The Yarn Bombing Movement

 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204430456268565 

Often article's written on yarn bombing don't have the positive creative spin on it that fibre artists would like them to have. Isn't it all about the fun that this type of art brings to not only the people that create the pieces but to everyone that gets to experience the joy of seeing these tags?

If you'd like to be a part of this event [whether you're a yarn bomber or a spectator], then feel free to get involved.

All you need to do is on June 11 [International Yarn Bombing Day and  Worldwide Knit In Public Day], post an entry on your blog about your yarn bombing journey, and post a link to your blog in this event so everyone can read it.

Some things you can talk about are:
- How you first got into yarn bombing
- What yarn bombing means to you
- Some yarn bombers that inspire you
- What you'd like to see for the future of yarn bombing
- How long you've been yarn bombing and how much you've seen it change in that time
- A particular piece that you were involved with that had special meaning to you

And of course you can get into more controversial things like:
- Fibre artists that tend to think that their work is much better than everyone else's and everyone else is just amature
- People that say it's not environmentally friendly to attach yarn to objects
- People that say we all should be knitting for charity and not for art

I'm sure that you could actually do your post before the day or after the day and that would be fine.

Let's all unite in the fun art of yarn bombing and be supportive of each other's talents. :)

P.S. Feel free to share this event so we can all get involved.

And don't forget - if you're in Melbourne, then come along to this event on June 11:

http://twilighttaggers.blogspot.com/2011/04/international-yarn-bombing-day.html

Call Out For Flowers

Ever wanted to get involved in a large scale yarn bombing project but don't have the time? Or not sure how to crochet? Or don't have much yarn? Then this is for you!

We're putting the call out for flowers to be made to put on our huge lighting frame to be used for the Light Hearts Installation as a part of the Light In Winter festival during the month of June in Melbourne, Australia.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Light-Hearts-Installation/208301252525139

This frame will be covered with yarn bombing and strung up from a tiered structure. Here's a before photo:

 And here's the first progression of the red panels:

The flowers are SUPER DUPER EASY to make and each would take the average person less than five minutes per flower. There is a fantastic youtube "how to" video here: http://youtu.be/XwK4hxUd07s.  You don't have to add the button if you don't have any. We can have them added later if need be.

There are two parts of the frame that need flowers added to it. The first is the top outside of the frame. Excuse my dodgy photos but I wanted to show you an example of where the flowers will go.  See below where I've put the weird red piece. That will be a black piece all the way around and the flowers will be attached to it.

Queue another dodgy photo. Imagine the red piece is a black one with lots of lovely flowers attached and sewn on really neatly and nicely. Oh and FYI, there are 8 red panels [as shown below] and 8 orange panels, hence we need flowers that look good with red and orange.

 The other section of the frame to be covered is the bottom outside part.

And again another dodgy photo, just trying to show you where the black piece and flowers will go.

So here's the challenge. Why not everyone make 5 flowers each? It'll take you less than an hour and suddenly you've greatly contributed to a large scale project. What about getting a team of friends and family around for an hour and having a busy bee where you all make flowers? One hour and you've all helped out tremendously! Of course you can make more than 5 flowers if you'd like.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
- DO NOT attach your "calling card"/tag to your flowers. If you would like to have a tag attached to say you were a part of making the flowers, then please send your tag separately. We will add them to a special spot on the frame as to not take away from the beauty of the flowers.

- You must use the colors chosen by our creative director for the yarn. Suitable colors are reds/oranges/yellows and white. You can use ANY color for the buttons.

- Please send your flowers to:
Bali
1 Gordon Street, Brunswick West VIC 3055, Australia.

THE CATCH??

We need the flowers now!!! It's May 22nd now and the festival is for the month of June but we need to make sure everything is in order now. So get cracking and send in those flowers. There is a chance we can put up the lighting frame at a later date but we really want to get this done ASAP.

YES!!

Yes yes, you can use other flower patterns if you'd like. Knitted or crochet, as long as they're not too big. Go for it!

THE PATTERN:

Some of you have asked for a physical pattern to the flower. I cannot find one that the maker has posted, so I've written up one myself. Please let me know if it doesn't make sense or is incorrect but it's really easier just to watch the video.


