Yarn Tag Yarns

U: UL-tide Disruption

2009-12-08T16:16:00.001-08:00

This is a story of how an innocent little idea can take over your life. On Dec. 1, a bright sunny morning, I was starting to feel the Christmas mood. I thought how fun it would be to have a little knitted elf hat on one of our fence posts in front of the house.

Yes, I like that. But now don’t the other fence posts feel sad that they don’t have a hat? Lo and behold, I counted 25 fence post--just the number of days until (including) Christmas! You can probably already sense how dangerous this line of thinking is. Yarn tagging as we knew it has been completely disrupted by the Hat Takeover.

So every morning a new hat has appeared. Some are made "from scratch" and others use material from sweaters, usually felted. Yesterday we had hours of pouring rain, during which the hats looked pretty droopy, but today they’ve dried out and look as happy as ever.

If you live in Santa Barbara, please drive by and take a look (watch for something to happen on the corner pole also). If not, you can enjoy them right here.

#2 #3

#5#6

#7#8

Yes, I’m actually a day ahead, but I couldn’t wait to put up this goofy owl. He’s at the corner, higher than all the rest and making sure they stay in line. Some of these hats, especially the cupcake, are ones I’ve wanted to knit, but didn’t know anyone who would willingly wear them, or let their child be caught dead in them. But the fence seems to look good in any style (although he doesn’t have much to say about it). In case someone decides to pluck one off as a souvenir, they’re securely nailed on.

I think I’ve turned into Bartholomew Cubbins. More to follow...

T: Tree Sweater

2009-12-05T00:21:00.001-08:00

The tree sweater first appeared in print in a Seattle newspaper in 2005, the brainchild of knitter Erica Barcott. Since then it’s been a popular one, and expanded to covers for entire trees.

My first attempt at a tree sweater resides right outside our kitchen window (there’s something to be said for easy access, especially when the project requires numerous fittings!). Our lemon tree was more than happy to wear it.

Just in case you’re one of those observant people who notices small details like dates on postings, you might be wondering why I’ve done seven in one day. The simple answer is that it’s hard to stop making things long enough to work on this blog, which is very challenging for me (but getting easier). The longer I wait, the more photos I have to sort through... who wouldn’t rather be knitting than dealing with all of that?! But I love sharing it with all of you, so it’s worth trying to cozy up to a little technology. :j

S: St. Stitches

2009-12-04T23:53:00.001-08:00

I’m determined to install a tag near the Santa Barbara Mission, in spite of my recent failure (see "Mission Impossible"). So I’m back with a happy little crocheted sleeve, St. Stitches, which goes on a tree across the road from the church. Let’s call it a guardian spirit for yarn taggers. It might help on my next attempt here! You can see the wall going around the Mission cemetary through the trees.

Looking in the other direction you’ll see APS.

This is a hard one to spot, probably easiest if you’re heading north, branching off onto APS. You can see it from Mission Canyon too, but look quickly! In case you can’t find it, here’s a close-up.

R: Rocks

2009-12-04T23:34:00.001-08:00

Yet another stolen idea, this time from two Dutch artists who call themselves Knitted Landscape (knittedlandscape.com). One of their many tricks is to cover rocks and leave them in the forest, in the city, anywhere. I did some for friends and left them in their yards. It’s always fun to see how long it takes people to notice the strange new rock.

I love how this rock blends in with the beautiful succulent garden. As you can see, it’s harder to spot as you move away.

This fun little bit of "rock art" was done for the family across the street. Both of these are crochet done with acrylic yarn.

Q: Quartet

2009-12-04T23:10:00.001-08:00

This project wasn’t a Mission Impossible, but let’s call it Mission Difficult. It took FOUR visits to the site to get it right. The site is great--on top of a steep bank next to Foothill Rd. at Duncan. And there’s a little road that takes me right up there.

On the first attempt, I put up a little crocheted square which was just too hard to see from the road below. So I returned another day intending to add something higher, and realized I couldn’t reach it. A different day I brought not only a step ladder, but a taller person as well. And that’s not the end of it!

Here’s my friend Amber (Peter’s girlfriend) bravely installing the four pieces of "Quartet". She did a great job!

They look like nautical flags, or like Indian prayer flags. However, you can see that we sewed them on the wire with yarn. By the next day, they had all slid down into a little bunch near the yellow plastic sleeve. So I made one last (I hope) visit, and went over the yarn very tightly with wire. This project took some perseverance, but I think it was worth it. Here’s what it looks like from the street below.

