Knitty Graffity

New project

2011-12-30T10:25:00.006+13:00

The Woolly Walk Along is still up at wharf here in Devonport.
After a few repairs it's still looking really good. And so many people
have told me how much they love it! The tourists have arrived
in Auckland so I thought I'd leave it for the summer.

Now I have a new project in the pipe-line. Two years ago we put up
some pieces on the poles along a hand rail where a lot of kids
walk to school. I kind of planned to do all the poles but had too much on and
it never happened. The pieces are really manky so it's time to replace them.

I sent out an email to the TWWA team and also posted on facebook
and jeez – so many people want to join in. This time we will definitely
do all the poles and it might even be part of the hand rail!

Want to join in? Please send me an email.

Stay tuned – it will be in place for when the kids
go back to school 1 February.

TWWA going on auction

2011-11-03T21:58:00.010+13:00

The Woolly Walk Along is a huge success!
I have had amazing feedback – people just love it!

Here is your chance to lay your hands on some of the amazing pieces

from The Woolly Walk Along. Some of the pieces have been listed
on TradeMe and all the proceeds will be donated to help building
up Christchurch after the earthquakes.

The most spectacular piece is of course the knitted Dan Carter.
He is now attached to a piece of wood that is signed by
(the real) Dan Carter and team captain Richie McCaw.
How cool is that!

Click on the images to go to the auctions.

Video!

2011-10-11T12:51:00.005+13:00

The official Woolly Walk Along video is finished and it’s so beautiful!

Big thank you to Michael Miller for directing and filming.

Thanks also to Bryce McNamara for filming,

Matt Scott for the music and Gareth Dick for the editing.

You have all done an amazing job!

The woolly-walk-along from Michael Cannon Miller on Vimeo.

Add on!

2011-09-17T22:23:00.008+12:00

A couple of late arrivals have been added to The Woolly Walk Along.

If you want to add on you own piece – go for it! The circumference is 26cm.
Maybe we end up covering the whole hand rail!

If you add on a piece, feel free to add a photo in the album here

-----

Unfortunately, there has been some damage made to TWWA.

Someone has taken ‘Dan, our man’

Elmo has only one arm left

And the cute wee owl is gone...

Street art is street art.
It comes and it goes.
But it was sad to see them go...

Video at The Localist

2011-09-12T11:25:00.005+12:00

Very soon we will post the official The Woolly Walk Along video.

In the meantime, please enjoy this video from The Localist.

Who-dun-knit?

2011-09-12T09:46:00.003+12:00

Yep, The Woolly Walk Along ended up in the newspaper

– a full page article in the weekend section!

You can read it on-line here.

Proudly presenting...

2011-09-10T13:48:00.016+12:00

The Woolly Walk Along is now installed at

the Devonport Wharf, Auckland, New Zealand.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the amazing
artists who have contributed to this art project.
Thank you to everyone who helped out installing it.
Thank you to people in charge, for giving us permission
to give this free public art to the people in Auckland.
Thank you to everyone who in any way have been part of
The Woolly walk Along. I couldn’t have done it without you!

Enjoy!

-----

It was a very foggy and mysterious morning
when we headed down to the wharf in Devonport.
But the fog cleared and it was a sunny and lovely day!
We had so much fun!

All photos by Michael Miller and Dag Young

More photos here

and here

The Big Day

2011-09-10T05:54:00.002+12:00

Today we will install The Woolly Walk Along!!

If you are in Auckland – head to Devonport Wharf
and check out 75+ metres of knitted art!

I'll be back in a few hours with photos.

Soon. Very soon

2011-09-06T07:44:00.004+12:00

Spectacular!

2011-08-26T09:13:00.005+12:00

Well, there are not many days to go until The woolly walk along

will be installed! And I can tell you it will be spectacular!

There will be a knitted Dan Carter (famous and gorgeous All Blacks player),

a full rugby team of wee kiwis, a 45cm tall squid with long tentacles,

Maria from Sound of Music will be there and so will Elmo and he has

long arms full of cuddles! Many, many more pieces including an abundance

of flowers, stripes and even some cornish pasties!

Soon peeps, soon...

New woolly goodies

2011-07-10T20:27:00.010+12:00

I have received new photos and more pieces

have arrived for The woolly walk along.

You are a very crafty bunch of people!

Robyn from Australia has made this “feel-good”-piece.
It’s covered with little pom-poms!

Bali from Twilight Taggers has made 2 more pieces.
Looking good!

Domini from Auckland learned how to knit so that she could join TWWA!
These are her first pieces ever – I’m impressed!

Hemskapat has added more embellishments on her beautiful piece.
This is not four pieces but one long - about 2 meters!
And it’s sooo Swedish!

Another piece from Sweden – my cousin Jenny has recycled two
pot-holders that she never finished. I like it!

