'Her Head' on International Womens Day.....

All through the city of Stoke-on-Trent you'll find lots and lots of statues. Some are placed in places with a high volume of traffic. Some cost A LOT of money. Some are shiny, some are unloved. As a group we decided that this particular piece of art from the 80's needed a facelift.

She's called 'Her Head'. Given to the city of Stoke-on-Trent as a gift from the artist Dhruva Mistry

We gathered all together.

This was to be our first daytime yarnbomb. It didn't go without a hitch though.

I guess we should have known. You see, the statue is right next to the Army Careers Advice Centre. Next to there?? In the adjacent office block??....Only the flippin council!

It wasn't long before we were approached by three people. Not so official looking but obviously not the usual spectators. Two men said they were from the council and asked (quite politely I may add) what we were doing and would we be leaving it all there. We (politely) told the men that we were celebrating International Womens Day by installing a beautiful scarf onto 'Her Head'. It had taken a few of us quite a few hours to make. 'Yes, we are leaving it here'. They hit us with a slightly amusing sentence....'You can't, its flytipping!' He asked if we'd like to go up to see his manager Mr.P.

The other lady who came with the two men hadn't introduced herself. We later learnt that she was from the careers office. She suggested that we take it to a childrens nursery or something and then added,

'I'm not being horrible but why don't you do it at the library?'

That really made one of us giggle. Why would doing it at the library be horrible? Our city library is great! Right next door to the potteries museum, which for me is inspirational :0)

After meeting with Mr.P. (who was a bit confused by the whole thing) he took my contact numbers and told me that he'd ring me to come and remove it if anyone complained in the next few days. Complain? Really?

I would think most people would smile as they walked by, like our one talking spectator.....

"I used to kiss this lady every day on my way to work. I guess I'm just too busy now, with work and stuff. You get tangled up in life don't you? Well, now you've done this, I might start giving her a kiss again"

So if nothing else, we've made this guy smile on his way to work everyday.

Here's what she looked like BEFORE her makeover......

and AFTER.......



I think she has an enigmatic smile. Like Mona Lisa. She looks happier with a scarf on now somehow.

We'd love to do more sculptures around the city. There are loads of them that people don't notice.

Here's a site showing all kinds of art around the city.

Here's another and another and finally another

The silver tree is my personal favourite. It'd look really great with some birds perched on it *ponders*

Better get the number for the councils art department. Do they have even have an art department? They should if they have all those sculptures going un-noticed......



We've recieved word today that the scarf has gone :0(
It was great while it lasted and has made many people talk about
'Her Head' and International Womens Day.
RIP Scarf.
Sadly missed 20th March, 2012

Valentines Eve....

This was our first evening yarn bomb as a big group. First a couple gathered in the dark, then a couple more until we were around ten strong and armed with all kinds of love!



Twas the night before Valentines when all through the town,

women were gathering, tying stuff down.....

The lovehearts were hung all around the trees with care.

We're hoping the dustmen will leave them all there.

The children all asleep, so out snook the mums.

armed with some yarn to go meet their chums.

All wearing gloves to keep ourselves warm

freezing it was! But a break from the norm.

Not a pedestrian was watching, nor walker in their fleece.

No one even waved.....apart from the police!

The moon hid away as the rain was so dull

but it didn't put us off hanging our wool.

We'd knitted and crocheted and now it was done

We'd all had a laugh and smiled, it was fun!

So here are the finished articles. We hope you had a love filled day with your better half, friends or just your thoughts. Maybe you could visit our little shrine of loveliness and share a kiss? Happy Valentines Day xx

These concrete balls are around waist height. They look so much better now they're loved up!

The fluffy yarn on this lampost is lush.

Here is where the action happened.



Rows and rows. Some yarn and lots of sewing!

Even the trees didn't get away unscathed.

These decorative railings had been crying out for something.

This was the very last heart to go up. Pretty ribbons. Lovely.



our advent 'yarnvent'

Having been inspired by yet another facebook group we decided to join in with our very own yarnvent.
First we picked a spot. A railway crossing, great idea. There are some trees in a garden area. Its beside a carpark which people used when the trains used to stop in the village. The trains don't stop anymore. The cars have to though. People out walking and cars have to stop for the trains. Waiting while trains go by can be pretty boring. It's a notorious crossing with folks having to wait for three, sometimes four, trains at a time. Fifteen minutes is a long time when you're sitting in a car. Maybe they need something to look at....

