Oh, the beauty! We spent our week knitting with a lively group of teenagers, working together to create an installation of yarn-covered rocks to display at the Vancouver Folk Festival.
Our first session was a bit traumatic. We spent most of it picking up stitches (or dropping them) but by the end of the three hours everyone was comfortable knitting a basic stitch.
On the second day Georgia said, “I thought this camp was supposed to be knit and LIT.” She was right. Christianne read the book Ariadne Awake! by Doris Orgel and the group was soon captivated, stitching as they listened intently. By the end of the second session our first rock was wrapped. It a moment that fed the girl’s enthusiasm for the project, and turned our regular knitting sessions into knitting frenzies.
We thought about renaming this camp Knit and Sing, as it seemed this group knew a song about anything that came out of our mouths, but they also took time out from singing “How can we change the world?” to engage in some storytelling. Christianne told the first story, but soon every girl had taken a turn. Aisling’s story even included voices and accents.
The fourth day found us designing name tags with Nicole. After much discussion we decided on the
name “The Knot Knitters” because our knitting contained (just a few) knots and because only a few days earlier we were not knitters.
On the final day we gave each rock it’s own name. The Big Cheese. Ke$ha. Scarfie. With the names came distinct personalities. Christianne was struck by how inclusive and respectful the naming process was; whoever had done the most knitting on the rock got the chance to name it. Once all the rocks were named, it was time to take them down to the beach.
There is lots we’ll always remember about this camp, but the image that will stick with us forever is that of a group of giggling ninjas running across Jericho Beach, leaving a trail of brightly coloured rocks behind them, their singing voices being carried off into the night.
Check out more about Yarn-bombing here and we encourage you to take part in this exciting movement!