P: Prince

2009-12-04T22:43:00.001-08:00

While our friends Pam and Mike were out of town recently, their resident frog turned into a prince! Well, at least a frog prince.

Adding accessories to statues and monuments is a real delight for yarn taggers (see http://maskerade.blogsome.com/page/2/). There are very few opportunities of this type around here, so I’m very grateful that the frog’s owners don’t mind his new coronet. It’s sewn from felted wool, which I hope will stand up to rain and dampness.

N and O: Nest and O’Beast

2009-12-04T22:13:00.001-08:00

"Nest" was created in the style of a random basket, made from basket reed, and resides in our backyard along with the ill-fated cactus. I added a clear plastic dish in the bottom which we fill with birdseed, and it’s become quite popular. Even the larger birds can use this one, and it’s out of reach of the gopher.

"O’Beast" was inspired by the monster feet in the book "Yarn Bombing", and the bus stop bench near our house seemed like a good candidate. Now I’ve started thinking of ballet slippers and other possibilities.

The feet are cut from wool sweater knit and machine stitched together, and I knitted the claws from a fine wool yarn--just a triangle seamed up like a tiny hat. It’s too small for drivers to see, but provides a little surprise for pedestrians.

M:Mission Impossible: A Cautionary Tale

2009-12-04T21:40:00.001-08:00

Herein lies the tale of an ill-fated yarn tag. In the street art business, there’s always a trade-off between VISIBILITY and PERMANENCE; the more visible the piece, the more likely that it will soon be removed. But the inconspicuous piece will probably stay put for much longer.

Up until now I’ve chosen the latter, favoring longevity. But recently I was seized with the ambition to embellish a highly visible spot in town, so I headed for the Santa Barbara Mission, the absolute icon of our fair city. I came up with what I thought was a clever idea: an inconspicuous piece in a highly visible place. So rather than a brightly colored knitted sleeve, I created a faux cactus. The green material is from a thrift store sweater, and I crocheted the flower. A bamboo stick up the middle holds it into the ground. Worked fine in our backyard. In fact, one morning we found a line of gopher holes leading right to it; bet he was surprised to find the roots of this plant weren’t so tasty!

My plan was to place it a distance away from Mission but, when I got there, I had a sudden impulse to go for the cactus garden smack dab in front of the entrance. Well, that didn’t last long. Cops? No, this time it was a mom with a baby stroller! She started to give me the third degree about what was I doing, how long was it going to be there, blah, blah. Bad choice! It was obvious that she would make sure this cactus got weeded out soon.

So I went on to my originally intended location a bit further away. It’s a great spot except that the ground proved to be as hard as stone! I had brought a jug of water with me for just this reason, but after half an hour of pouring water and jabbing the stubborn adobe soil, I gave up. Need better tools.

Meanwhile, we’ve been enjoying the cactus at home, but it’s starting to droop from becoming damp. The green knit is cotton and too stretchy. It’s all looking pretty sad but I really like the concept and have plans to remake it and TRY AGAIN!

K and L:Karma and Lattice

2009-11-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

We came out to have breakfast one morning, and look what we found growing on this chair! Looks as if the yarntags are working their way into the house. I have a feeling that this is just the start of what may appear here. It was dubbed "Karma" for the nice energy it brings.

Real story: my inspiration for this bit of tagging is a knitting-embellished chair by Karen Searle called "Homage to the Goddess". It’s on the cover of her book, "Knitting Art". It took a bit of searching to find just the right chair, but this one has great curves and a nicely worn finish.

Who says yarntagging can’t be practical?! Even our most pragmatic neighbors seem to like "Lattice" and the useful information it provides. The front panel is knitted and the sides are crocheted.

No, this isn’t a yarntag for the fence, it’s a shawl/scarf knitted as a gift. The pattern is on ravelry.com; it’s called Silk Kerchief. It’s all garter stitch and very fun to knit as it alternates two rows of a solid color (burgandy) with two rows of a vareigated (browns/pinks). I used dk weight yarn and a sz.7 needle to keep it loose. I ordered the vareigated from handpaintedyarns.com--beautiful colors and very reasonable prices.

This is Rupert the Owl, crocheted from a pattern I purchased on ravelry.com. He was just resting temporarily in our little apricot tree, but has since become the pet of Baby Ryan. This tree looks so happy holding him that I might need to make another to roost here permanently.

