Supreme Overlords of Awesome

Tonight I had two missions and one accomplice. Together, we acheived awesome. It all started a couple of days ago when I found a cute amigurumi pattern for a birdie and made it with some scrap yarn. Digging for this yarn I realized just how much I had left of fuzzy yarn that had been used to make armwarmers and scarves and such in the past that I would likely never use. I decided it was time for another yarnbombing and began to brainstorm. Then I came across another cute pattern for Monokuro Boo piggies on Craftster and wanted to make them, using up some of the leftover acrylics I had in the back of the closet. After two days of straight crochet, I had two pigs, a birdie, a long handrail cozy and a target: The Children’s Hospital in Richmond. I dropped the toys there for The Toy Society and found while walking the grounds that there were no handrails to be found.

The hospital is fully wheelchair accessible, which is awesome and amazing, but a definite kink the plan. A few times while working on it, I had gone out with the manflesh to the store, and had worn the cozy like a scarf so I could walk and work on it at the same time. We had a new agenda with it: To put it on, scarf style, on one of the Monument Avenue monuments. We didn’t have room in the car for a ladder, and we were without a stepladder, so we cruised down the Avenue looking for statues with a people friendly height.

Most of them were totally inaccesible without a true ladder, but the one of Maury, was behind a four foot spiked fence, upon a five foot pedastal. It seemed to be the most accessible. On foot, the manflesh and I went rambling through the neighborhoods. Behind one house, we found cardboard and by a dumpster at a pizza place we found a milk crate. We grabbed them and went back. From there, we were a well oiled machine. The cardboard went over the fence to protect hands and feet, the crate gave us access over the fence and up the side of the pedastal to where the statue was. I think Matthew Fontaine Maury looks much more comfortable with a warm, fuzzy scarf made with love wrapped around his neck.

I think he looks amazing.

All in all, it was a successful night. Very close to the statue of Maury, there’s a statue of Arthur Ashe, with five children around him. The boy wants to learn how to crochet, so I just need one more person. I figure two scarves each, as well as a large cozie for around the pedestal, a big ladder and three people working in unison and we can pull it off. A friend of ours is learning to knit and crochet and I want to ask her if she wants to join in, but I don’t know. She’s really busy with things that she and her boyfriend are planning and working on, so I think it may be best for me to look elsewhere. Ha ha, maybe Craigslist!?

Maury, the warmest monument.

Toy Society Awesomeness!

A quick post, following up with my birthday Toy Society mischief! The toy outside of the bookstore had been found, and Ramey was kind enough to comment here on the blog letting me know. Today the Toy Society posted this. One of the employees at Ben and Jerry’s had picked up the bear I crocheted and had given it to a little girl later in the day. Alejandra, who has to be the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen, is now taking very good care of him, and her parents wrote a beautiful thank you letter. <3

That night I had been feeling a little off and was wondering if it had been worth it, walking around in the hot sun and if people would even enjoy the fruits of my labors? Short answer: Yes. SO worth it.

Food Lion Yarnbombing

Tonight we put up some tags around our friendly neighborhood Food Lion. One on the handicapped sign, one on a cart handle, another on a light pole in front of the China Wok next door and another on a post office light pole.

It was fun, and very well lit. More risky than the VCU yarnbombings, as the fuzz patrol through the parking lot rather regularly, but we managed to elude unwanted attention. With this set, I experimented with fun designs, getting used to knitting more. I had a lot of fun, actually.

I’m using the images I took for this set to make a yarn bombing Instructable because surprisingly, there are none.

Enjoy!

Shopping cart cozy. Basketweave pattern used.

I spent a bit of time snuggled up, watching Lost as I worked these up.

Toy Dropping

Today was my birthday, and to celebrate I did a toy drop for The Toy Society. Nine drops, hitting both VCU and Carytown. It was difficult to drop when there weren’t a lot of people milling around, and we didn’t see anyone pick up one of the toys. I do hope they get picked up, though. When we were leaving the Carytown area, the three most obvious of our drops (outside Ben and Jerry’s, World of Mirth, and Chop Suey Tooey) were still sitting there.

I love the idea of the Toy Society, and while it isn’t graffiti knitting, it is similar. Putting out one’s craft for strangers to appreciate is certainly part of it. While with yarnbombing, it’s generally good for things to hang around, I like that this is a sort of thing that a person can take with them and cherish.

On the note of yarnbombing, all of the pieces I had put up around VCU on July 30th are gone. I know what I’ll be doing next though. I believe we’re going to hit Carystreet with door handle cozies. Dozens of them.

Anywho, to the pictures of my birthday drops.

A pile of tagged stuffies

Monster!

We had originally intended on dropped 25 packages, but there just wasn’t time or really the proper organization there. I do have the pieces cut for 16 more stuffies, so there will be more drops in the future.

Ben and Jerry’s drop

Cary Street newspaper box drop

Crooks and Creatures bookstore drop. Children’s section.

VCU drop – near library

VCU drop – newspaper rack near gym

VCU park bench drop – near dining hall

Chop Suey Tooey drop

World of Mirth drop

VCU drop – Monroe park

First non-bombing knitted item

Because I haven’t been working much on yarn bombing (shame shame!), I didn’t want to just leave the blog un-updated for such a long time. I knitted up some armwarmers in garter and stockinette stitch and thought I’d share. I worked on them while watching episodes from the first season of Lost, and it was really encouraging to see how much faster and more efficiently I knit compared to when I first started teaching myself. I only lost two stitches, so there was barely any need for frogging on this project. That, my friends, is progress.