I have bead-knitted this with golden beads. The idea for the wording
(We made this for you) came from my 12-year old son. He is a clever boy!

This stunning piece is made by Sandie in England and it’s her sixth piece!
They all have the pretty flowers. But this one is my favourite!

Staci A from USA has made these very cool pieces. The bumpy one is still a WIP
– exciting to see what it will look like finished!

Isn’t this the cutest rubgy team in the world!!!
15 felted little kiwis made by the amazing Strickbombe in Germany

I think The woolly walk along will be
the coolest woolly exhibition EVER!

Thanks team – you are amazing!

(Katherine, the emails I send you bounces back.
I can’t get in touch with you!)

It only gets better!

2011-06-20T21:30:00.008+12:00

Well, the crafters that have joined The woolly walk along are truly amazing!

Here is an update on what they are up to.

Let’s start with the works in progress

The Kitty Knitter from NZ is obviously a big Facebook fan!
So clever!

The Swedish team Hemskapat are working on something very patriotic.
Hey guys – you hit a weak spot in my heart!

The Knit Knit Rebels from The Netherlands
have gone completely wooligan! Go girls!

And Mr Squid, he is just growing and growing!
Tracey – you are an amigurami master!

(Hey, hurry to her blog and check out the crochet bikini!!)

-------

And here are some fantabulous finished pieces.
Some of them are still traveling to NZ
but some have already found their way to my letterbox.

This colourful piece is from Bali from Twilight Taggers.
If you haven’t checked out her amazing work from
The Light Heart Installation – do it now!

Anja from Germany whipped up this piece in one day.
One day! You rock!

Slipk2not from the UK has finished her beautiful WISDOM piece. Love it!
She has put a lot of thinking into it – you can read it here.

Graffity Grannys have sent me this hilarious piece!
It’s black and gold to support their rugby team (watch out All Blacks!),
in the middle there are gorgeous daffodils and on the sides there are...
two cornish pasties, of course, because they come from Cornwall!
Jeez, I cracked when I opened up this package!

Two weeks ago I received the top piece from Sandie in England.
A couple of days later I received the second one.
And they just kept coming - one by one!
And they are all beautiful!

Die Extremhäklerin from Austria has finished her piece.
I love these funky mushrooms!

Thanks, guys!

IYBD – Awesome!

2011-06-12T00:20:00.008+12:00

Here in Devonport is a statue that is a memorial of a much loved local lady,

Nicole, who was unfortunately killed in a car accident.
The statue is treasured and she is often decorated with various
fresh and/or plastic flowers.

Two years ago I thought she looked a bit cold, so I gave her a pair
of leg warmers and a scarf. She really needed some new winter gear
so for International Yarn Bombing Day, I decided to replace them.

I couldn’t throw away the daffodil and breast cancer brooches someone
had pinned on the old scarf so I decided to put them back again!

I also decided to recycle a piece that has been lying around at home for a while.
This piece was originally put up to comment a graffiti exhibition at
Auckland Art Gallery a year ago. They removed it straight away...
But I managed to get it back, so here it is again!

This is what I think about International Yarn Bombing Day!

All photos by Michael Miller

Knitty in Melbourne

2011-06-08T23:36:00.007+12:00

The amazing Light Heart Installation

is now installed in Melbourne, thanks to Twilight Taggers.

Check some really cool photos here.

Below are some photos of my tag, thanks to Alana Renee Beck.

5 metres!

2011-06-02T20:47:00.005+12:00

I received a big package in the mail today and it was from

Alison Friday, Knitting for art.

There were heaps of pieces in the package!

This piece will not fit on the hand rail. I think we will attach it to
another piece and let it hang down. What do you reckon?

This net is an impressive 3.8 metres!

And she included one of her
“ trademark” pieces – a crochet duck

Thanks so much Alison!

-----

I want to emphasise that every piece contributed to
TWWA is equally important. This is an impressive contribution
but a 10cm piece is just as welcome!

Awesome!

2011-05-30T19:51:00.008+12:00

I have received some more awesome pics from The woolly walk along team.
I love that our project is turning out so randomly quirky and absolutely amazing!

Good on you team!

Tracey’s amazing Mr Squid has now got the piece that will
hold him onto the handrail. Look how big that squid is!!

Slipk2not from the UK is working on some very intricate intarsia.
I love her message. Well done, girl!

My dear sister Mia in Sweden has sent me a sneak peak of her piece.
I know that she’s a master of crocheted coral reefs,
and it looks like it could be one, doesn’t it? Love you, sis!

Sarah has made us another piece picturing her home area. Did you know
that they breed lots of lamas in Oregon, USA? I didn’t but I really like lamas
and I think this piece is beautiful. Thanks Sarah!

Rhondy here in Auckland is making heaps of pieces for us!
Do we like space invaders? We LOVE space invaders!!
And I know that there will be more of them on TWWA.

