Who We Are
January 21, 2025
"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
~Colossians 2:2-3 (KJV)
The Joy of Yarn
You may have noticed that one of the beautiful oak trees on the Grace Garden playground recently gained a cozy sweater, just in time for last week's cold snap! The colorful, knitted covering was the brainchild of Grace Garden director Lindsey Cook and her friend, Amanda Farmer (who also happens to be the bonus parent to a Grace Garden alumnus). Amanda, who has been crocheting since her grandmother and her babysitter taught her as a young child, was enchanted by the idea of a large-scale yarn project. “Lindsey and I were talking about crocheting … and she mentioned she’d love to yarn bomb one of the trees at Grace Garden. I thought about how much I would have loved having a yarn-bombed tree as a kid, and it just sounded like too much fun to pass up.”
Lindsey solicited involvement from preschool teachers, parents, alumni, and members of the Saint John’s Threaders to contribute to the project. After receiving about 60 individual pieces of work, she passed them on to Amanda to be arranged into a rectangular shape. Amanda then stitched the finished piece around the tree. “We didn’t coordinate on colors or patterns," she explained, "so it was great to see it come together so beautifully.”
Have you ever heard of yarn bombing? Also known as yarnstorming and guerilla knitting, yarn bombing entails using pieces of textile art like knitting or crochet to wrap up objects found in communal spaces. The practice was born in 2005 when a Houston shopkeeper named Magda Sayeg wanted to soften the industrial edge of the metal handle of her storefront and used scraps of unused yarn to knit a “cozy” for it. The quirky handle gained lots of attention and soon Sayeg was yarn bombing other fixtures of her neighborhood like parking meters, stop signs, and bike racks. A movement was born, and yarn bomb installations now can be seen adorning public places all over the world. (Click here to see a TED talk by Magda Sayeg about how yarn bombing began.)
But what is the point of wrapping things with yarn? Besides the obvious of adding a visual and textural pop of interest to a public space, this handicraft also takes a page from another form of “street art”: graffiti. There are roots of activism in this art form in the way that it takes the traditionally "soft" activity of threadwork and subtly subverts it to make a political or social statement. In fact, some of the “craftivism” most associated with yarn bombing has been the installation of brightly colored rainbow coverings in support of Pride Month.
Collaborative projects, like the one on the Grace Garden playground, can create a sense of pride in place, and can help build community and enhance a sense of belonging. Finding ways to work with our hands can provide an antidote to feelings of helplessness, and the act of artistic creation can lead to a sense of well-being, especially in times of uncertainty and anxiety. Also, as Farmer points out, “I think anyone who knits or crochets does it because it brings them joy. Yarn bombs are a way to hopefully share that feeling and spark a little bit of joy in the people who see them. There’s something magical to me about seeing color and creativity where you don’t expect them.”
As Pastor Randy reminded us in his message this past Sunday, joy can be an act of resistance against despair. In what unexpected places do you find joy? And in what novel ways might you bring joy to those around you?
