Winspear Yarn Bombing

Throughout the summer, under the art direction of K Witta, more than 70 fiber artists worked on a large-scale yarn bombing of Dallas' Winspear Opera House. We finally installed our handiwork on Sept. 14/15. So much fun! Together, we covered more than 30 trees, 100 bollards (barrier poles) and benches with yarn, and created a hanging display of peace signs and flowers.

Our tree.

 

My friend signed up for two trees, so I took charge of one and our knitting group offered to help. In order to make it easy for everyone to pitch in, I decided to give the tree a theme: patched hippie jeans. This way we didn't have to limit ourselves to any set pattern or yarn brands, and if my measurements were wrong or something went awry, we could just add patches to fix it. Enough with the chit-chat – here are some more pics!

Our installation helped promote the Winspear's production of "Hair."

 

It's not often that one gets to cover an entire tree with yarn. Our tree took about three hours to install, which certainly would have attracted the attention of local authorities if we'd been stalking the Winspear in the wee hours of the night. This project was a lot of work, and the acrylic yarn wasn't kind to my hands, but it was all worth it. It was so rewarding to see the smiles of passersby, and to watch people hug the trees and pose for photos. I'd definitely do it again.

Here are some more photos of the rest of the campus:

See more pics on my Flickr page.

Read more about the yarn bombing, organized by K Witta, SheepNanny and TejasMom, sponsored by Dallas Yarn Bombers and The Shabby Sheep.

Yarn Bombing This Week

In just a couple of days I'll be heading to Dallas to participate in a little bit of yarn graffiti. Here's a sneak peek at one of the branches, plus cat.

Sweater Time

Our tree is nearly ready for the yarn bomb installation next week, so of course I've jumped into another project. I'm eager to get started on Levenwick, a gorgeous 3/4 sleeve cardi with the classic, yesteryear look that I love so much. I've decided to knit it in Cascade 220 Heathers Celtic, to see if I need to make any adjustments for the fit. Then I may knit a second version in Brooklyn Tweed SHELTER or a silky wool.

I love SHELTER's colors, and the beautiful fabric that it creates, but after walking around with a skein at the store I was concerned that it wouldn't agree with my sensitive skin. After talking with my knitting group, I think I'm going to order a skein, make a scarf and test it out. Maybe a good washing will help. I hope so! It's a really great yarn.

We just have a few pieces left to finish for our tree. I'll post some photos after it's installed and we're allowed to reveal its location.