It began with just two of us who live in the same village. We decided to split the daily bomb to odd and even dates. The first one went up. It was the 'Happy Christmas Barlaston' tree. It was made using crocodile stitch. he tutorial can be found here. Its a great stitch to learn and I couldn't wait to do it. On the bottom I stitched a base for the tree and added some embroidered words......'Happy Christmas Barlaston'

The items grew until the tree infront began to take shape too. This tree was more like a Christmas tree full of decorations. There hung snowflakes, knitted baubles, a bell that tinkled, a Christmas pudding and even a crocheted paper chain.

The snowflakes were great. I loved how they blew in the wind and caught the eye of passers by.

This photo shows the two trees together. They looked wonderful....

I talk in past tense as they've all been taken down. We didn't want to bestow bad luck on the whole village and so we needed to take them all down before 12th night. We turned up after nightfall with a hot flask of coffee and a little helper (who enjoyed climbing the tree more than holding the bag open.....*rolls eyes*) It was quite sad. I felt happy that we'd hopefully made people smile during the minutes waiting in cars, standing in the cold with their dogs or holding the hands of children on the walk home from school. Sad that all the work we'd done had been put away until next year maybe??

The before and after shot....



My personal woolly favourites were.....
The reindeer. He looked soooooo geeky he was cute.
I love the free standing spiral tree hiding amongst the shrubbery.
and finally the scary snowmn with staring eyes who looked down from high up in the tree.

Moments to remember......
Taking a stepladder and giggling as I tied the scary snowman on. Nobody asked what I was doing, which made it funnier. I smiled for the whole day.

And picure the scene:
I pulled up onto the kerb in my car to quickly attach the reindeer. There were some work vans parked up right next to the trees. I couldn't see any workers and so began sewing him onto the tree. The first van drove away leaving a handful of bewildered workman looking at me. Their puzzled expressions said it all. I wonder what was said once I'd left LOL

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project. Lots of others did little baubles or snowflakes to hang while they were passing through. We even managed to meet a new crafter. Sh's doing some quilting to hang around. Watch this space!

Valentine yarnbomb next people........:0)

Rainbow Bench

A while ago I made a rainbow. Some of it was crafted in a caravan on our summer holiday this year. It was done with laughing children at my feet and sunshine beating through the caravan door. Now that the weather is blustery and cold I found a bench that looked like it needed some summer.

Here's the place on google maps. A beautiful little village.....http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=barlaston&hl=en&ll=52.951792,-2.160873&spn=0.000103,0.076818&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.052763,39.331055&vpsrc=6&hnear=Barlaston,+Stoke-on-Trent,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=52.951696,-2.160781&panoid=zn7xLUuz0KnE4q6iKOVN7A&cbp=12,202.05,,0,0

Its a memorial bench to a man called Donald Foulkes, altough the plaque is no longer there. He was quite a character and was well known whilst working on the Wedgwood factory just down the road. I thought he'd probably think it was nice to brighten up his bench.

Its so cold on that bench today. No, not cold.....blustery. The wind was really refreshing and the sun was beaming, just like on our family holiday. A great day for photographs........



The Rainbow is no more :0(
Sadly missed 10th February 2012.

Remembrance Day.....11/11/11

We couldn't let such a special day come and go without making a poppy or two. People from all over the world gathered together to remember loved ones lost and family members currently serving in the armed services. As a group we got out our red yarn and also began thinking about wars long past and those unfortunately continuing around the world. It certainly made me think about our forces at home and abroad. Whether or not you agree with the war going on at the moment or not, it's still about remembering those who fought for us in past wars and how our lives have changed as a result. For the better I may add :0)

From a basic poppy pattern found via a friends facebook page, I made a 'bouquet' of different sized poppies. For ease and for quickness I cheated and used black buttons as centres and green felt leaves. I was really pleased with the result.

 The tag was embroidered with the words, 'We shall remember them'

As people gathered around our local cenotaph and around the bench under the tree nearby, I felt proud that I had done my bit and honoured our war heroes. I felt proud that people were looking at the wreath, carefully sewn to the bench, smiling. I kept my distance but noted the approving glances from the elders in the community as well as the youngsters sitting by it. They touched it, puzzled over it and smiled about it. Job done :0)

Yarnsy also made this....

The tag reads...

'It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.'
Eleanor Roosevelt

I hope in some way we did our bit and contributed to paying our respects along with the rest of our country.