Janis is making Sound of Music! As you do if you come from Austria!
Hilarious! I wonder if I can chain a tape recorder to the hand rail
so that we get the sound effects? :)

That’s all for this time.

Thanks for sharing!

There is still plenty of time to join this project.
Details at the top.

Check it out!

2011-05-23T21:48:00.018+12:00

The woolly walk along is growing by the day and the team just

blow me away! Their creativity and commitment is amazing!

Some peeps have sent me pics.

This piece is from Stormarela in Canada.
Check out all the little ‘thingies’ in the rainbow part. Very cool!

‘The grass is greener on this side’
from Zippitydoodah here in Auckland. Too cute!
(When you catch the ferry from Auckland CBD and arrive in Devonport,
you realise that, well, the grass in greener!)

As I live in Central Oregon in the US, on the east side of the Cascade mountains,
I wanted to make a picture of the terrain here to share with you in NZ.
The piece is in the colors of the area, pine and sage greens, blue for the Deschutes River,
and our ski mountain, Mt Bachelor, white, as it is now covered with snow.
From Sarah in Oregon, USA. Beautiful, thanks Sarah!

Die Extremhäklerin in Austria makes these very funky mushrooms
and she has promised to make quite a big piece for us! Yay!

Some pieces from Knit Knit Rebels in The Netherlands.
The whole crew will catch up in a couple of days and rumour has it
that there are a bunch of pieces heading my way!

Tracey from Mostly Nerdy Crochet in the US doesn’t make woolly tags
– she makes amiguramis. Well until now!
I convinced her to join in and now she’s making us a giant squid!!!
How cool is that?

The amazing Strickbombe in Germany has sent a pic of phase 1.
And told me that phase 2 includes a whole rugby team!
Can you believe it!?

I’m so proud of you, guys!

And if you want to join this fantabulous team – send me an email!
Address to the right.

Nostalgia

2011-05-22T11:19:00.005+12:00

The second piece for The wolly walk along has arrived and this one comes from Knitty Sr!
She has dug very deep into her stash – it’s made of scraps from mittens and hats
me and my sisters wore when we were kids...

Can you believe she kept them for that long?

Who would have thought they would end up as knitted art
in a woolly outdoor exhibition?

Thanks mum!

Let there be light

2011-05-08T17:48:00.003+12:00

Twilight Taggers are organising a woolly art installation for the

Lights in Winter Festival in Melbourne. Federation Square will

play host to the 'Lights In Winter' festival for the month of June.
A giant structure incorporating lights, lanterns, snowflakes
and yarn bombing will be set up for all to see.
This will be up for the whole month.

I will contribute with this piece.

The first piece!

2011-04-27T20:36:00.005+12:00

Well, someone was very fast with her hook, the first piece for
The woolly walk along has already arrived!
The clever Lisa from NZ has created this beautiful heart.

Love it!

The woolly walk along

2011-04-16T00:34:00.008+12:00

This will be woolly tagging big scale. Or rather long scale!

An outdoor wool art exhibition.

Would you like some more information?

Want to join?

Send me an email – address to the right

Pom pom project, part 2

2011-03-22T20:03:00.005+13:00

My daughter and I have now created our pom poms (# 121 and 122) for
The pom pom project.

If you would like to see them live – they hang in a tree very close to the wharf
here in Devonport, Auckland.

Hearts for Canterbury

2011-03-06T21:47:00.002+13:00

In memory of those who lost their lives in the Canterbury earthquake.

And to support all the people in their difficult time.

Hot hot hot

2011-02-24T20:48:00.005+13:00

I have spent a couple of days in Rotorua.

For you who are not familiar with Rotorua, it’s the most geothermal part
of New Zealand with lots of geysers, boiling mud and steaming pools.

We went to Wai-O-Tapu and I had made a woolly tag to leave behind.

(view towards the Champagne pool)

We also went to a very fun place called Agroventures,
where you can fly on a jet stream or do a bungy jump.
Nope I didn’t do any of those but I raced my son in the Shweeb.
Good fun!

(Image from Agroventures)

So I left a tag behind

While in Rotorua, the terrible earthquake in
Christchurch happened. My thoughts are with you
in this very difficult time...

Family hobby

2011-02-17T07:05:00.006+13:00

Mum and sis are visiting from overseas.

They are pretty good at woolly tagging too!

Pom-pom project

2011-01-30T09:09:00.006+13:00

BE PART OF SOMETHING BIG!

I am a design student from Edinburgh, with a few months to go
before graduating. From February I am launching a world-wide campaign
to spread joy and happiness in the form of knitted pom-poms!

The pom-pom project is calling on people of any age to be involved,
all you have to do is email pompom_project@yahoo.co.uk stating your name
and address and a fantastically designed kit will be sent right to your door
in the following month with everything you need to get started.

