Ottawa Yarn Bombers Release Manifesto

Did you see the pictures of the yarn bombing that happened last weekend in Ottawa? Someone (four someones, as it turns out, but we’ll get to that) made scarves to wrap around the necks of 14 statues in the city’s Valiant’s Memorial, which commemorates some of Canada’s war heroes, as well as some other places around the city.

The temperature that day was -20 C (or about -4 F), and the scarves had unsigned notes directing people to take the scarves if they needed them.

The identity of the crafters has been revealed as four friends who call themselves Dropping Stitches to Make a Better World and whose manifesto is “peace, love, knitting.”

Michelyn St. Pierre, one of the knitters, said the group didn’t immediately reveal their identities because they weren’t sure what they were doing was legal. But word and pictures of their deeds spread across the Internet and they wanted to let people know who did it.

This is such a great idea that would be valued just about anywhere in the northern hemisphere right now. Here’s to more peace, love and knitting!

[Photo by Chris Mikula via the Ottawa Citizen.]

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The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical.

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique.

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead.

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit.

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern.

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like.

[Photo: Maymade Knits]

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