sign is in a high traffic area and still it remains after 3 weeks. Not only not removed by persons unknown, but it has also survived heavy winds and rain. Thank goodness for acrylic!

Please vote. Lot's on the line and we need thoughtful citizens to arise to the call. Wednesday morning the sign will be gone to be pulled out again in another 2 years. Well, if it lasts that long! Being the afore-mentioned acrylic, my guess is the mice in the garage will turn up their cute little noses at it.

Think Peace and think charitably towards others as you cast your votes. Are you the bottom line, or is it your neighbor who might be a little less fortunate than you are?

A whole summer gone by, with some diversion to Artown, but not much other knitfiti action. In fact, Mr. Moose is GONE! I'll have to get the skinny on where he might live these days. Hope he's keeping himself warm....and the knitted claws under the "Beware of Bear" sign gets tweeked a lot which is really fun for me to see!

Knit 4 Peace, Vote 4 Reasonableness.

Remains to be seen

There's a comment on our July post inquiring as to whether or not our Artown pieces were still up. The commenter is an out-of-towner who was visiting Our Fair City, saw our work, took some pictures and put one up on her blog. What a treat for us to stumble on it at Binding Off !

I hadn't been back to the park since OP & I spruced it up until yesterday. I was delighted to find that, although the light pole bomb was a bit worse for the wear (it was collapsed and starting to unravel) it was still up and as I approached I noticed a couple stroll by and the woman pointing out to her partner the knitted sleeve. This is what it looked like at that moment,


and then after I did my best to fix it back up.

Normally I would have had some yarn with me to make repairs, but alas, I'd left it at home.





The tree is also still decorated, with a feathery addition!

Our town is Artown

In honor of Artown for the entire month of July, OP1 came up with a plan involving knitted panels and sewn-on i-cord, replicating the logo for Artown. The initial idea was to wrap a tree and write "art" on one side and "town" on the other, or to wrap 2 trees with "art" on one and "town" on the other. The plan evolved to use the logo instead (see the link to Artown in the sidebar).

OP & I found a rare parking spot near the park. A warm Friday afternoon and we looked over our options. I don't know about OP,(although I do suspect OP thinks along these lines too because he has come up with some wonderfully creative ideas, such as this one!) but I am always looking for a post or tree or fence or bench or statuary that needs a little je ne sais quoi.

And the winners are: pic #1, a tree by the fence above the river and across from outside seating for some cafe's. It is graced with 3 bombs (well, 2 bombs and a "plant" - a vine with peace leaves and mixed media as it also involves pine cones) - see pic #4 as well. [Click on any pic to enlarge and you can see greater detail.]

Pics #2 & #3 was a light pole in the center of the park, close to the amphitheater. We did this tag first, with people strolling all around and not one person challenging what we were up to. Hiding in plain sight the one question we got was, "Wow - did you knit that?"







We're really hoping all of these will last through Artown and beyond. If not, well, there's always Artown that comes our way in December!

Happy 4th of July, everyone! Keep smiling!

Primary Day

Lots of upheaval in many states tomorrow, June 8th. I'm one of those people who will tell you that if you don't vote, you're civically irresponsible. Seriously.

So I created a tag and bombed alongside a busy street to remind everyone to exercise their civic duty.

And to all you voters out there - please vote for a candidate who will work for you towards a more peaceful world.

Knitting for Peace Always, and with Intention, thanks to wise words from OP -

SK1

Mother's Day Hit

I got cozy with this telephone pole alongside the well-traveled bike and hike trail by my house. On my way back down from checking on the bench tag, I saw a bicyclist looking at it, they go too fast for the most part to notice.

KS4