I’ll readily confess that creating this blog has been very challenging for me since it involves learning so many new computer skills. However, the challenge was compounded by the quirks of Blogspot, including losing the entire text of this post TWICE, for no apparent reason. Does anyone else find this program difficult to use? My heartfelt appreciation goes to my son Roger for finding "Live Writer", a program which allows me to compose the post and import it to the blog very easily.

J: Juicy

2009-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

This crocheted creation is done to honor the wonderful artistic spirit of Marsha Burtt, a Santa Barbara artist. It hangs in front of her gallery on Laguna St., in a white rose bush.

I found myself being quite concerned that this tag might disappear, so I managed to hang it so it's not visible from the sidewalk, but only as you come out the front door of the studio.I hit on the idea of hanging it with wire, which isn't so easy to remove. In addition, it's being guarded by this awesome creature:

While we're talking about guardian spirits, I decided that the "headless" pole on the corner of our street, which by now has multiple sleeves, needed a topper.

I: Invitation

2009-11-08T20:18:00.000-08:00

It was a good idea while it lasted. "Invitation" started out as a cardigan sweater from the thrift store. I removed the back and sleeves, and sewed it together to make a very skinny sweater. Then I embellished it with felt flowers, rubber stamped fabric patches, an extra pocket, etc. I included a note which invites others to add to the decoration. I found a small tree next to a supermarket which was very happy to wear it.

Unfortunately, a week later Invitation had disappeared. I hope it's adorning someone's dorm room, rather than the bottom of a dumpster. Oh well. From the start of my tagging adventures, I knew that some would vanish quickly for one reason or another, and tried to accept that. So this was a good test and yes, I did mind when one of my creations disappeared. So now I can either make them harder to remove, or get more used to the idea that all of my work is "permanently temporary."

While I didn't get any interaction with that piece, I was delighted to find some "tag backs" from my friend Mary. Please check out her wonderful blog called Art Spirit: http://marystanley.blogspot.com. You'll see Mary's logo, a heart. She works a lot with felted wool, so her tags are cut from felted sweaters. Mary placed her tags in the vicinity of our favorite meeting place--the thrift store at Magnolia Center. Check her blog for her most recent tag on Hollister.

H: Hole Foods

2009-11-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

We have a new grocery in town, and our knitting group likes to meet there, so I thought it should be favored with a yarntag. I've altered the name slightly to protect any innocent bystanders and to fit in with my alphabetic scheme. But when I saw the amount of security personnel, fright reared it's ugly head again (see the CalTrans trauma in the posting Foothill Fright). Also the landscaping was so uniform that I didn't think a yarn aberration would be tolerated.

Actually these are just firefighters having a coffee break, but there were several security dudes as well.
This on was very complicated. After carefully reconnoitering the area, I decided on a spot across the creek from the store in question, and visible from there. In this picture, Hole Foods is the large white building in the background.
I was very pleased with my new tag, crocheted in a spike stitch. I love to try out new stitches on these little squares. My green gnametag is visible here (see last post). I went back to Hole Foods to see how it looked from there...

...and realized that it was just about invisible. Bummer!

Fortunately, I just happened to have some extra squares with me. This bright orange-yellow color might look awful in your living room, but it really did the trick here .

I'll confess that I didn't make this square, or the ones used in Foothill. They were "rescue tags" that I found in the huge bag of yarn (see the post "Dogtag"), probably someone's aborted attempt at an afghan (I think the colors went out of style before she finished). Using these squares made me realize that I really prefer making the pieces myself; I feel more of a connection to them. But these granny squares really came through for me in a pinch.
So I went back to Hole Foods yet again, and found that this piece was much more visible. Next time I think I'll be more brave and just tag the security personnel.

G: Gnome and Gname

2009-11-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

I've started adding a little green"Gname Tag", which serves several purposes. First, it says, THIS IS ART, to give people a clue that my yarntags are benign (see my last post). Next, the label carries my newly chosen logo, "j", which identifies it as my work. My friend Mary uses a heart on hers, and we hope that each of the dozens who join us (ha!) will do likewise. (See the "I" post, two after this one, for pictures of Mary's tags.) Last, it has the address of this blog so a curious person could find out more about a certain yarn oddity. The logo is done with a rubber stamp, using StazOn indelible ink, the green fabric is a cotton knit, and the white strips on the back are iron-on laundry labels, written on with a Sharpie. Should be relatively weatherproof.

