Ever since I moved to Reno over a year ago, I have noticed random granny squares tied to telephone poles and fences. I assumed that it was some sort of Greek related thing, since my square-sightings were close to many of the sorority and fraternity houses near campus. I had no idea what kind of organization(s) are responsible for these haphazard displays of crocheted and knitted art, but several theories have arisen including territorial markers for the underground fiber arts mafia that controls all organized knitting and crocheting in Reno, or some sort of mysterious code meant to lead whoever can de-code the squares to a pirate treasure hidden under one of the casinos.
Seeing as I do work in a fabulous yarn shop by the name of Jimmy Beans Wool (you may have heard of it -hehe!), which contains some of the most amazing/knowlegdable knitters and crocheters I know, I thought one of them might have some insight. When I asked Jeanne if she knew anything about the mysterious public fiber art, she looked me in the eye and said, “I have no idea who would do such a thing!” and winked ;) Apparently Reno does have an underground “knitfiti” organization -the few examples of knitfiti shown in this post are their handiwork! If you would like to see more you can check out their blog or just run an image search through Google for “knitfiti” and you can find all sorts of spectacular urban yarn art! As it turns out knitted graffiti is not a phenomenon unique to the Biggest Little City, but can be found in cities around the world adorning buildings, signs, traffic lights, or adding some pizzazz to public art. I am intrigued by these phenomena and will be researching it a little more intensely. Next week I’ll let you what I find out!
Happy knitting and crocheting!
-Leanne
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