The Yarn bOMb went in on Friday, and we celebrated Saturday. As we should!

It was FUN! I have to thank so many people I can never do it properly.

Here is the before photo:

The crew sometime in the morning (folks came and went all day as they needed to do other things).

Josh controlling the cherry picker while I installed pennants. He was SO into it. He has a toddler daughter who loves the gardens, and it was cool to him to contribute back. I love meeting guys who love being daddies! The best.

Brian (my husband) and friend Hanno preparing to play music under tree #2. This was at Saturday’s happening / celebration.

Becky enjoying the Bee Tree (#3). Most of the yellow yarn we had went here. It is near some bee hives (white boxes behind her at left of photo).

My friend Brenda knit something like a dozen bees for the project. Some are sewn to the tree scarves and some are hanging loose under the tree, “flying.”

A long view of the final project. I will share more later.

It was fun. I’ll get up a bunch of photos tomorrow, but for now here is an overview:

 

If you are within the Lansing, Michigan driving area, I hope I can see you today.

Art Installation Opening Party in the ColorJoyful Yarn bOMbed MSU Horticultural Gardens today, 2-4pm. I’d love to have you stop by.

If you are a musician, bring fingerless gloves and an instrument. Anybody, if you want to dress in a Halloween costume, go for it!

Bring kids… there will be activities thanks to an enthusiastic MSU student organization. I’ll bring donuts and some sort of juice. Please come on out and say hi!

Here is where you can get directions (the RR tracks are wicked, don’t let them eat your vehicle):
http://www.hrt.msu.edu/directions-parking-maps/
No parking fee/token needed this weekend in the garden lot.

Google Map and GPS fans, there is a new street address for the garden:
1066 Bogue Street, East Lansing MI 48824

Please consider a visit!

PS, Brian and I sing as The Fabulous Heftones at Altu’s Ethiopian Cuisine tonight from 6:30 – 8:20 or so. Great food. Come there if you can’t make the garden?

This is Marlene Cameron putting finishing touches on tree #1. Children’s garden in the background. I sure had a lot of helpers yesterday, some for many hours. I’m very grateful.

 

Dear friends,

I’ve been expressing many facets of my artist self lately, but not as much writing. We sang at the Milwaukee Ukulele Festival last weekend and tomorrow is the installation date for my full-garden “Yarn bOMbing” at Michigan State University.

In between, my mom had major emergency surgery two days in a row. She’s leaving ICU tomorrow, thank goodness, though she’s still pretty uncomfortable.

What can I do when this blog has been left a long time and I have big stuff going on to share? I feel so backed up I don’t know how to start.

It feels like I only post when I have bragging to do, and that’s not what I want this blog to be. I think of you all the time, even take photos to share here. Writing takes time being alone which just hasn’t happened in a while.

I’ll pop in here to post a link to the photos of my Yarn bOMbing when the pics are on the internet.

Hugs,

Lynn

Hi, friends. Happy autumn! The trees are gorgeous here, I hope they are in your neck of the woods, as well. (Unless you have spring, assuming you are in Australia or some other lovely place.)

CountDown!

Tomorrow night (Thursday) is the final Make-A-Long for our ColorJoyful Yarn bOMbing. (It’s 6-8pm at Rae’s Yarn Boutique in Lansing, Michigan.) I’m astounded at how many folks are participating. I’ve received wonderfully varied pieces thus far.

It seems that the pennants/triangles are a bit like potato chips. They are fast and easy and a lot of fun to crank out. Some knitters are making a dozen of them, which will make the trees very happy and festive during winter.

Tree Trunk Scarves Lagging Behind

However, the tree trunk scarves are lagging behind quite a bit. Perhaps you can help?

Yes, it’s not necessarily our favorite kind of handwork (acrylic yarn in long strips is not my favorite, either). But just think how wonderful it is to be part of a community project, adding color and joy to a cold winter garden.

Imagine being a student walking across campus and hearing the bells jingle in the wind, and then seeing all the color bursting forth from the garden. Don’t you want to be part of bringing a smile to that student?