I am looking for schools, business etc. to get involved too. This project is a
great team building exercise and great for bringing families and friend together
so you can request one, two, three or even a hundred packs if you wish.

At the end of the one month period a book will be designed as part of
my major project and all participants will be mentioned along with
selected photographs.

Spread the word and Happy pom-pom making!

Click here for more info and pics

Missed out?

2010-12-23T22:36:00.002+13:00

Did you know that he’s already been?

A very Merry Christmas to you all!

I’m back

2010-09-12T22:54:00.003+12:00

It’s been a long winter and on top of that August has been awfully wet.
Yarnbombing just hasn’t been that tempting...

But a week ago I started to feel the itch!

Hey everyone:

American love

2010-07-06T20:09:00.005+12:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Knit Night at Mecca here in Devonport.

It was very relaxing to chat and knit with other crafty people, over a glass of wine.

I met a lady from the USA, who had spent six months here in New Zealand.
We had a long chat about knitted graffiti and she said she was so inspired by my bits and
pieces around Devonport, that she wanted to put up a couple before she went back!

She left NZ this weekend and look at the lovely woolly tags she left behind!

Look at all the beads!

Love it!

Karma

2010-07-03T20:51:00.004+12:00

A couple of days ago I happened to crack a tooth while having muesli. Bugger!
So the day after I went to my dentist. Unfortunately it turned out that I
had a crack in another tooth as well...

Anyway, my wonderful dentist fixed the tooth. Afterwards we had a chat and since
she really likes my art and crafts, she asked me what I’ve been up to lately. I told her about
my art donation to Amnesty International (see below). She was just stunned and said:

-That’s amazing! Do you know what?
When you come back next week to fix the other tooth, I’ll do it for free!

What goes around, comes around!

Bless you, S!

Article 19

2010-06-26T09:44:00.009+12:00

Image above and copy below from Amnesty International NZs website

Collaborating with a group of amazing New Zealand artists, Amnesty is proud to bring you an incredible event and the opportunity to bid on the pieces. The exhibition features works from renowned artists such as Nigel Brown, Otis Frizell, Misery, TrustMe from Cut Collective, Cinzah Merkens, Tanya Blong and many more.

All proceeds go towards ensuring Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand can continue its work defending and promoting human rights both worldwide, in our region and here in New Zealand.

The theme ‘ARTicle 19’ stems directly from the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights article, ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression’. Proceeds raised from Amnesty’s exhibition will go to priority campaigns like Myanmar where the government regularly violates the human rights of peaceful critics in a myriad of ways, including torture, imprisonment and death.

Amnesty invites you to bid on the artwork in the week leading up to the event, or come along on the night to view and bid in person.

The event will be held 7 July 2010 at Shed 10 from 7-10pm.

Shed 10 is located at 90 Wellesley St
(Entrance 77 Cook St) in Auckland City.

C’mon folks, place a bid!

Click here to go to the website

It’s her song

2010-06-13T21:09:00.006+12:00

I have finished my piece of art for Amnesty’s fund raising art auction.
It’s made of wool with a frame of novelty yarn and it has seed beads knitted into it.
It measures 40cm x 30cm.

This piece will be for sale at an on-line auction for Amnesty. The money will
(among other things) be used against domestic violence, hence the message.

Unfortunately I don’t have the details for the auction yet, so stay tuned.

Sneak peak

2010-06-09T22:08:00.006+12:00

My piece of art for Amnesty International is slowly coming together.
Here is a sneak peak.

Knit for human rights

2010-05-20T22:40:00.005+12:00

I have received an email from Amnesty International. They asked if I would like to donate
a piece of knitted art to their fund raising art auction in Auckland in late June.

All proceeds will go towards continuing Amnesty International’s important work in
the Pacific on issues such as gun violence, domestic violence and the situation in Fiji.

Of course I will donate a piece!

Will you place a bid?

Stay tuned

Love in Whangamata

2010-04-18T21:00:00.004+12:00

I have had a fab weekend in Whangamata and I left some love behind.

This is the third piece I have left in Coromandel.
I wonder if the ones in Coromandel Town and Whitianga are still there?
If you have seen them, please let me know!

The love of it

2010-04-13T21:17:00.004+12:00

There is a very cool UK website called theloveofit.
They write about fun things in life and they have a new article about yarnbombing.
Sandie, who wrote it, and I emailed a bit and, yep, Knitty Graffity is there!

Read the article here

her magazine

2010-04-08T23:08:00.003+12:00

The latest issue of her magazine is out and it has a cool article about
knitted graffiti, vegan yarns, knitting on the internet etc.

Read the article here

Recycled graffiti

2010-03-30T23:43:00.009+13:00

The pieces I had returned to me from the recent

knitty happening are way too pretty to lie around my lounge.
So tonight I put them up in public again.

