First Day of Spring Yarn Bombing!

I love making crochet flowers. They're fast and easy to do and use up leftover yarn from projects. (Confession: They also use up the yarn I buy from thrift stores.) I also love yarn bombing. Put the two together and you get a first day of spring yarn bombing!

I used the magnetic backing from various advertisements (like the kind you get at home shows or other vendor shows or maybe sent in the mail with a company's name, phone number, etc.) and hot glued them to the flowers. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how many would actually make it onto people's refrigerators or into their homes and didn't want to spend money on something that had a 50/50 chance of being tossed. So, upcycled cheap ass magnetic material is was.

jar o'flowers

My areas of attack were my city's two libraries, another love of mine. Now, in my head, I envisioned a sunny day, birds singing, warm temperature, cars bedecked with flowers. In reality, it was a cloudy day, the temperature barely in the upper 30's and the car to flower size ratio substantially greater than in my head (what, did I think all cars were the size of a Smart car.....or a Tonka toy?) The birds, however, were singing. Somewhere. I'm pretty sure.

And then I got shy about it. So, while I'm blaming it on the nippy weather (although with the winter we had, upper 30's is balmy), I didn't take many pictures because I needed my bravado to put the flowers on the cars.

See what I mean about car to flower ratio? Yes, there really are crochet flowers on the cars.

Despite the paltry visual impact, especially in photographs, I had fun placing the flowers on the cars. It was my way of welcoming spring and (hopefully) giving the recipients a little gift to make them smile. 

I plan on making more and keeping them in my car for random yarn bombings when I run errands. It's fun and even if the person tosses it, there's going to be at least a moment when he or she has to confront and process the situation. A moment when they are taken out of their "regularly scheduled programming" and isn't that what art is all about?

Maker Faire Detroit 2012

Maker Faire is once again coming to The Henry Ford! It will be on July 28 and 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. Maker Faire is a wonderful and fun event that showcases makers of all kinds. Where else can you see how to weave, solder and electronic circuit and a mechanical fire breathing dragon at the same place? Both inside the Henry Ford Museum and in the adjacent parking lot are fervent makers showing what is possible and inspiring people to make their own creations.

I am proud to say I will be a Maker at the Faire for the third time! This year I am diverging from the previous two years of sharing my love of crochet and knitting through yarn bombing:

Maker Faire Detroit 2010: The Purl Street Scarf Project

Maker Faire Detroit 2011: Flower Power: Making Waves with Yarn

(You can read more information about the above projects at The Purl Street Scarf Project.)

This year I will be sharing my love for bookbinding!

Because I have an affection for the concept of community participation in creating an art project, this year I will be teaching Faire goers the pamphlet stitch in a project inspired by prayer flags. The "pages" will be starched cloth (to make it feel more like paper and easier to sew) onto which a "Maker intention" will be written. This can be what they make already, what they want to make, what they think more people should be making; basically a statement to affirm the delight and intention of making.

These pages will be sewn onto a paper strip "spine" which will subsequently be attached to make one long banner. In the manner of prayer flags, this banner of intention flags will fly in my backyard for the wind to disperse these intentions to the universe. Who knows? Maybe we'll see an increase of traffic to Radio Shack, yarn stores and lumber yards.

And, because who doesn't like a free make-and-take, people will be able to use their new found pamphlet stitch skill to make a small booklet to take notes of inspiring ideas they see. 

So, e-readers be damned, make way for the tactile and aesthetic qualities of traditional books!