The Gnome tag was definitely planned for its location. Driving up N. Patterson Ave. one day, I passed a familiar green wooden sign for the Noel Christmas Tree Farm, a sign which has been there for years. Suddenly it dawned on me the farm closed several years ago, so here was another orphan sign--certainly in need of a yarntag. This one was crocheted in very happy red and green yarn, using a chevron pattern.

I went on a scouting expedition and realized that the intended spot was out of my reach. So the next day I brought along a folding stool and completed the installation. I'm getting a little bolder; this one is quite visible along a busy street.

F: Foothill Fright

2009-11-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

My next tag was a little scary and complicated, but ultimately a good learning experience. No matter how much you tell yourself that yarntags are benefiting the environment, a gift to the community, there's always this little fear lurking that you're going to be BUSTED. This tag was not done in my home neighborhood, but several miles away in front of an old gas station along Foothill Rd. which has been abandoned for years. I seem to be drawn to locations that seem like they need some cheering up.

As I was tromping through the weeds, casing out the area, my worst fears were realized when a big ol' orange CalTrans truck pulled up near me and a guy leaned out of the window and called to me. In a flash I pictured myself being lead off to jail in big orange handcuffs. At least I could get a lot of knitting done there. But then I realized that he was asking me if I was okay and needed any help. Guess I looked a little strange studying a chain link fence. I smiled bravely and lied, saying I was cutting vines to use for making baskets (could be true; the place is choked with vines).

I don't consider myself a very courageous person, so that experience was enough to completely unhinge me. Or at least cloud my artistic judgment. I hastily tied some squares to the fence and beat it back to my car.

After a good cup of tea at home, I realized several things:

1. I don't like to make a quick decision about where to tag, especially in an unfamiliar location. I prefer to make an exploratory visit and see what the possibilities are, take measurements if necessary.

2. CalTrans doesn't own that property anyway; the only one to really worry about is the car with the flashing light on the top.

3. People aren't sure how to regard something unusual in a public place, but often they're okay if you tell them "This is Art". So I need to find a way to clue people in that my pieces are ART, not gang signs.

So a few days later I returned to the scene of the tag, untied the poor droopy squares, sat in the weeds and sewed them together. Then I adorned a big post with a silly mailbox on top of it. Who's getting mail here??

Hats 4 Afghans 4 Afghans

2009-11-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Don't you love the versatility of yarn?! Knitting and crochet can create frivolous and esoteric artistic expressions, or provide essentials for survival. This week I turned my skills toward making some very warm wool hats to be sent to Afghanistan by a wonderful program called Afghans for Afghans. If you have any extra wool yarn and a bit of time, check it out: http://afghansforafghans.com. It's an extremely well organized and highly effective aid organization. The whole war situation is so confusing and sad, especially for the women and children; I love the idea that I can at least help a few of them stay a little warmer.

Baby Stuff

2009-10-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

Our furry little houseguest, Charlie, (see last post) brought his family along with him--our son Alex, his wife Jaimie, and their OOMBBIW (my original abbreviation, short for One Of the Most Beautiful Babies In the World). His name is Ryan, age 9 months. I'm completely under his spell and will do anything he asks (even worse than beautiful yarn). Unfortunately, this toy didn't withstand his quality control testing. I made it in basket class by coiling knit material around a cotton core. He quickly found the outer join, and started to uncoil it.

This is the latest of many hats I've made for Ryan. It's from a free pattern on ravelry.com called the Kurbis Baby Hat, done in Lorna's Laces worsted (very soft and nice to work with). It will look 100% cuter on him, so I'll post that picture when I have one. Hope he doesn't get snatched up by mistake at the Pumpkin Patch.

Next are booties made from felted sweaters. Jaimie bought the pattern on etsy.com, called Whimsical Booties. The button is fake; they're held shut with velcro. The design is very good but I could offer some important suggestions in terms of the instructions. If you're interested, leave me a comment with your contact info.

And here's a picture of the little angel himself. Can you see why I'm his complete slave?! I think part of the reason he looks so happy is that he has some of the most wonderful parents around. Check out their blog: mfamilytales.blogspot.com.

Dog Tag and The Universe Provides

2009-10-20T21:36:00.001-07:00

We had the pleasure of this lovely little house guest for a week; how could I resist doing a yarn tag? His name is Charlie and he's very good about posing. I've been wanting to design a dog sweater that is easy to put on and this one is. It buttons under the chin and on the side. It's crocheted from a 4-ply yarn, starting at the back. I went around the buttonholes with red embroidery thread so they show up better. Very quick to make and I think he likes it. I tried adding a hood just for cuteness but it didn't work out.