Scarves should be made of acrylic, any color from yellow through green, blue and purple. About 4-5 inches wide, as long as you can stand to knit it. Even a square is helpful.

(Pennants can be any fiber, in the same colors, about 4-5 inches at the top and about 2-3 times longer than they are wide. This is a guideline… no pattern or standard is required. All triangles are good. Even quilting, feltmaking, and sewing are welcome for pennants.)

You can drop off at any of these shops: Rae’s Yarn Boutique, Woven Art, Sticks & Strings Lansing, and Yarn Garden Michigan. Or let me know if you want to mail things to me.

I will be picking up items from all the shops on Tuesday, October 23, during the daytime. If you have items after that, do let me know and I’ll do what I can to gather yours as well. The items actually go up that Friday.

I’ll post about the assembly process soon. I’ll need helpers next Monday morning, Tuesday night, and Friday daytime. Then the party/celebration will be on Saturday. Click the image below to read details. It will take you to a printable PDF, if you wish to print.

HUGS to everyone involved. Fiberarts are all about community. This project makes that element visible to outsiders. I appreciate every single stitch!

LynnH

Hello, dear friends!

Update

Things are just humming along with this grand fun Yarn bOMb event. There are knitters in many places just having a good time making pieces for the trees. This will be a fine, colorful space in the wintertime, long after the opening reception is done.

Knit/Crochet/Stitch with Me?

I’ve got 4 scheduled Make-A-Long events in the Lansing area, each one at a different and wonderful local yarn shop. I’ve got yarn if you don’t. I’ll even bring needles and maybe a crochet hook or two.

The first one is today, Tuesday. Come on out? Let’s have a party!

Here is the schedule:

Tuesday, October 2, 4-6 pm
Woven Art
325 Grove St. #B, East Lansing
(Across from Grove Street Ramp)
www.yarnandfiberart.com

Thursday, October 11, 3:30-5:30 pm
Yarn Garden
111 W. Lawrence Ave., Charlotte
(Across from Old Courthouse)
www.yarngardenmichigan.com

Friday, October 12, 6-8 pm
Sticks & Strings
1107 N. Washington Ave., Lansing
(Old Town, across from Elderly Instruments)
www.sticksandstringslansing.com

Thursday, October 18 6-8 pm
Rae’s Yarn Boutique
2004 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing
(Near Emil’s and Green Door, west of Frandor)
www.raesyarnboutique.com

Pass the Word Along?

If you would like a poster/flier with key points (for knitters/crocheters/other fiberartists as well as opening party attenders), CLICK the image below to see a PDF. You may print these, distribute them, or just refer to it on your own machine.

There will be other gatherings as well. I’ll need folks to help me make sense of the piles of wonderful contributions, before we get on the cherry picker to install the piece.

Organization/Preparation Events Coming

Tree scarves will need to be sewn together ahead of time. Other preparatory work will need to be done earlier in the week before going out to the garden.

I’m planning to add yarn ties to each pennant before going out to the garden, so that they can be tied on easily and quickly when we are on site. Also I’m hoping to add bells to many of the pennants for an added happy sensory experience. All of that can be handled before the install date.

It looks like one of the prep sessions will be on Monday, October 22, in the morning. I hope to have another session later in the week, hopefully in an afternoon or evening.

Party on October 27!

If you can’t make any of the other events, or you are not able to help out at the gatherings… you can still participate. The opening reception is October 27, a Saturday, from 2-4pm.

We are going to make it as festive as possible. Since it’s the weekend before Halloween, costumes are welcome (even encouraged) but not required.

It’s a great space for families. If you have a kid you can bring along, please do.

If you just want a little childlike joy in your life, come alone or with other grown-ups looking for a smile. There will be a lot of wonderful people there. It looks like we’ll have some children’s activities perhaps. It should be a wonderful time. Put it on your calendar, yes?

Thanks for being with me on this great adventure.

Hugs, Lynn