Yarning Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti - Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain

In the area where I live yarn bombing is becoming quite popular. Fences, bike racks, poles, parking meters and trees are all being decorated by yarn graffiti. It has even come to the attention of the local newspaper. Being an occasional knitter, and having some extra time up my sleeve the idea of beautifying the council with knitted handiwork is appealing.

Yarn Bombing by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain is just what I need to get some inspiration and get started. Like regular paint graffiti, yarn graffiti has different purposes from activism, to tagging and decoration and this book gives lots of examples of these purposes. The book includes interviews with prolific yarn bombers, their reasons for engaging in yarn art and their styles of graffiti.

For me the most important part is how to get a crew together and take my yarn into the street. There is a chapter on how to decide on patterns, measuring your tagging targets, attaching your yarn and what to do if you are caught! Although patterns and tags differ depending on your target the book gives loads of patterns. There are patterns for basic rectangular tags for those new to knitting/crocheting or new to yarn graffiti and they progress to master tagging patterns such as hanging shoes (as seen on the cover) to mushrooms and elf stockings.

The book is full of colourful photographic examples of yarn graffiti to inspire creativity and appreciation of this art form and I can't wait to get started.
8/10

There are cats in this book – Viviane Schwarz

This little treasure is my families favourite find so far, this year. It is of course about cats. Now I am not a cat person, I'm not a dog person either. If anything I am a chicken person. Chooks are so gorgeous and useful...they eat leftovers and make eggs for us to eat....however I digress. Cats!
Actually, now that I think about it, since Geelong, the (not so mighty) Cats won the Australian Football League (AFL) grand final this month it is probably quite a fitting book to blog about this month.
The three cats in this book are friendly and are looking for nice people to play with them and help them. There are lift the flaps and half pages to turn which bring surprises both to the cats and to the reader. The cats interact with the reader, getting the reader to help them to find wool, cardboard boxes, pillows and fish and to divert disaster.
Viviane Schwarz reads this book on her website so click here to preview the book. But it really is a book you need to hold and turn the pages, so look for it at your local library
Highly recommended for ages 2-8.        9/10