Cleveland BUZZ and an Aussie Yarn Bombing Blitz

Bloomfield Street, Cleveland was a hive of activity on Saturday morning as the 2013 Cleveland BUZZ celebrations were held. Events included live music, pottery in the park, shopfront artwork, laughter yoga, belly dancing, artists at work in the street, community group displays and demonstrations, walking spinning-wheel demonstrations, author book signings, street theatre, yarn bombing and more.

I joined the ladies of the Yarning Circle to create our yarn bombing masterpieces and displayed them outside The Artist Tree Cafe and Art Space. There were five of us today: Bobbie, Dolly, Sue, Elizabeth and me.

We spent about three hours busily joining knitted and crocheted shapes together. This was lots of fun as every shape was a different colour and each piece varied in size quite dramatically. Sue is head of the arts departments at a local high school so she was quite happy joining her pieces to create a real freeform object while I still need to find my real creative side. My pieces were all uniform in size! That’s what nearly 40 years of working in Government administration does to you! It supresses your inner creativity 🙂

A ‘busy’ table

This photo (below) is courtesy of Janet from Redland City Living. That’s me in the middle holding the blue crocheted square.

This yarn bombing was knitted in a yarn that contained a shiny thread. In the background the dreamcatchers are created by avid participants.

Activity in Bloomfield Street, Cleveland

Yarn bombing is something that seems to be sweeping Australia throughout March. Recently the Big Merino in Goulburn was given a new accessory. As part of the city’s 150th Birthday Celebration the Goulburn Knitters Guild spent MONTHS knitting squares to make Rambo the Ram look beautiful. With enough yarn to span the distance between Goulburn and Moss Vale and taking a number of men and a rope system to get it on the ram, this was no small project and is their biggest craft corner project to date. More than 100 people helped create the 30m, 30kg scarf, in a nine-month operation using 71km of yarn.

Yarn bombing also reached Adelaide and popped up most recently in the hills town of Stirling. Hundreds of school children, scouts, craft club members and individuals spent hours creating knitted and crocheted works to display outside the Coventry Library. The yarn bombing display was part of the Adelaide Fringe festival.

Yarn bombers also have been hard at work at Beachport in the south-east of South Australia.

These are quite impressive aren’t they? It makes our efforts seem quite amateurish. Not to worry, we had a ton of fun which is the main thing. Plus we made new friends which is always a bonus. We’ve also decided to try and meet twice monthly over the next year so we can really plan for next year’s yarn bombing exercise. I have already decided what piece of public furniture I am going to yarn bomb!

Have a great week and a safe and happy Easter too.

Melanie

Yarn Bombing in Cleveland (Brisbane)….Part 2

I thoroughly enjoyed my first Yarning Circle knitting/crocheting session last Saturday so it was with enthusiasm I rocked up at The Artist Tree Cafe and Creative Arts Space in Cleveland half an hour early to partake in lunch and a coffee.

Elizabeth arrived soon after so we got down to the serious business of knitting and crocheting ready for next Saturday’s Cleveland BUZZ which involves street art and performances. We were also joined by Tricia Dobson, the organiser of the event and a dear friend of mine who is a prolific writer and blogger, Janet. Janet’s blog is Redland City Living and showcases some of Redland’s best spots to visit.

The Artist Tree is a fantastic venue for those who wish to nurture their creative side or simply join friends for yummy food, good coffee and a lovely relaxing atmosphere. There are art pieces on show and for sale and maybe a drama group on site….a perfect place for a group of knitters to congregate.

Here’s a sample of some of the pieces that Elizabeth has stitched together.

So colourful!

I love all the different textures and shapes. That’s the fun part of yarn bombing….doing whatever you feel like, in whatever size and with whatever colour. It’s freeform knitting and crocheting at its best. Here’s some embellishments made by Janet and Tricia.

That’s how I spent most of today. Hope your day was full of crafty fun as well. Until next time….

Melanie

Yarn Bombing in Cleveland (Brisbane)….Part 1

While reading my local paper last Tuesday, this headline captured my attention….Yarn Bombers join BUZZ. I can remember last year walking through Cleveland one Sunday with my Mum and noticing a number of iconic areas of the CBD that had been yarn bombed. The article advertised Yarning Circles that were to be held on Saturday afternoons at 1pm. Yay!! For once my full time job won’t interfere….it seems a lot of things I’m interested in joining are held during the week which makes it a bit difficult when you work full time.

The Yarning Circles are held at the Artist Tree Cafe in Cleveland which is a cafe – creative arts area – community gathering space which is slowly gathering momentum. The concept is to be commended as it is a space where the community can gather, have a coffee, something to eat, bring their craft along, sit back, relax and chat.

I gathered together some brightly coloured yarn, my crochet hook and bag and set off for my first Yarning Circle. There were only three of us there but what we lacked in numbers we certainly made up in such interesting story swapping, jokes and banter.

Dolly Olsson is one of the most lively, interesting and funny 91 year old women I have ever met! She regaled us with stories of her youth, spinning fleece on her Ashford spinning wheel (that had me spellbound), her achievement of attaining a degree in Sociology after she enrolled in a university correspondence course when she was 54! Dolly did not attain a formal education when she was young although she did make sure her children all went to university. After her degree she attained a PHD. What an inspiring national treasure she is.

Elizabeth Nowak was born in Poland and has lived in Australia for over 40 years and yet still has a very strong Polish accent. She is proficient in many crafts and today was crocheting bits and pieces in readiness for all the pieces to be joined together.

It was so relaxing sitting back and talking to complete strangers and learning about their interesting lives and at the same time sharing a bond….which is the joy of crafting…..whether it be knitting, crocheting, painting or whatever. To see a project evolve gives you great satisfaction and instils a sense of accomplishment and pride in oneself when it is completed.

The best part about this crafty exercise was that it would be shared by all those folks who visit Cleveland on Saturday, 23 March.

These are just a few of the yarnie goodies that will be used for yarn bombing.

That’s my work on the right hand side….the bright pink crocheted squares and the brown/cream garter stitch knitted square. Dolly and Elizabeth crocheted some embellishments.

Dolly made this embellishment….isn’t it exquisite!

I’ll be attending the Yarning Circle next Saturday so if you’re in Cleveland around 1pm, join us at the Artist Tree Cafe with your knitting or crocheting and make a few bits and pieces for the yarn bombing that will happen on Saturday, 23 March.

Until next time….

Cheers

Melanie

PS Here’s a definition of yarn bombing for those who aren’t too familiar with it.