I think I need to get bigger needles for yarnbombing, though. Maybe for my birthday? It’s tomorrow.

Excuse the mess on the floor. I was in the middle of laundry when I found the camera.

First tag – VCU campus

Last night, shenanigans were had at Virginia Commonwealth University. I only had three pieces to put up, and was aided and abetted by a few non-knitting friends. One of them let me stand on his back to try and shimmy a piece that was meant to be an antenna cozy onto a lonely signless signpost. Now I’m at a bit of a loss. Saw the perfect target for another yarnbombing. It’s well lit and would require a ladder, so I’m thinking of waiting until I have some knitting/crochet accomplices.

A knit has been released into the world.

No brushes with the po-po, but at one point we were being accosted by a large, angry looking woman and had to run for it. There was a couple sitting in a car on the side of the road having an argument, with the windows down. As we passed them, we gave them a solemn warning: “Godzirra is coming!”

We noticed someone was STILL at the library, so we cozied up the bike rack next to his wheels. Hope it makes him smile after the long night studying.

Also, if there are any knitters in the Richmond area, e-mail me at darth.knitious@gmail.com Let’s get together to do a group tag sometime, or even just a local knitting group.

Putting the second tag around a light post. So glad I followed other yarn bombers tips and had needles pre-threaded and ready to go.

This had been my first time at VCU, so I really just followed my friends around until I noticed a place where I wanted to put up the knittings. I think next time I choose a new place, I’ll go ahead and check it out that I can have measurements and ideas set out before I start knitting.

I can't believe my friend had me stand on his back to get up there. I also can't believe I didn't break him!

Mixing Catalysts

Darth Knitious was a hooker.

It was 2004 that I learned how to crochet. I was working at the time in a nursing home and we had a very special resident – Miss Buella Belle – who had a lot of trouble sleeping at night. I have always had a great respect for my elders and loved spending time and talking with our residents. Working the 11pm to 7am shift, however, made that a rare occurance. So, when Buella couldn’t sleep, she’d come up to the front and chatter with us and crochet. I always admired her work, and watched in amazement as blankets, scarves and hats would work up so quickly and perfectly in her fingers. One night, she came down the hall with a small bag of her crochet needles and extra yarn and told me that she was going to teach me how to hook up a scarf. I did, and then I decided I wanted to make myself an afghan. The beautiful blanket I envisioned ended up being an hourglass shaped monstrosity of wool and chenille and my crochet hook and I went our separate ways, never to speak of that mess again.

Let’s shift just one year later. I very sadly said goodbye to the nursing home and began a career as a truck driver, driving across the country in an 18 wheeler. While trucking was my dream, it also has it’s downfalls. For one, you’re only allowed to drive a certain amount of hours in a day, and there are sometimes ridiculously long waits while the truck is being loaded or unloaded, or even to get into a dock. I sat in the parking lot of a meat packing plant for eight hours once, waiting to be given a dock. I ended up turning to crochet again to pass the time, and my old flame and I fell once more in love. This time, we were more practical, and have been together ever since.

I can’t remember just how long ago it was that I found knit graffiti, but it’s something I’ve been enamored with for a long while. I had ideas of leaving my mark everywhere I drove as a trucker, but never acted on the impulses. Now that I’m in Richmond, and not traveling the country, and have better access to more than just a truck stop or a shipping dock, I felt that it was here that I should dip my hand into a new well of fun and adventure.

It was when I started thinking of logistics of the pieces, and getting measurements, I realized something. MOST of the yarn bombing I’d seen was knit, and it made sense. I never hated knitting, but I did realize that both knitting and crochet had their places in a project. I had always been told that if you want to do some lacy detail work or sturdy amigurumi, use crochet. If you want something stretchy or clothing that could cling and accentuate curves, use knit. Here, wrapping things whose measurements may or may not be precisely what I’ve knitted, it would likely help to have more of a stretch.

So a few days ago I went and picked out a pair of aluminum knitting needles. I chose them the same way I chose my first crochet hook – based on what color I liked best. Yesterday I knitted up my first tag. I can’t wait to wrap it around something, and as I stitched a tiny Vader onto the attatched felt signature, I realized that though my crafty ventures started with a hook, I’m not really a hooker anymore.

Darth Knitious is a yarnbomber.

Bringing yarnbombing to Richmond.

For a while now I’ve been wanting to start up a crafting group. Having a small group of ladies (or gents!) to come over and hang out, eating popcorn, watching movies and crafting together seemed like fun! I moved to Virginia almost a year ago and the few friends I have made were made through my boyfriend and his friends. We share some things in common, but to be honest, I’d like to hang around some creative, crafty people who weren’t completely and utterly obsessed with video games all the time. As a gamer, it’s great and all and I love my friends dearly, but sometimes it’s a little much, you know?

I’ve also been watching the knit graffiti movement for a while as well and want to do nothing more than join it. So tonight it’s starting. I’m buying my first pair of knitting needles and getting started on some cozies for Cary town. I think I’ll use meetup.com and craftster.org to find others in the area who are interested and start a crew. I’m so inspired by what other crews around the world are doing, and would love to see it here in Richmond.

Wish me luck, world!