I picked a spot where lots of kids (and parents) pass by
when they walk to school. I hope they will enjoy them!

Recycled graffiti – I like it!

Not a very good photo, I know, I will take a new one in daylight!

I also (for the first time!) removed one of my old pieces.

I decided it was time to go to wool heaven...
It’s been there for 10 months – not bad!

Knitters – I hope you’re happy with the new location?
The poles are 17cmx37cm if you feel like adding another piece!

Woolly advertising

2010-03-27T19:55:00.006+13:00

A friend of mine asked me if I could help her “do a fence”.
Need I say that she was part of the heartening in Parnell?

They are having a big garage sale at the school and didn’t want just
an ordinary sign. So we made a woolly sign instead!
(And, yes, she asked for permission.)

(Garage sale! Sat 24 April 8am)

Looks pretty cool, doesn’t it?!

Welcome to the fair

2010-03-24T19:52:00.008+13:00

Last weekend was the big annual school fair at our school.

I wanted people to feel welcome so I knitted a colorful piece
full of green and blue beads.

The school fair is over but the woolly tag is still there,
welcoming the kids to school.

They come and they go...

2010-03-15T20:24:00.003+13:00

I walked by Khartoum Place today and was very disappointed to see
that the pieces on the light pole and “I dare u” were removed...

Sad, isn’t it?

I walked up the steps and at first glance it looked like the bike stands were not
stripey anymore. But when some of the people that were standing there moved, I saw
that they had been squished down to the bottom. Well, at least they were still there.

I can’t help thinking about something; the Open Art day and our knitty happening
coincided with the opening of the Auckland triennial. This year it’s called
“LAST RIDE IN A HOT AIR BALLOON
- An exploration of the ongoing possibilities for adventure and risk in art.”

Hmm, risk in art?
What happened when we took a risk in art?
The art was removed...

Or maybe they were not removed by the council or the gallery?
Maybe someone liked them and took them home?

Anyway, pieces come and go, that’s the charm of knitted graffiti!

Let’s stitch up Khartoum Place!

2010-03-14T21:17:00.011+13:00

Some art galleries around Khartoum Place here in Auckland
have founded Auckland Art Precinct,
and today they had a special Open Art day.

The invitation to a knitted graffiti happening in a post below,
was to show support for the Auckland Art Precinct.
(Hence the black and yellow colours.)

Today the gorgeous pieces I have had sent to me, were put in place.

Khartoum Place
Yes, it’s right outside Auckland Art Gallery,
where I put up Awesome a couple of weeks ago!

If you walk up the steps you come to Upper Khartoum Place,
where we decided to prettify two bike stands.

450 silver beads leave a challenge to whoever wants to pick it up.

Big thank you

to all the knitters,
to Laurel for helping me putting it up,
and to Mira for taking the fab photos.

The greenest green

2010-03-11T21:43:00.003+13:00

An amazingly fluorescent green piece was in my letterbox today!

Eeeek!

Thanks Yvonne!

And I have finally finished my own piece

This is a sneak peak of another piece that is going up on Sunday.
Probably the best one I’ve done so far...

Stay tuned

Woolly mail

2010-03-10T21:39:00.011+13:00

Woolly mail have started to arrive in my letterbox.

Look at these amazing pieces!

From Glennie in Devonport, stripy and stylish.

From Megan in Tauranga, a beginner but has still sent me 2 pieces!

Sarah from CottonKiwi made this fab Jolly Rogers. So cool!

Sarah also made this one, a bit curled up now but will look great when put in place.

Sarah’s mum has contributed with this amazing piece full of yellow “knots”!

The Gritty-Knitter in Whanganui sent me 3 funky pieces!

Thanks guys!

On Sunday they will decorate...

To be continued

The Queen

2010-03-07T09:30:00.005+13:00

Today there’s a Kid’s Treasure Hunt here in Devonport.
It's organised by friends of mine and they asked me if I wanted to knit a clue for them!

“ The Band Rotunda behind the library has musical notes around the bars.
What is the tune? Find a clue on the banister.”

New addition

2010-03-07T09:21:00.012+13:00

It’s quite amazing, one of my first pieces
I love knitting
that I put up 9 months ago, is still there!

But someone has added three little knitted teddies.
Once again, I have no idea who did it...
But I’m happy to see that there are more people
who like to decorate our neighbourhood!

Join in!

2010-03-02T21:05:00.008+13:00

I’m planning a new knitted graffiti happening and this time I would love it to be big!
It will be at a central location and will hopefully attract a lot of attention.

Would you like to join in?

Knit a piece that is 36cm wide.
Any length, pattern or yarn.
Preferably black and/or yellow but any colour is fine.

But, please knit fast!

I need your piece by the 10 March!

