I have business cards now!

Yesterday, I popped into printhouse. It is a local printing, sign & graphic design studio, owned by local artist Dan Bombardier aka 03N!@L (Denial).

This is the picture that is on the front. Taken by Samantha before craft night last week. It's about a block and a half from the printhouse location, and Dan had seen it a few days ago, and thought it was an amazing idea.

When I went to pick up the cards today (yes, it's that quick) I saw them, and LOVED them. On the back, he has all my contact information, as well as a small intarsia chart.
Amazing.
Then he had me help install his new toilet. Yes, I can do it all, knit graffiti, knit scarves, do laundry, perm hair, and now, I am also a plumber. It was hilarious, and I learned a few things about toilets and their installation in the process.

I am going to my first Stitch n Bitch tonight. I'm pretty excited for that. Hoping to network and bring SnB and OH! C.N.A.P together for some larger projects.

Lastly, I started on a large tag last night, it will be nearly 4 feet square when finished. Once it is up, pictures will be posted, and the full explanation will be here!

The Knifty Knitter at Craft Night At Phog!

Like I mentioned in the Craft Night post, I worked on a hat on the largest of the Knifty Knitter looms. It is a beige-ish colour paired with a pale olive green.
I love my Knifty Knitters. They are a bit of a pain to use at times, especially if I have been at it for a while, my hands tend to cramp up.
Hats work up rather quickly on them. I've finished 3 of the second largest hats in one day before. I'm not as quick with them anymore, but I'm sure if I tried, I could probably get bac to that speed.
I started an other hat on the second largest size with some of the yarn that Victoria brought into CNAP the other night. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

A Yarn Bomber's Manifesto

we anonymously promote knitting as adventure;
we aim to soften the edges of an otherwise cruel, harsh environment.
we juxtaspose vandalism
with the non-threatening nature of knitting.

We aim to readdress the nature of graffiti with a non permanent,
non destructive, cosy medium.
If you don't like it, just unpick it.

We are a non discriminating collective.
We aim to recruit members to tag on an international scale.

Knitstable today, the world tomorrow!

Actively contributing to a more positive type of global warming.

do you have too much responsibilty in your life?
do you yearn for something pointless?
If the answer is yes
then join the movement and become an outlaw knitter.

Taken from incogknito graffiti

Craft Night and other things

I've been away from my barely-working computer for a few days, and haven't had time to update anything!
Darren always has amazing pictures of craft night, Broken City Lab and everything else. Here is one of the group.
I got quite a bit of knitting done on my Knifty Knitter, and we goofed around and had a couple drinks as always. I helped Darren with his knitting, and his progress from the start to the end of his future tag is amazing!
We had a few new people join us, as well as some familiar faces. I'm thinking of starting group crafts in the near future.

I am having RIDICULOUS computer problems, updates will be sparse until I get it fixed.

This week is flying by!

I can't believe it's Friday already, and I haven't posted at all this week!
I went out and did a little more yarn bombing, had craft night yesterday, and I've been having a good time all around.
This was taken by Darren's camera (timers are a wonderful thing!) after craft night. I headed home sort of early, it had been a long day.

It's Sunday again!

So I started something! But first, what I finished.
I have completed a few tags here and there this past week, as well as 2 scarves with the new yarn I picked up. Pictures of the tags will happen when they find their new homes.
And today, I started an other tag. This one is made out of yarn I bought ages ago in a large bag of mill ends. I do that quite often, if I find something interesting in those bags. I often use the yarn for charity square knitting, and it's PERFECT for knitting tags: cheap, colourful and plentiful. The particular yarn I chose for today's tag (which will likely go on a parking meter) is crazy! It's got pompom things, and eyelash things and it's multi colour and awesome! Pain to knit with, though. I'm trying to figure out how I am going to sew it up once it's on the meter. Usually I leave a long tail of the yarn and use that to sew it up. In this case, it will be pretty difficult with all the little bobbles and thingys all over it. I'll likely end up just taking a scrap piece of blue similar to the blue in the yarn itself and sew it up with that.

More tags to come soon, I'm sure!

In the news?

According to a few locals, the tags were on the local news channel recently. And we were credited as "mystery artists".
As soon as I have more information, I will post it here!

Some yarn bombing news

There is good news and bad news in this post, a fair warning.

