Saturday Knit Fever

In my experience there is often a link between the arts & crafts and environmentalist movements. This is probably in part due to the greener, more sustainable methods and values shared, but there is also another simple desire, that of striving making the world a prettier place, that is important to both. Whether it's about creating something from natural products, doing so by traditional means, or simply preserving what is naturally available to us, there is always the added bonus of knowing that you are adding to aesthetic beauty in our daily lives. It was with that thought in mind that I was amused to see the recent spate of Knit graffiti or yarn bombs recently appearing around Belfast. I was even happier to later find out that most of these have been orchestrated by a good friend of mine, who has posted many of these creations online. Now Belfast has it's fair share of decoration; who can ignore the limp greying flags left to rot on lampposts throughout the year, or the city council's ever so valiant attempts to rid the streets of those pesky fly posters by posting over them in what I can only assume is buckets of their own filth. But it is really nice to see that someone has gone to the effort of adding their own cosy tagging, and if you're out and about and happen to catch one of these, I hope it makes you smile as much as it did me. And if you're not from Belfast, keep an eye out for your own cities knit artists, or check out the online blog at http://saturdayknitfeverbelfast.tumblr.com/