Yarnsy has been busy....

Yarnsy has joined the facebook group '21 days to yarnbomb' and my my has she been busy!
Everyday so far she's posted up a tantalizing picture on my personal facebook page. Some have even made me feel quite emotional, all of them have made me smile. She's made apples, bumblybees, love hearts, even a professor Snape! He was my personal fave. He sits on a road sign at 'Snape Hall Road, Baldwins Gate, Staffs.

Each of Yarnsy's projects have little cards attached to the This particular one is a JK Rowling quote from Harry Potter (obviously LOL), " It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

An apple sweetly hanging in a tree....

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. It's where all the fruit is" Shirley MacLaine.

A rainbow there for all to see........

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud", Mary Angelou

A Star shining down from skies above....

'No star is ever lost we once have seen, we always may be what we might have been.' Adelaide Anne Procter

A Dolly just sitting, sharing the love.......

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world' Anne Frank

I'm sure that a lot of these projects have been stolen away already as they are all so beautiful! I can't wait to see what else Yarnsy does for the remaining days in November. I'm loving reading the quotes each day. Many are inspirational, as is her knitting and crochet. Keep up the good work Yarnsy. You're making lots of people smile :0)



If you'd like to get involved Facebook has lots of yarn bombing pages. One of which is '21 days to yarnbomb'. They have this to say....

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, but how about 21 days to make a habit. Why not join in the first annual 21 DAYS TO YARN BOMB event?

Many people around the world participated in this year's International Yarn Bombing Day event and now here's your chance to join in the next big yarn bombing date on the calendar.

For every single day between November 1st to November 21st 2011 you will n...eed to yarn bomb something in your town. It doesn't need to be big. Even the smallest flower attached to a bus stop seat can make a powerful statement and make someone's day. Or why not get together with your yarn bombing group and each add one yarn bomb per day to a space and by the end of the 21 days you'll have a massive project all done and ready to show off to the world. How about documenting the gradual increase in the yarn bombs to make up the large project by the end?

Don't forget to promote this event on your own facebook walls/pages/groups to get more people involved and build the evergrowing yarn bombing community.

This event has the intention of happening every year in November, worldwide.

This event is bought to you by Twilight Taggers, Yarn Corner and Dial A Yarn Bomb Group.
www.facebook.com/twilighttaggers
www.facebook.com/yarncorner
www.facebook.com/dialayarnbombgroup

New members always welcome to the Yarn Corner facebook group.

Media enquiries: Please email Bali at twilighttaggers@gmail.com.See more

 

 

If this is something you'd like to participate in, then by all means jump in. Tell them we sent you!

we're back at it again!

Well, it seems like forever since we wrote the last post. The summer holidays have been and gone. The warmer weather is fading and dark nights are creeping in. Good! Dark nights make me want to stay in, snuggled up on the sofa with a hook and some yarn.
We been tentatively doing some yarn bombing. Small things. Easy things to get us back into the swing of things. A small dolly with a small yet powerful message. A love heart with a love letter which has already been stolen away. The idea that someone stole away her heart makes me smile. A bumblybee hiding away for the winter. Maybe he'll be joined by some more bees to hibernate through the winter? We shall see.
We'll be adding images in the near future. Keep calling back. Tell your friends. Keep the smiles going. That's what its all about.

Silverdale this evening....

Just had a note from a friend to say she's been busy again.
She said,

"Sewed together all the odd squares and shapes I've practised my crochet on, appliqued (roughly!) "Silverdale" onto it and sewed it onto the bench at the entrance to the village, by the mining memorial. When I was taking photos afterwards, a man driving past did a double-take and gave me a thumbs up :D"

We loving the fact that a random guy gave the thumbs up. Making people smile even before we've left the scene of the crime! Winner.
Here it is in all its glory. Enjoy!

and here's the close up....

fame at last?

This afternoon I happened to be visiting the in-laws. Mum mentioned she'd read about a local yarnbomb in the free paper 'the sentinel advertiser' on Thursday. Cue mum digging through the recycling bin so I could have a read. I couldn't quite believe it but it was a little article about us! The lizard and chain had been spotted. They'd obviously used the Qr code we leave on our bombs and got to this blog through it. It's nice to know they work. Hopefully the sentinel will be keeping an eye out for more stuff? Maybe a photo soon? We'd have to be anonymous in it though. Don't want to go blowing our cover now! Balaclavas anyone? Here's the article in all its glory.......