Since I have the bad habit of not asking the council for permission,
I’m not gonna give out any more information here. But send
me an email to the address in the column to the right and I will send you
more information and details regarding where to send your beautiful piece.

Happy knitting!

Removed...

2010-02-21T08:21:00.008+13:00

The Auckland City Council follow their rules...

From todays article in Sunday News:

The following day, the piece was photographed and carefully removed.

Although the Cut Collective and gallery were delighted by the work,
spokeswoman for the Auckland Art Gallery Kate Orgias said
the council rules dictate that any street art must have consent.

Read the article in Sunday News or here

Oooops...

2010-02-20T09:19:00.013+13:00

A few days ago, I was contacted by a journalist from Sunday News.

She wanted to do an article about street art and asked if I wanted to be part of it.

She was also going to interview the street artists from Cut Collective, who have an exhibition, Public access, opening at The Auckland Art Gallery today.
(Check the link, it looks really cool)

I walked by the gallery on Wednesday, the guys were busy spray painting
the walls outside the gallery and it looked so cool! And then it hit me
I’m gonna tag them!

Last night I met with the journo and a photographer outside the gallery, a tag in my bag.
I put it up while he took some photos. When we had just finished, the doors to the gallery opened and a grumpy security guard put his head out and asked me what I was doing!

- I’m a street artist and I have just put up a piece of art.
- Have you got permission for that?
- No...
- You can’t put up something like that without permission from Auckland City Council.
etc, etc, etc...

To Auckland City Council

I’m a street artist and I have a head buzzing with ideas.
I put a lot of love, effort and time into my pieces and I only do it to make people happy.

I’m not causing damage to property and if people don’t like my work
they can just pull out a pair of scissors.

I’m sorry but I’m not going to ask for permission, the time involved
in the process would kill my creativity.

Please, take a seat

2010-02-18T22:54:00.007+13:00

Tomorrow starts the annual Food & Wine Festival here in Devonport.

Thousands of people come and many of them catches the ferry.

A brilliant occasion for an installation!

One of the park benches outside the ferry terminal has now been
turned into a sofa and the cushions have woolly messages.

Who are you?

2010-02-15T22:41:00.010+13:00

I could hardly believe my eyes when I came down to the wharf this morning.
A new piece! Right next to mine!
And with a message...that is meant for me?!?

Are you asking me?

Well, the devil is in the detail

To be continued...

105 hearts for Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T00:24:00.014+13:00

Tonight 14 people met on Parnell Rise with their bags full of yarn.

Why? To heart a fence for Valentine’s Day.

We giggled and laughed. We dropped our wool on the wrong side of the fence
and some of us got very tangled up! And we all had so much fun!

The amount of hearts exceeded my expectations.

We created 105 woolly, fluffy hearts!

And some pics in day light

More pics on Outdoor knit’s blog and Flickr

Thanks everyone!
I really enjoyed it.

The knits are public

2010-02-11T22:19:00.004+13:00

(Photo: The Aucklander)

Click below and read the whole story in

The Aucklander

Nits...? No, knits!

2010-02-10T22:29:00.008+13:00

I don’t think this is news to you, and
I can’t deny it.

Look, there they are!
The wee little knits!

(Ok, ok ok... They are seed beads, but you get the idea...)

Stitching Coromandel

2010-01-24T20:47:00.008+13:00

I have been away on holiday – four lovely days in beautiful Coromandel.

And of course I did some tagging!

I had knitted a piece for Coromandel Town and it was made
to sit on a park bench. We strolled around the main street and there it was
- the perfect bench!

The day after we stayed in Whitianga
and we left some love behind.

Flower power

2010-01-20T20:25:00.005+13:00

Hehe, it didn’t take long to get mum involved!

I showed her the other day how to make flowers and when I came home from work,
she had made heaps. And the day after she knitted some woolly grass and
attached the flowers to it. Last night she sneaked out and put up her first piece.

Welcome to the club, Knitty Sr!

Coffee lover

2010-01-15T22:15:00.011+13:00

My all time favourite barista and coffee roaster, Alessandro from Sicily,

has opened up a new coffee shop here in Devonport. He makes the most amazing coffee
and he’s a really cool guy, so I thought I’d show him my appreciation.

Big thank you to Knitty Sr who’s here for a visit. We went out last night
to put this piece up but my memory had played tricks on me and it was too narrow...
Knitty Sr has spent the day knitting an extra strip and sewn it on. Tonight we went
for a walk, my committed torch holder came along as usual, and now the piece is
there, outside Alessandro’s hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, Santini.

The Next Big Thing

2009-12-22T20:56:00.006+13:00

I received an email from Next magazine a couple of weeks ago.
They asked if they could interview me about knitted graffiti. Sure thing!

