A Global D.I.Y. Movement to Make People Happy Will Drop in Freedom Park this Saturday

Yarn is seen as cozy and comforting. A soft-hued baby blanket. A matching hat and mittens to keep you warm when snow threatens.

Knitting is seen as something old women do for their grandchildren and little girls make for their playthings, something that’s only for women.

Well, welcome to 2011. Yarn is no longer girly or tucked away indoors. A global movement fueled by indie crafters want recognition for their art, and they are experimenting in new ways.

One such experiment will happen this weekend. The site of the drop will be a sitting area in Freedom Park. The people will be fiber artists and others who want to brave the heat and join them from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 11.

The method will be yarn, string, ripped up t-shirts and other fibrous materials wrapped around trees, benches and everything else in the path of the yarn bombers.

Yarn bombing is sometimes referred to as grandma graffiti and, like traditional graffiti, is put up in public places. The term “bomb” comes from the male-dominated world of graffiti where it means to apply graffiti—usually in the form of paint or paste—focused in one location.

Two groups will be concentrating their efforts on one area this Saturday. The first group is called the Sixfold Collective; the second is a random collection of artists and crafters, including many members of the Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance.

Knitters and crocheters have been knitting purls and hooking rows in preparation. Everyone is excited to this what this event could bring for the fiber arts in Atlanta.

“Yarn bombing is always something I wanted to do,” Doraville resident Amanda Wollnick said. A chemist by training, Wollnick will be yarn bombing for the first time with a group this Saturday.

“It's really a group effort, especially if you want to do a large piece, and I just haven't found a large enough group that wants to do something,” she said.

Yarn bombing can be seen as a new kind of street art; a kind that is silly and less destructive.

“[Yarn bombing] is sure to bring a smile to someone's face,” Wollnick said.

If you want to participate or watch splashes of color gradually cover a section of the park, head on over to Freedom Park this Saturday. The Collective will began working on their net themed work at 10 a.m. The second group will begin working at noon. The Collective’s net will only be up for one day as a preview for later exhibits. The rest of the yarn bomb will stay up for one month.

They chose to yarn bomb Freedom Park partly becuase other recent projects had been successful, including .

A map of the yarn bomb site can be seen on the SEFAA website. The Sixfold Collective has a Facebook page that shows their other work, not all of it related to fiber arts.