Fredbear on holiday....

Spring hill in Nailsworth has a smiley happy phonebox thanks to Fredbear. She was on a little break and couldn't resist doing a little tag out of our 'area' LOL
Looks great doesn't it?

A hospital tag for International Yarn Bombing Day!

Who'd have thought a sunflower on a hospital sign would ever happen?! Even at the end of her shift it was still there. Maybe it'll make people smile on the way to Xray? We hope so!

International Yarn Bombing Day

Two of us (and a small army of hubby and kids!) had a great time in Hanley, Stoke on Trent, today. We parked at the bottom end of town and began our stealth mode ascent into town. Beginning at the Potteries Museum was a good tactic. We thought that a bench needed a special touch right outside. Maybe weary travellers coming to veiw the Staffordshire Hoard could have a little rest and a smile before entering the 'free' museum? A lizard now takes pride of place on the arm of the bench with a little tag at the other end for company.......

We made our way through the seated area at the back of the Bethseda Chapel. There stands a beautiful statue of mother and child. Yarnsy (one of our taggers) had a made a chain. This would be the perfect place for it. Maybe to signify the 'soft chains of motherhood' or 'the chains that bind all mothers together' or maybe just to make someone smile!

From there we did a little cream tag on some railings.....

and a couple of phone boxes....

 These phone boxes were not as difficult to finish. We had as much time as we wanted and plenty of cover. The glass on the phone booths had posters on that hid us really well.

The tree bands that we did were the most fun! In broad daylight with passers by puzzling, the sun shining and us laughing! I can't wait until we hit the road with a full tree cosy. We just need to find a good tree. Maybe you have one near you? Let us know....

 This one sits outside a coffe bar, near to MacDonalds. Right after we'd done it a guy stood looking at it whilst eating his sausage roll. That made US smile!

I'm hoping that this one will be adopted and looked after by the chaity shop we put it in front of. Who knows though? They might not even be there tomorrow!

My personal favourite of the day was this bobbly rectangle. We always buy a big issue from Dave who stands here. We made him laugh when he saw what we were up to. A passer buy commented on it before it was even stitched on. She said, 'What a great idea! Much nicer than the usual rubbish!' When I told her it was grafitti for ladies she laughed loudly and exclaimed,'Its about time we had something!!'

Another couple.......

One donated by a friend. A neat bunch of 3 flags.

A cute little band around a great lampost....

Small tags

We do lots of teeny tiny tags too. Much harder to spot, but there are lots of them around. Telephone boxes, bins, even your windscreen wipers aren't safe from our hooks and needles! Smaller tags are much easier to tie on. They can be carried around in a pocket and attached at the right place in seconds without arousing any suspicion.......

These bins are in a sad lonely place. Passers by hardly notice until they

drop in their dog poop bags! We can even make people smile when they're

doing a rubbish job!

Look out for small tags on your car too. Nowhere is safe ;0)

Westport lake

Today on an old delapidated bench there sprung a bit of colour. An unknown shooper was out feeding the ducks and saw an opportunity to make someone smile. Tomorrow it might be a conversation starter. Maybe someone will touch it, stroke it. Children may laugh about it, others may puzzle over it. It may be taken away. Who knows? For a moment though someone is smiling about it and so the mission is complete.

Longton looks beautiful today!

Whilst shopping in longton this morning I noticed this lovely bit of knitting. I'm not sure how long its been there as its not a part of the town that I usually walk through. My little girl spotted it first. She was super-excited! I had to take photos with her standing by it. This kind of tube knitting has been done in many places. It's nice to see it in my local area though. It made me smile :o)

Ring 'o' roses

Brightening up some railings with some cheerful flowers. Quick and easy to make, even easier to tie on when no-ones watching. Look out for more of these..... 

The bench at the Victorian garden

Here we are attaching some lovely yarn to a dreary bench...

Our first outing at Burslem park....

Our first 'proper' outing was in April, 2011. A park warden knew what we were upto but the general public had no idea. A few of us sat at the entrance to the childrens playarea and began to knit, crochet and chat while the kids played out in the spring sunshine.
Off we wandered around the park looking for places that would be good to brighten up. The Victorian garfen has some dreary benches so we attached a granny square, a fish and some coloured yarn. As we left a couple of ladies sat at the bench. They smiled at the nice addition, having no idea it was us that had put them there.
Our only goal is to make people smile.....