JoePa's the bomb!

this is my most brazen yarn bomb yet.  i "bombed" JoePa!

i got the idea when i saw all the mementos left at JoePa's statue - flowers, candles, pictures.  a man left a set of rosary beads in his hand.  people draped an american flag and a scarf around his neck.  the makeshift shrine was dismantled shortly after his memorial service with the items dried and stored for the family to sift through at a later date.

i got the idea to yarn bomb the statue after seeing the stuff left behind.  statues are popular places to bomb - people knit hats, scarves or other things and place them on the statue in jest.  i wanted to be respectful so i decided to knit up a wristlet - it's  something an athlete wears anyway and it would look discreet.

with worsted weight yarn, i cast on 40 stitches on size 6 DPNs.  i knit two rows of blue then switched to white, knitting three rows of white to two rows of blue (the blue yarn was acrylic, the white was cotton-ease and a bit thinner).  

i wrote a note on a piece of felt...


the band had to be big enough to slip over JoePa's big metal paw



so hubby and i drove out to penn state on sunday for his LCM board meeting.  we had some time to kill before i could drop him off so i asked him to drive me to the shrine (until his death, i never knew it existed).  there were a couple visitors there when we arrived, so i waited my turn and took a few pictures:


when it was my turn i slipped the band on the wrist.  it barely fit - i had to stretch that sucker to get it on.  guess i should have cast on 50 stitches instead!  the note is tucked inside the band.


proof that it happened:


people are still leaving mementos - i surmise the shrine will get cleaned up soon and with it my wrist band (unless it gets stolen first).


we arrived just in time - as i was leaving an econovan arrived with a gaggle of tourists!  i surmise JoePa's shrine will become as popular as the nittany lion shrine.

i had fun doing this tag!  it's fun doing something naughty with my craft!  if someone can knit a sweater for mr. rogers, then i can certainly knit a wristlet for JoePa!

i done a fresh ol' tag...

in honor of i love yarn day i decided to do a fresh yarn bomb...

the red square was knit on size 8s, the blue one on 9s.  i didn't think i had any 8 needle tips free so improvised (and as it turned out, i did have a pair of 8 tips free).

i cast on 36 stitches and knitted until i was sick of knitting the square.  there are 5 stitches of garter on each side, and 4 rows of garter top and bottom.  i forgot to do a garter border on the blue square, so that's why it looks a bit checkerboardish.  i cast on the blue square from the side of the red square becos i cast on too many stitches.

the bottom square, for some inexplicable reason, i did in duplicate stitch (and i wondered why it took me so darn long!)  the top was straight up stitches.  i like the mix of stitches actually.



i was brazen squirrel and sewed the bomb on the pole in broad daylight.  the neighbors up the street saw me (their kids saw me and flipped out), a car passed by and a lady walking her dog saw me taking pictures.  she gave me a funny look, and i gave her one back (to her back, of course).

this is what happens to a yarn bomb that has hung around too long:



here's the back...

i had to use up that heinous red heart some way.  let's see how long this one lasts!

where are they now?

this is what happens after a 3 month old yarn bombing:



the jil eaton and the valley yarns faded a bit...





apparently snow, rain, sun and cold have no affect on fun fur or bobble yarn.

taggy new year from the knotty knitster

i'm being a little knotty (that's some norry humor) for the new year.

i got the inspiration from this book.


here's more:




just a reminder to luv yr mum.



an excellent usage of leftovers.  and fun fur.  unfortunately, my embroidery skills are lacking.








tag!  you're it!
(all apologies that the pictures are really fuzzy.)


just doing my part to brighten up the neighborhood.


shhhhh.  you won't tell, will you?  ;)


thank you for visiting my humble corner of the universe in '10.  here's to a bright '11!