Wrapped in Love: next session Sun 15th Aug

An update on the next knitting crochet session: this will now be on this Sunday 15th Aug (NOT Sun 8th Aug as originally planned). Those details again...

Sunday 15th Aug
Brunswick Green, 313 Sydney Rd Brunswick
2 - 4pm

hope you can (still) make it!

Wrapped in love: first arrivals and crochet hearts

Inside 12 weeks now!

In the past week I've started having that 'it's really happening' feeling. The wedding, of course, but also this project. Our invitations will go out (as soon as I can work out why the yellow printer head isn't working), and I've had a glimpse at what the tree will look like with the arrival of the first parcel. It's very exciting!

Here's a sample:


Now don't panic if you haven't started, there's plenty of time. But if you're starting to think timelines, I'll need all of your gorgeous creations by 17th September - that's 2 weeks before the wedding. Just something to keep in mind.

For some inspiration this week I've started exploring the love theme a bit more. I've thought about knitted hearts, about crocheted hearts, about poetry and quotes about love (and how to knit them). I'm working on something, but it's a bit of a secret...

In the meantime, what do you think of these pics I found?

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

I even found these... there are actually a surprising number of knitted 'anatomical' hearts out there in cyberspace.

Image from here

Image from here

How's your knitting and crocheting going? Would you like to crochet a heart? I'm thinking lots and lots of hearts would look fantastic on the tree. In red or pink. There's a great tutorial here, but lots of others around too.

We could have a bit of a lesson at the next crafternoon - you should come! At the Brunswick Green again, on Sunday 8th Aug, at 2pm (edit: this session has been postponed until Sun 15th Aug, same time, same place).

Wrapped in Love: knitalong wrap-up

Just under 13 weeks to go...

My apologies it's taken so long to get this post up. Thanks to everyone who came along on the 20th, it was a fun afternoon at the Brunswick Green. Surprisingly (or not), knitting at the pub in the inner north of Melbourne is certainly not edgy (but who's trying to be edgy?!). Who knew barmen in Brunswick can knit socks? Without a pattern.

"I just follow the instructions my mum writes me".

Aside from knitting barmen we had granny squaring, crochet flowering, french knitting (or knitting nancy - it's amazing the look of recognition you get when you bring start explaining knitting nancy to anyone older than about 50), lots of garter stitch and some very determined unravelling of an op-shop jumper...



We might even have another session - on Sunday 8 August. I'll book the corner spot this time!

WrappedInLove: Let's knit & crochet this SUNDAY!

15 weeks to go...

Will you be in Melbourne this Sunday (20th June)?
It would be lovely to see you at the Brunswick Green for some knitting & crocheting, ESPECIALLY if you don't know how, or you're a bit rusty. Don't be scared, there'll be lots of friendly faces there ready to help!

So come along, from 2-4pm, Brunswick Green, 313 Sydney Rd.
Tram 19, get off at Dawson St (Glenlyon Rd) and walk north, just a little bit.

What to bring:

• your enthusiasm (of course!)
• some knitting needles (size 7 or 8 or 9mm) or a crochet hook (5 or 6mm)*
• some yarn if you have some, but don't worry if you don't - I'll bring lots
• some spare change to buy a beer or a coffee (or whatever you drink, just so we're not completely freeloading)
  

I really hope you can make it. I'll see you there!

*just a guide, not a rule! Any size is fine.

Wrapped in Love: I Knit Brisbane

Hi knitters & crocheters!
Less than 17 weeks to go...

Some inspiration this week from Brisbane, where the 'I Knit Brisbane' project has ushered in the first days of winter (do they actually have winter in Brisbane?) by covering the city's landmarks in yarn. How amazing are these Brissie folk?!

Images from here, and here.

btw, you might be interested to know that 'Green Heart', or 'I heart BNE' is Brisbane City Council's environmental program, which has the target of being carbon neutral by 2026. They have all sorts of programs for households, schools and businesses in the Brisbane area. More info available from here.

I think it's really nice to see the link between healthy communities and a healthy environment.

Thanks Arathi & Geeta for sending through the links!

And don't forget the Melbourne crafting session is less than 2 weeks away!
Sunday 20th June, 2-4pm, Brunswick Green
For newbies there will be guaranteed friendly helpers to get you started!

Wrapped in Love Project: Thinking about afterwards

20 weeks to go...

(I thought it better to count down than up - I think it gives more sense of the 'big day' approaching. Plus, it makes things a bit easier if I miss a week's post!)

You will have noticed that the project is now called Wrapped in Love: a journey through (guerilla) knitting. However, I've since found out there is a very special knitting project run through Arts & Crafts NSW, called 'Wrap with Love', which is all about volunteers knitting squares that are turned into blankets and sent to disadvantaged communities all around the world, including Australia. Since it began in 1992, the Wrap with Love project has sent more than 220,000 blankets to people in over 75 countries. Isn't that incredible?!

(Image source: Wrap with Love Inc.)

Since our project was born, I have been thinking about what happens to the knitting after the installation is taken down. There are a few options:

• knitters can nominate to have their pieces returned
• as long as they are not damaged, pieces can be turned into blankets, scarves or other items and donated to an organisation such as Wrap with Love
• some combination of the above.
  