5 PETAL CROCHET FLOWER

Materials
8ply or Worsted Weight yarn
4mm crochet hook
1 large holed button

Leave a long starting tail as this will be used to sew on the button.
Petal 1 - Ch4, 1tr into first ch, 1tr into first ch, ch3, ss into first ch.
Petal 2 - Ch3, 1tr into first ch, 1tr into first ch, ch3, ss into first ch.
Petal 3 - Same as petal 2
Petal 4 - Same as petal 2
Petal 5 - Same as petal 2.
Leave a long finishing tail for sewing onto your object.

If wanting to put a button onto your flower, then use your starting tail to sew that on. Once done, you're ready to use the finishing tail to sew onto your object.

Luv Bali.

New York Times Article

Hello all.

What a wonderful day. New York Times have run an article on yarn bombing and I have been mentioned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/fashion/creating-graffiti-with-yarn.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=ST-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-CGW-051911-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

If you have been directed here by the article, then welcome and hello to you. If you'd like to see my facebook page on my yarn bombing efforts [which I update almost every day], then go here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twilight-Taggers/373522532669
Be sure to "like" the page too.

I'm in the middle of many yarn bombing projects right now, so I tend to update the facebook page more than this blog. Last night I finished a beautiful piece that I'm putting up on Sunday when I get interviewed by Lisette. Photos to come of that. Still working on the Light Hearts Installation for the Light In Winter festival in June in Melbourne. And in the middle of doing something for the Woolley Walk Along project of Knitty Graffity's aswell. So much to do!

Back to work.
Luv Bali.

Lighting Frame

This is the lighting frame we've been given for the Lights In Winter festival that we need to cover with yarn.

 Don't be fooled by the photo. The frame is quite large.

The top of the frame is a circle with 40.5cm across and would need a lacey round circle of knit/crochet done with a hole in the middle for the chain to come through.

The main section of the frame is in 16 panels and comes down from a thin top to a wider bottom. The top is 8cm wide and the bottom is 29cm wide. The length of the panel is 66cm.

The panels work down in differing increments. It follows like this:

8cm wide for top

9cm wide at 6cm down panel

10cm wide at 10cm down panel

11cm wide at 13cm down panel

12cm wide at 17cm down panel

13cm wide at 21cm down panel

14cm wide at 24cm down panel

15cm wide at 27cm down panel

16cm wide at 30cm down panel

17cm wide at 33cm down panel

18cm wide at 36cm down panel

19cm wide at 38cm down panel

20cm wide at 42cm down panel

21cm wide at 44cm down panel

22cm wide at 46cm down panel

23cm wide at 49cm down panel

24cm wide at 52cm down panel

25cm wide at 54cm down panel

26cm wide at 57cm down panel

27cm wide at 60cm down panel

28cm wide at 63cm down panel

29cm wide at 66cm down panel

The rim around the bottom is 15.5cm top to bottom and each section is 29cm wide, with 16 sections completing the rim the whole way around.

We'll probably need to do the very bottom under rim of the frame aswell. The top is 22cm wide and the bottom is 29cm wide. The length of each section is 18cm.

The measurements for the underside of the rim follow like this:

22cm wide for top

23cm wide at 3cm down panel

24cm wide at 5cm down panel

25cm wide at 7.5cm down panel

26cm wide at 10cm down panel

27cm wide at 13cm down panel

28cm wide at 15cm down panel

29cm wide at 18cm down panel

We will only need a small team working on the structure. We need 8 panels done in knitting and 8 panels done in crochet. The yarn used will be red and orange Sullivans Coton from Lincraft which is being ordered specially. It's the same yarn used here:

The pattern needs to be open and lace-like so that the light underneath can shine through. 

If you are in Melbourne and are interested in giving us a hand, please let me know - first in best dressed and you will need to attend a busy bee at my house so that you can see the piece and get used to what needs to be done to cover it. Please note that the panels obviously require increasing your knitting or crochet, so if you're not comfortable doing that then this project may not be for you. And please also be aware that you only have until the last week of May to complete your panel.

Luv Bali.

Pretty Girl Statue Yarn Bomb

Working the weekend can be a bit boring at times, so I wanted to do something fun on my lunch break. I asked my workmate and good friend Krisha to accompany me on a yarn bombing expedition. Krisha knows and loves my yarn bombing attempts. I taught her how to crochet and loom knit, so she was all for coming along to see what I do.

We walked around to Collins Street just past the Inter Continental Hotel to where there is a family of statues. I've known they have been there for ages and knew I wanted to do something for them and one of the pretty little girls ended up getting some lovely pink and white ankle cuffs.