I thought it would be a little snippet but it turned out to be a full page article!
Not only about me of course, but... Well, you can read it here:

The Next Big Thing

Call mum

2009-12-10T23:13:00.002+13:00

Don’t forget

Knitters Unite for Climate Change

2009-12-07T21:21:00.009+13:00

A friend sent me a message about
Oxfam organising a protest
around Climate Change.

An action will take place at Aotea Square this Saturday (12 December).
They are trying to get 800 metres of knitting and will make a trail from
Aotea Square to Britomart. Unfortunately I have other commitments
on Saturday so I can’t join in, but at least I can send a piece.

So last Friday I caught up with 2 friends over a bottle of wine.
A and I brought our needles and A had nicked some yarn from her
daughter’s craft box! Look at her colourful piece!

I used my fluffy yarns. Tonight I was going to finish my piece
and my lovely 8-year old daughter wanted to join in. We sew on some
beautiful silk and she wrote some messages on them.

Switch off lights

Turn off the TV

Recycle

Don’t waste water

Fun

2009-11-25T22:40:00.007+13:00

I’ve been so busy knitting cuffs lately
that I’ve forgotten to post my latest pimping!

Jeez!!

Knitty Graffity = Mira Design

2009-11-10T22:34:00.007+13:00

I have created a blog for my crafts.

Enjoy!

Isle of view

2009-11-08T17:17:00.005+13:00

Isle of view... Say it out loud three, four, five times and listen to the words.
Isle of view. Isle of view. I...

Done some pimping

2009-10-25T09:14:00.009+13:00

“How are you today” was falling apart (again),
so last night my dedicated torch holder, my daughter
(jeez, now I have involved her in my illegal activities...)
and I went for a walk. We took it off and replaced it with
a new one in a different spot on the wharf.

There are 2 new pieces on the wharf!
Same style so I think they are made by the same person.
They look different from the green/blue wavy one though,
so I wonder if a 3rd person is involved??

We continued our walk up the road and jazzed up the market sign a bit.
I hope you don’t mind, Sarah and Sarah!

The first Sunday every month, I have a table at the
Devonport Craft Market. I sell my handmade crafts –
beaded merino cuffs, kid’s beanies, jewellery, wine charms etc.

Welcome!

Devonport Wharf and Victoria Road, Devonport, Auckland

Very Good

2009-10-17T09:41:00.006+13:00

The new issue of the magazine Good is out.
Good is a brilliant magazine about sustainable living
and this issue features an article called “Pimp your street”.

#14 Get knitty with it

Picture of Outdoor knit and their lovely fence decoration.

Some info about Knitta Please.

Info and pics from the amazing installation in Christchurch by Slip and co.

and

“...Woollen warmers proclaming ‘Smile’ and ‘Love’
encircle the branches of a Devonport tree...”

Showtime!

2009-10-11T09:33:00.013+13:00

The exhibition “A Good Yarn” opened yesterday and it’s
an amazing variety of textile art. I wish I could show you
but I was not allowed to take photos (which makes sense).

Here are photos of my work

Protect me

Bead knitting, black cotton yarn with more than 1600 silver beads knitted in to it. Stretched over a canvas and stitched on to it with metallic seed beads.
Fluffy yarn on the sides. 45x25cm.

Side effect of the swine flu
(Pooh and Eeyore decided to have Piglet put down)

Tapestry (16.000 stitches!) with knitted frame.
My own lovely hand dyed cotton yarn. 50x40cm

Aroha
(love in maori)

Knitting, once again my hand dyed yarn.
Fluffy yarn around the heart and seed beads on the inside.
Stretched over a canvas and stitched on to it with seed beads.
Fluffy yarn on the sides. 15x30cm.

Sneak peak

2009-09-29T19:35:00.004+13:00

I’m going to be part of a textile art exhibition here in Devonport!

It’s so exciting!
I’m frantically working on a couple of really cool pieces. I mean frantically,
the exhibition opens next weekend and my pieces are not finished...

Here is a sneak peak

There are around 1500 beads involved...

Yep, I do tapestry as well. :-)

A fellow knitter!

2009-09-18T00:31:00.008+12:00

There’s a new piece on the wharf and I didn’t put it there!
Haha, someone has joined in! This is so cool!

Isn’t it pretty? It looks just like the waves.

Who are you? Leave me a message!
Let’s catch up over a coffee, eh?

I bet you are the one who mended my piece. :-)

Devonport wharf, Devonport, Auckland

3rd time lucky

2009-09-15T15:40:00.007+12:00

The gangway at Devonport wharf has been closed for reparations.
Now it’s open again and of course it needs a new woolly tagging.
I like this spot, third time lucky!

Devonport wharf, Devonport, Auckland

Thank you!

2009-08-22T08:50:00.008+12:00

I noticed the other day that my piece at Devonport wharf
was coming apart at the seam. The piece still looks pretty good
(I put it up in May), so this morning I decided to go and mend it.