The universe provides!

The Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild had their wonderful Fiber Frenzy sale, and I was being SO careful to pick out only a few "necessary" yarns. When I had almost made it to the check-out safely, I spotted four huge bags of Red Heart, for $5 each. Everything from Sickly Sweet Pink to Disgusting Gold; skillfully combined they're awesome. There's something so primal about buying so much yarn that you can't even carry it to your car in one trip.

I also found a bag with 1.5 POUNDS of hand dyed sport-weight wool yarn for $10. It was in one huge hank which I put over a large trash can in order to wind it into balls. Of course this took ridiculously long, but I'll do anything for a beautiful yarn. I'm thinking about Daybreak or one of those great Ravelry shawl patterns for it.

D and E:Decom and Emergency

2009-10-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

This old house has so much character that just wanted to crochet everywhere on it. Alas, all I had with me was this little orange tag. It's in a very cool and very steep neighborhood in L.A., on Clifton St. Our friend Alex had us over for a barbecue before the L.A. Burning Man Decompression Party, so this tag is named Decom. Note to self: always carry a few spare tags as you never know when you'll need them.

Closer to home, a friend told me about a sign post that really needed a tag. When I found it, I realized that this was an Emergency. Even though CalTrans or whoever had already attempted a caution tape tag, this pole was in dire need of a yarn tag, so I obliged. (BTW, sorry about the changes in font; they seem to occur randomly and I haven't figured out yet how to control this "feature". )

Is It Vandalism?

2009-10-20T20:06:00.001-07:00

When I did my first few tags, a pesky voice in my head asked, "Is this vandalism?" Would people be angry that I was infringing on public property? That concern quickly vanished when I saw that these little dabs of color in the landscape seemed to radiate good energy. My feeling was confirmed when several neighbors made enthusiastic comments. Notice that "Ahem" acquired more layers.

So I started thinking of yarn tagging as an attempt to counteract the visual pollution that we're so used to. For example, not far from "Ahem" is this ugly sign announcing that a cellphone antenna is going to be installed, and it's been there for two months!

On my walk one damp morning I discovered dozens of shimmering webs, and decided that this little green spider was my mentor. These little guys have been adding fiber art to the landscape for millennea.

B and C:Bodice and Chameleon

2009-10-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

When I first considered tagging, I loved the idea of putting my little creations out in public for people to discover randomly, a fun surprise. But for me art is a form of communication, and I felt the need for a bit of connection with my "audience". My first answer to that need is to start this blog. My second solution is to place tags where my friends will see them.

My second tag is Bodice, fashioned from a very happy Red Heart variegated yarn, with a purple ruffle at the top. I'll confess a great delight in using Red Heart, which is like the junk food of the yarn world--super cheap, disgusting synthetic texture but tough as nails, and screaming bright color combinations which entice me like an illegal substance. What better yarn could there be to stand up to the abuses of weather, birds, and stares by clueless people?

Bodice is along Vala Dr., very easy to find from the picture.

Chameleon, as the name suggests, was designed to blend in with its surroundings. It's on Via Bolzano, along the side of a driveway. It's knitted in a wave stitch. Fun trying out different yarns and stitches on such a small, instant gratification piece.

Tag--You're It! A: Ahem

2009-10-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog! Recently I was visited by the Muse of Decorating Public Places, who tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Tag, you're it!" Since yarn is my medium--knitting and crochet--rather than spray paint, I started creating fiber graffiti. I installed my first tag very nervously on a quiet Sunday morning, sure that traffic would screech to a halt and police would appear to throw me in handcuffs. To my relief, no one even noticed.

My tags are named by letters of the alphabet, like hurricanes. The first one, a very simple design, is "Ahem", because it draws just a bit of attention. It adorns a pole on the corner of our street which was very sad because it had lost its identity. It used to hold our street sign, but a new pole was installed on the other corner and took over that responsibility, leaving this poor guy topless. He's much happier now with some decoration.

A standard signpost (stop sign, street sign, etc.) is about 7 5/8", so I make a flat piece with that dimension, and sew it together around the post with yarn and a tapestry needle. A wooden post is often a 4x4, so 16" around.

I live in Santa Barbara, Ca., so most of my yarn tags are there. This one is on the corner of my street, Camino Cascada.