The cuffs only took less than half an hour each to make. I used the crochet loop stitch which I've never done before and wanted to try out.

My camera died whilst Krisha was trying to take photos but we had my phone and her phone with us, so that was good.

Here's the lovely Krisha next to the lucky little girl...

It took less than ten minutes to do the yarn bomb and when we finished we turned out only to see some weirdo man right behind us taking photos of us yarn bombing. Needless to say we skittled off out of there very quickly.

Click on the "Statues" folder on the right hand side of my page to go to my flickr with many more photos of the girl.

Luv Bali.

Lights In Winter information

 Please note the above picture is not of the structure involved for the project. It just looks pretty.

 

FACEBOOK EVENT:

http://www.facebook.com/notifications.php#!/event.php?eid=118696851543559

Want to help out? We need a small army of interested participants to make yarn bomb pieces for us. If you don't live in Melbourne, then you'll need to make, send and have us receive your tag by Monday May 23rd. 

Please send it to:

Bali
1 Gordon Street
Brunswick West VIC 3055 Australia.

WHAT IS IT?
A giant structure incorporating lights, lanterns, snowflakes and yarn bombing will be set up for all to see.

This is the proposed structure:

 WHAT'S NEEDED?:

POLES
Go both vertical and horizonal. Please do not make your tag more than 14 to 15 cm wide. Can be anywhere from 50cm to 3 metres long. Please stick with firey red/orange/yellow colors with the occasional blue and white winter colors.

LANTERNS
Will be made by folding a thick type of tracing paper into a cylinder shape and attaching yarn to it. Can be A3 and A4 size. Must be lacy and see through so that the color lights can go through the lantern and yarn. Nothing with a block stitch that you won't be able to see lights through. Again please stick with firey red/orange/yellow colors with the occasional blue and white winter colors.

SNOWFLAKES
Blue and white winter colors only please. Any size. Snowflakes must be stiffened so that they stay straight when hung up.

LARGE LIGHT FRAME
We also have a large light frame that needs covering:

Approx 1.5m in a diameter. Will be covered in a red and an orange yarn that's already been selected. A lacy see through pattern will be used so that the light can shine through. If you can crochet, please contact me about helping out with this particular part of the project. 

INSPIRATION:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.413483477669.193139.373522532669&l=2f4f3164ff

LINKS:

LANTERNS:
http://riotflower.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/crochet-lace-swatching/ [crochet]
http://crochetology.net/2010/01/edging-no-408-by-adeline-cordet/ [crochet]
http://www.crochetspot.com/how-to-crochet-offset-fish-net-stitch/ [crochet]
http://www.evelynclarkdesigns.com/pdf/Swallowtail.pdf [knit]

SNOWFLAKES:
http://starrs-crodream.livejournal.com/5514.html [crochet]
http://www.jpfun.com/patterns/free/ornaments/f103016prettysnowflake.pdf [crochet]
http://snowcatcher.blogspot.com/2011/03/snowflake-monday_14.html [crochet]
http://www.coatscrafts.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B9FA80E9-7DD0-4F0F-B658-93B5C6AABA79/77132/SnowflakeTreeDecoration.pdf [crochet]

Feel free to add your ideas to this!

International Yarn Bombing Day [Australia] - with Lights In Winter festival

Saturday, June 11 2011 · 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia

Cnr Flinders Street & Swanston Street

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

 

Federation Square will play host to the 'Lights In Winter' festival for the month of June. A giant structure incorporating lights, lanterns, snowflakes and yarn bombing will be set up for all to see. This will be up for the whole month.

But why not come along on June 11th for International Yarn Bombing Day and see yarn bombing in person. Bring your yarn and knitting needles/crochet hooks/knitting looms and meet others that love this hobby. Never done it before? Come and talk to yarn bombers in person including Bali of Twilight Taggers, and Dee and Aysen of Knit Wits.

In the event of rain, this get-together will meet inside the Time Out Cafe at Federation Square.

Feel free to bring your friends and family along. See you there!

* * * * *
Possible workshop by the Spinners and Weavers Guild to be held the next day [June 12th] at Federation Square also. More info soon about this.
* * * * *

If you would like to be a part of yarn bombing this structure, please leave a comment so I can give you the details or email twilighttaggers@gmail.com.