Tractor "Yarn Bombed" By Crafters
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Yarn bombing is like graffiti art but instead of spray paint, the “vandals” are crafters who cover objects with knitted or crocheted designs. The idea got its start in 2004 in the Netherlands. Needle-wielding women covered everything from lamp posts, hydrants and mailboxes to cars, buses and fences in cities across the world. But recently, a group of Irish crafters made it more interesting when they decided to yarn bomb a 1947 Ferguson 20 tractor to celebrate their group’s first anniversary with a fundraiser for local charities.
“We chose a tractor because Athenry is a farming community, and we thought we could make people smile,” explains Ashla Ward. She presented the idea to Athenry Craft and Chat, a group that meets weekly to work on their own projects as well as occasional charity projects.
With a rainbow of donated yarn, each of the 29 members selected tractor parts and took measurements.
“Each crafter interpreted it as they felt their skills and yarn would fit,” Ward says. “Overall the plan was to have something as bright and eye-catching as possible with a sense of fun.”
Members knitted and crocheted from March to late June and completed the “tractor sweater” – with one small glitch.
“At the dress rehearsal we realized that there were additional pieces needed, so it was all hands on deck for two weeks to sort that out,” Ward says. It took 10 women about 3 hrs. to sew the pieces on to the tractor.
The tractor yarn bomb was a hit at local ag shows. Visitors could toss freewill donations into a bucket next to the tractor. The donations were split between a cancer center, hospice and community center.
“I would love for some of your readers to yarn bomb something agricultural in the U.S. and send us a picture. That would be great fun for us!” she says.
Sticking with agriculture may be safer than some urban projects. Canadian knitter Leanne Prain co-published a coffee-table book about yarn bombing and tells a story of how she almost got in trouble when she tried to yarn bomb a sign post in front of FBI headquarters in Washington. A guard in a bulletproof vest told her to stop immediately.
“Ma’am,” he said, “step away from the knitting.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ashla Ward, Mountgarrett, Athenry, Co Galway, Ireland (ashlaward@yahoo.com).
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Tractor Yarn Bombed By Crafters FARM HOME Miscellaneous Yarn bombing is like graffiti art but instead of spray paint the “vandals” are crafters who cover objects with knitted or crocheted designs The idea got its start in 2004 in the Netherlands Needle-wielding women covered everything from lamp posts hydrants and mailboxes to cars buses and fences in cities across the world But recently a group of Irish crafters made it more interesting when they decided to yarn bomb a 1947 Ferguson 20 tractor to celebrate their group’s first anniversary with a fundraiser for local charities “We chose a tractor because Athenry is a farming community and we thought we could make people smile ” explains Ashla Ward She presented the idea to Athenry Craft and Chat a group that meets weekly to work on their own projects as well as occasional charity projects With a rainbow of donated yarn each of the 29 members selected tractor parts and took measurements “Each crafter interpreted it as they felt their skills and yarn would fit ” Ward says “Overall the plan was to have something as bright and eye-catching as possible with a sense of fun ” Members knitted and crocheted from March to late June and completed the “tractor sweater” – with one small glitch “At the dress rehearsal we realized that there were additional pieces needed so it was all hands on deck for two weeks to sort that out ” Ward says It took 10 women about 3 hrs to sew the pieces on to the tractor The tractor yarn bomb was a hit at local ag shows Visitors could toss freewill donations into a bucket next to the tractor The donations were split between a cancer center hospice and community center “I would love for some of your readers to yarn bomb something agricultural in the U S and send us a picture That would be great fun for us!” she says Sticking with agriculture may be safer than some urban projects Canadian knitter Leanne Prain co-published a coffee-table book about yarn bombing and tells a story of how she almost got in trouble when she tried to yarn bomb a sign post in front of FBI headquarters in Washington A guard in a bulletproof vest told her to stop immediately “Ma’am ” he said “step away from the knitting ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ashla Ward Mountgarrett Athenry Co Galway Ireland ashlaward@yahoo com
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