I Love Yarn Bombing

I do love yarn bombing. 

As a yarnie, and someone obsessed with the cozy, nostalgic whimsy that knitted or crocheted fabric seems to evoke, I can’t not adore the art of yarn bombing. And yes, I do think it’s an art. 

First, let’s establish what yarn bombing is: it’s the act of covering public spaces or public objects in knitted or crocheted fabric as a form of street art.

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The Beekeepers Quilt : A Life Diary

The Beekeeper’s Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits was published in 2011 and quickly became my first memorable “viral” knitting pattern. It took Ravelry by storm. Everyone was buying a copy and sharing their own hexipuff ideas. 

There are some who finished a decent sized quilt within a year. And there are those who have been clicking away, piece by piece, at their beekeepers quilt for years. For those people, a beekeepers quilt can become a document of their lives. A piece of art they contribute to each year like climbing a mountain or building a home, step after step, brick by brick, stitch after stitch. 

I knit my first hexipuff on New Years Day of 2012. I remember where I was, what I was watching. I remember figuring out it took me around 45 minutes to knit one puff start to finish by watching a marathon of Keeping Up With The Kardashains and realizing I could knit a puff in one episode. I remember thinking “Oh, 45 minutes? This might go faster than I thought!” 

It is now 2021. I have knit 350 puffs. That’s around 35 puffs a year. That’s less than a puff a week. So, what happened? 

For me, my puff making tends to ebb and flow. I will knit 30 of them in just a few days, then not make any for months. For some years, I simply couldn’t make any – my yarn was in storage, or I was traveling, or I was too busy working. Other years, I was bored of the puffs and wanted to make bigger and better things, like sweaters or scarves. 

I’ve knit hexipuffs while walking around IKEA. I’ve knit during conventions, at bars, on the beach. This really is the ultimate travel project. I even experimented with knitting 8 at a time on circular needles, thinking it would go faster. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t. It still takes me 45 minutes per puff, no matter how I knit it.)

One time when I went to donate plasma and they almost turned me away because my heart rate was too high (my anxiety disorder rearing its ugly head), I told them to give me 20 minutes while I sat in a quiet corner and knit a hexipuff. They checked me again and my heart rate was back down to normal. Pure scientific, anecdotal evidence that knitting actually is calming! (I’m mostly joking.) 

This might be the project that never ends. I might be filling any spare moment with hexipuffs while sitting in my retirement home. And, you know what, I don’t mind that idea.

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