If there's a piece you'd really like back, you shouldn't feel any obligation to donate it. But if there is another you would like to donate then fantastic. There will be a bit of work involved in joining all the pieces together - and a workshop afternoon a month or so after the wedding will be a perfect opportunity to come together, have a bit of a celebration and prepare the knitting for it's next life. A mini reunion, if you will.

So if you are wondering "what happens to my knitting afterward?", now you know!

p.s. that reminds me, as you are knitting for the Wrapped in Love project, please affix a label to your pieces with your name - it is an important part of the installation that we fully recognize your hard work!

Wrapped in Love: Week 2

Hi knitters,
Welcome to week 2!
I hope you are as excited as I am - what stared out as a bit of a crazy idea is actually going to happen. - how about that? Some people have even started knitting! Hooray.

Last week I put the word out for a new project name, and luckily had one enthusiastic response (thanks Rathi!). So, drumroll, our project is now officially called:

Wrapped in love:
a journey through (guerilla) knitting

I like it. It feels warm and cosy and a bit romantic. Like we're creating all these woolly hugs for the tree.

So what kind of woolly hug would you like to create?
Something bright? Or maybe something white?
Something stripy? Or maybe something lacy?
You could knit in garter stitch, or maybe a rib stitch. Or maybe you're more into crochet, and you are a big fan of granny squares? Maybe crochet flowers is more your thing?
Or maybe you'll be picking up the hook or needle for the very first time, or for the first time in a long time. Which is one of the most exciting things about this project for me.

If you've made a start, I'd love to see any pics of your work in progress (WIP), and if you don't mind maybe I could even post them up here as inspiration? Only if you don't mind.

Here is what I've been working on:

a garter stitch piece, and also a bit of crochet:

I quite like the idea of crocheting some text into one of my pieces. I've never done it before.

If you're in Melbourne, let's have a get-together on Sunday, 20th June, 2-4pm at the Brunswick Green. It's still a few weeks away, so I'll send out a reminder and an RSVP request a bit closer to the date, but pencil it in your calendar!

(and if you're around this Sunday 23rd, live in the northern suburbs of Melbs and would like to join a craft group, the Preston Brown Owls are meeting from 2-4pm. This is only the second time we've met, so it's a great time to join in. The Brown Owls blog has more info)

Happy knitting! And if you have any questions / ideas / comments, I'd really love to hear them. Just leave a comment on the post or send me an email.

Nycole xx

ps, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can read the original project intro and instructions here (you can also find the link in the sidebar, just over there -----> ;-)
Thanks for visiting!

My creative space: Welcome to the guerilla knitting wedding tree

This is a project close to my heart.

As you may know, Craig & I are getting married this October.

Now, once you decide to get married, usually this involves planning a wedding of some description. And it can be very hard to get away from the wedding magazines and the white dress and the fancy cake and flowers. You start out with a clear head and a determination to do it your own way and as much as possible stay away from the wedding industry. But it's virtually impossible, and in moments of weakness (& sometimes clarity) you realise that no, you can't be the bride and cook for 100+ guests. It's just not a good idea.

So you take a deep breath and think about what's important about this day. And you go back to the notes from that brainstorming session you had way back when you convinced Craig we had to think about what we wanted this day to be, and the notes say 'handmade' and 'community' and 'participation'. And 'intergenerational dancing'(!)

Around the same time, I was reading a lot about guerilla knitting and yarn bombing (& even doing a little myself). I think what I love most about it is that, ultimately, it is a gift. It may be making a political statement or it may be just to make people smile, but someone has thought about it and spent their time and effort to make something that other people can enjoy. For no tangible reward. For people they most likely don't even know. I think the pure fact that this happens is enough proof that our economic system, which values competition and maximising personal utility at the expense of others, can never work in the long run. But that's another topic for another day...

So, what do you get when you cross handmade community participation with guerilla knitting?

You get this project, which aims to create a yarn art installation on a tree at our wedding, to celebrate the talent of our family and friends (and anyone out there who wants to participate, you will be welcomed with open arms!) and to create something that one person could not do alone, but that needs community, and is better for it.

Here is the tree. As you can see we have a big job ahead!

It also aims to tie in with the Go North Arts Festival, which is held in the Swan Hill region in late October. So if you would like to join in but you won't be at the wedding, your work will also be exhibited at the festival, which is a great chance to visit Swan Hill.

The 2010 festival theme is 'Journey'.

I will be following the project here, at least weekly, so send me your photos and your thoughts and I will attempt to record how things are going. I will also feature stories from guerilla knitters around the world, knitting (& crochet) tips, and whatever else evolves along the way. I am excited to see what will unfold.

The task for week 1 is: a new project name! Tentatively, this is the guerilla knitting wedding tree project. But that's a bit long and boring. Any ideas? Knitted Journey? A marriage of yarn? River red gum yarn story? Something else? Send 'em through, I have a prize for the best one.

I have kind of cheated this week and made this my creative space. Maybe if you have landed here via Kirsty's you might like to follow along? I would really like that...

If you've never been here before and you don't know who Kirsty is, then you're missing out. Every week she hosts 'my creative space', and 150+ crafty people play along and show the rest of us what creative things they've been up to. Go check it out!

Guerilla knitting: getting in on the act

Spotted at a train station in Melbourne's north...

(I also have a bigger project in the pipeline - watch this space)