The good news first! The Phog Video was featured on one of my favourite knitting blogs on Monday. I was shocked when it came up in my Google Following list. I had a huge grin on my face right away, and then Twittered about it pretty much immediately. It's crazy how far the internet reaches.

Now for the bad news. The Cheetahs tag was taken down at some point. I expected this at some point, but not so soon. It was a very pretty tag, pink/red sparkly eye lash yarn, wrapped around the fence at the far end of the patio. For those who are not locals or who are not aware, Cheetahs is an Adult Entertainment venue, as it says on their sign. Once Sam and I have more tags up, I do plan on hitting them again. Perhaps something larger, yet less visible would be appropriate.

I am still working on a few tags here and there, but I have been alternating between them and some scarves. I just cast off the white Phentex scarf, and I'm starting on a grey/black one right now. It seems odd to be knitting scarves at the beginning of summer, but I like to think ahead.

The ORIGINAL Yarn Bombers

I just found this post on one of the guerilla knitting blogs I follow.
It's about original "yarn bombing".
Enjoy

So sick!

I have been super sick for the past couple days, and my knitting time has suffered!
I picked up 4 skeins of super fuzzy yarn the other day from Zellers for some scarves for craft shows this winter. It's called Fashion Twenty-Three by Phentex. It's nothing fancy, but it does the job. I have already started a scarf on 8mm needles, and it seems perfect for a cold winter day.
In other knitting news, I am still working on making tags. My knitting has been slow lately, because I got a tattoo on my fingers the other day (first tattoo!!) and it is pretty much where I hold my needle at. Give it a couple more days, and everything will be back to normal!

Yarn Bombing and Road Trips

This past week has been a whirlwind of knitting, road trips, meetings and a million other things, which has made for a very busy Nicole.

Starting with Tuesday, Sam and I went to the Broken City Lab meeting. Here, I took on the daunting task of teaching a lefty to knit. I wasn't sure of how if differed from right handed knitting, if at all, but Darren and I decided to try out right handed for him. It clicked very quickly! He has been chugging along on his piece, which he has decided will become a tag for a local business once completed. (Check out his blog for some amazing photography of Windsor and Essex County)

After BCL, Darren, Sam, Dan and I went back to Phog to put up some of our tags around the downtown area. Sam focused on the bike racks, and I just kind of went wild, tagging parking meters, benches and fence outside a strip club. This really shows out personalities; Sam is organized, and I am always all over the place! In this picture, taken by Darren, I am somehow managing to talk on my phone, sew the tag and balance in an awkward squatting position. I really don't know how I did it, I have a hard time walking sometimes! Yes, I have a yellow mohawk. (It's supposed to be white blond, but we have to bleach again.) I think it's because of this hairstyle that I get so many strange looks when tagging. A prime example, when I was sewing a tag onto a bench out front of one of Windsor's biggest dance clubs, a group of girls wearing sombreros (it was Cinco de Mayo) walked past and said to me, once again in a squatting position Are you throwing up? An other said No, she's just sewing something. It was strange how nonchalant she was about it!

Wednesday was reserved for a road trip from Windsor to just past Oshawa with 3 of my best friends. I brought along a ton of yarn and a few sets of needles in hopes of knitting several tags. This didn't happen. I was too busy singing and dancing to the music we had blaring to get much done.

Tonight is Oh! C.N.A.P! and I will be knitting tags there.

I am really hoping that people start noticing these tags and noticing the beauty that surrounds them. That is the reason I am doing this: I am putting something soft and cuddly on something normally seen as cold and hard, like a bench, parking meter or fence.

If you would like to see any other pictures of the tags, you can see Sam's at her blog here, or Darrens on his blog here.

It's Sunday!

With all the hooplah surrounding the local yarn bombing (the entry right before this one, if you missed it) I have been starting new projects every other day at least.
I've completed a total of 6 tags, 3 of which have been installed. The other 3 may make it up this Tuesday. I have yet to decide where they will be going, but I do have a plan for the locations that will be tagged.

I live in Windsor, Ontario, which some people seem to think is a suburb of Detroit. When Detroit held the Super Bowl, several thousand people crossed the border every day to get into Windsor's full nude strip clubs and exotic massage parlous. We have several of both. I have decided that every one of them in the downtown area will get a frilly pink thing knit for them and placed on the outside. The male strip will get a fuzzy blue one.

Pictures will come soon!