When I got there, I could hardly believe my eyes.
Someone else had already fixed it!
It’s sitting there, a bit faded and fuzzy from the sun and the rain,
but neatly fixed to the hand rail. Someone else cares about
my woolly tagging and can be bothered to mend it!

Thank you!
You made my day

Love+Smile+Breathe

2009-07-26T23:02:00.004+12:00

That’s all, folks.
Well, for this time.

I’ll be back!
(did you hear the Schwarzenegger accent?)

Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland

Love+Smile

2009-07-25T22:18:00.001+12:00

To be continued...

Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland

Smile

2009-07-24T22:53:00.003+12:00

To be continued...

Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland

Hmmm...nice tree...

2009-07-23T22:57:00.004+12:00

Hmm, that is a nice tree.
A lot of people are passing by here...
...trunk 38cm, branches 30, 21 and 12cm...

To be continued...

Victoria Rd, Devonport, Auckland

Stripy and bright

2009-07-19T15:35:00.015+12:00

My old piece on the Devonport wharf stretched
(cotton is not great for outdoor use...) and looked a bit manky.
A few days ago it was gone. But it’s such a good spot,
with thousands of people passing by every day, so
I couldn’t keep my fingers off!

Devonport wharf, Devonport, Auckland

Amazing!

2009-07-12T22:16:00.011+12:00

Grrl and Magda and the rest of the team
in Canberra are doing such a wonderful job!
How cool is this!?

Look at the colours, patterns and various designs...

This is the entrance to The National Gallery.
The pillars are 10m high...

And look, my piece has found it’s home!
Thanks heaps Grrl!

More images here

Canberra, Australia

Colourful Canberra

2009-07-10T08:13:00.004+12:00

The grrl and Magda and the rest of the team
are very busy at the National Gallery in Canberra.
Look at the colours! Love it!

Follow their work here

Canberra, Australia

She’s got a hat!

2009-07-07T23:07:00.009+12:00

When I walked by ‘Nicole’ yesterday I was
surprised to see that she’s got a hat!
And some more accessories. All in matching colours.

I don’t know who you are, but if you visit my blog,
please leave me a message.

Devonport, Auckland

The knitted convenience

2009-06-27T10:11:00.007+12:00

Looking for a new project? Join
The knitted convenience

Guerrilla knitter Denise Litchfield is taking over
a public building with knit as part of Design 09.

On Saturday August 8^th in Taylor Square, Sydney, a team of lavatory
assistants, urban knitters and crocheters will descend on the heritage
listed amenity on Oxford St to reclaim it back into the public eye.

Knit your bit and be part of Sydney’s Design ’09 event.

Blur the lines between graffiti, art, and the role of knitting
in a contemporary world.

10 out of 12...

2009-06-27T09:06:00.004+12:00

... of the flowers are already gone.
I hope people picked them to enjoy them...

I planted some flowers

2009-06-21T10:47:00.009+12:00

I got up early this morning
(well it wasn't THAT early, there were quite a few people out
there but no one was interested in what I was doing)
and planted some flowers.

Devonport, Auckland

A hippy for Canberra

2009-06-17T22:11:00.005+12:00

I have finally finished my piece for
the installation in Canberra!

If you’re not familiar with NZ music,
this is a quote from the song “Fame is”
by Crowded House.

BC&K (and Knitty) in the newspaper!

2009-06-13T22:12:00.009+12:00

You might have noticed that some of the comments
on this blog are in a strange language.
Well, I’m originally from Sweden and there are some swedish
people following my blog. And that makes me very happy!

I’m a member of the swedish blog
Busy crochet & knitting
which my sister started. Today there is an
article about her and BC&K on the
website of one of Sweden’s largest newspapers!

Well done sis, love your work!

Toadstools on K’ Rd?!

2009-06-12T19:20:00.011+12:00

When I crossed K’ Rd yesterday something
red caught my attention. I took a closer look
and they were wee knitted toadstools!
Very cute!

Who put them there?
No, it wasn’t me...

Karangahape Rd, Auckland

Snug as a bug

2009-06-07T00:12:00.009+12:00

The temperature at night has dropped to 2 degrees
this week and this little girl has been freezing.
Not anymore!
And look at the big smile!

Devonport, Auckland

WIP

2009-06-02T20:05:00.023+12:00

This is a sneak peak of my piece for the installation at
The National Gallery of Australia
in Canberra in July. The installation is organised by
grrl+dog and I think it will be very cool!
I will show the whole piece as soon as it’s finished...

My work so far

2009-05-30T15:03:00.012+12:00

Cheltenham Beach, Devonport, Auckland

Victoria Road, Devonport, Auckland

Devonport wharf, Auckland

Devonport, Auckland

Chinaman’s Hill, Devonport, Auckland

Outside New World, Devonport, Auckland
(already gone, lasted only 3 days...)