Putting the Heart back into Downtown [Vancouver]

Hi Yarnbombers,

Well! 24 hours can certainly turn it all around.

I took the day off on Thursday. I’m trying to finish my Masters these days, so I try to work every day – it doesn’t matter when the weekend is. When I realized I really didn’t have the heart for anything but community spirit, I officially made it a weekend day for myself. And then shit happened!

I wrote that blog post very slowly, trying to figure out what exactly I’m frustrated about, how the riot affected me, and what the hell to do with the situation.

After hours of reflecting and a slowly written essay, I concluded I would put a heart or two downtown. But then the blog was posted and I had a bigger idea.

What if rallied a few yarnbombers? What if a group initiative happened? I visualized knit/crocheted hearts and bandaids put up around downtown. Of course I’m sure you all have better ideas!

So I emailed Leanne of Yarnbombing, the book I credit with making a yarnbomber of me! I emailed an author! And suggested a group effort! And she replied the same day! And mentioned my idea on her blog! This alone blows my mind almost beyond repair.

I’m so touched by the efforts made to clean up the city, as well as the efforts to document it and show the community what Vancouver is really made of – kill ‘em with kindness, right? Let’s build upon this amazing initiative made by the public servants, good samaritans, and volunteers – as a thank you to them, and as a way to show Vancouver we care about the city. And so:

CALL FOR YARNBOMBERS – LET’S PUT THE HEART BACK INTO DOWNTOWN.

Saturday, June 25^th, I intend to inject some yarnbombing spirit into downtown, and I would love some company. I plan to have a bit of a knitting sit-in at a coffee shop downtown followed by some good old-fashioned yarnbombing mid-afternoon.

Feel free to make whatever will represent your feelings about the riot, the good samaritans, the city, and/or the clean-up efforts. I’ve been making these:

…and will continue to all week.

Please contact me if you wish to join me on Saturday and would like the details, or even if can’t join but simply want to know about the patterns I’ve been using! My (shiny, new) email is tightknitthebomb [at] gmail [dot] com.

-Tightly