‘Fancy knitting a cauliflower or crocheting a couple or carrots?’
Written by Elanor McBay
Blooming Marvellous - intergenerational community knitted/crocheted garden project
An, exciting, unique community-knitting/crochet project called Blooming Marvellous has just commenced and is working in partnership with Bournemouth Libraries.
This is an Intergenerational community knitting/crochet project where the elderly pass on their knitting and crochet skills to the younger generation and the community works together to create a knitted/crocheted 3D garden. Ideas for the garden so far include a crazy paving path, a vegetable patch, and a woodland walk, knitted garden tools and a wheelbarrow.
This is mainly a Bournemouth project but knitters are joining in from USA, Italy, Canada, with knitters knitting from now until end of April 2011.
All the work made will be exhibited, in May 2011, installed over 3 floors at Bournemouth Library (The Triangle) where it will creep along window ledges, cascade down balconies, blossom on trees, and includes a knitted teddy bears picnic in the children’s area with knitted cakes and sandwiches. The exhibition will then travel around other libraries in Bournemouth.
We are looking for libraries, schools, community centres, day centres, care homes, scouts, brownies, pubs, churches, families, youth clubs, groups, etc. to join in. The project is open to anyone of any age or any ability.
While the exhibition is on, in May, there will be a team of experienced knitters at the library with wool, needles and patterns showing people how to knit/crochet and make simple quick items that can be added to the exhibition.
The library is using its outreach service to take needles, wool and patterns to housebound readers so they can join in. Charminster Library has a craft club who meet on the fir
st Tuesday of every month from 5 - 7pm who are participating. Many of the knitting/craft/crochet groups in the area are participating – details on the Blog.
The project is being organised by community artist Pauline Stanley, who graduated as a part time mature student from Arts University College Bournemouth in July 2009 with a BA (Hons) Fine Art, who is very keen to make art accessible and enjoyable for all, and likes to work on projects that strengthen our experience of community and is very excited wait to see to see what a whole community can make when they work together!
Request for wool
The libraries will shortly be having collection points for wool that you can donate to the project but meanwhile you can contact Pauline who will collect it from you.
Find out more about us the Blooming Marvelous Blog at http://bloomingmarvellous1.blogspot.com/
And at Ravelry, the online knitters forum at
http://www.ravelry.com/groups/blooming-marvellous
Contact Pauline Stanley if you would like her to come and talk to you group or you would like to be involved in the project in any way.
Pauline Stanley
01202 392055
07729 829 209
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This project is funded by
Bournemouth Libraries/ Bournemouth Arts Development
Arts Council England/National Lottery
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