Page 29 - Oundle Life November 2023

YARNBOMBERS
Knitting the community a brighter place
It all started in 2015 when Paula Prince from Oundle Town Council asked for volunteers to help with a creative project for the town centre. Little did we know what we were
about to let ourselves in for! Many of us had never heard of yarnbombing, but lots of volunteers were happy and eager to get involved. Lots of knitting, crocheting, chatting, laughing, and of course coffee, tea, and cakes ensued!
was even transformed into a retro red phone box. It looked amazing. We were so proud of our efforts.
Throughout all this, we managed to
keep it fairly secretive, and we installed
our knitted and crocheted creations one evening at the end of June. Bollards,
trees, benches, the pillars outside the
bookshop and the bus shelter were
covered. There was a knitted zebra
attached to the pole at the zebra crossing. And our drab grey telephone box in the market place
with baubles, snowmen, and Christmas trees. The bus shelter was covered to look like a log
Lots of knitting, crocheting, chatting, laughing, and of course coffee, tea, and cakes ensued!
Some of us met up the morning after the deed was done. It was so lovely to see people smiling, chatting to each other, taking photos, and looking so happy. We watched one little girl who was so excited that she ran to each of the bollards and hugged them – it was very touching.
Friendships were formed from
this, and we started a knit and natter group (which still meets every week). Inevitably this led us to think about future projects, one of which was in Christmas 2015. Bollards were covered
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