The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville University Museum’s inaugural “Yarn Bomb” last month was a success. To make next year’s celebration of knitted and crocheted artwork even bigger and better, the Museum is continuing its popular Knit in Public activities, during lunch hours throughout the year.
“Our goal is to be able to do a yarn bombing once each year and take out last year’s donations and add on to them,” said Noelle Norris, graduate assistant with the University Museum.
Knitted and crocheted artwork produced by fiber artists across the region will again be featured on the SIUE campus next fall. In preparation, fiber artists are encouraged to attend lunch sessions to keep up the effort.
Days for the remainder of the year are tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 21; Tuesday, Dec. 3; Thursday, Dec. 12 and Tuesday, Dec. 17. All events are from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on the first floor of SIUE’s Morris University Center.
This year, the amount of knitted and crocheted projects that poured into the University Museum provided the staff enough materials to dress the 5-foot-tall central section of the two Louis Sullivan columns outside the Lovejoy Library, and to blanket four of the eight 10-foot-tall base pillars of a metal sculpture in the open area between the Morris University Center and the Engineering Building.
“We have received donations of yarn and unfinished Afghans from faculty and staff on campus, as well as the Coventry Crafters Group” Norris said in October, adding that individuals from surrounding communities contributed pieces to the cause.
She spearheaded the effort and organized lunchtime knitting and crocheting sessions in the SIUE Stratton Quadrangle. As the weather has grown colder, the sessions have moved indoors to the MUC.
The pieces that were used for this year’s event are being washed and stored for use next year, and additional works will be added to the mix.
For more information about the Yarn Bomb or how to get involved in the Knit in Public activities, check out the University Museum’s Facebook page, or call 618-650-2996.