On a warm afternoon last Wednesday at an undisclosed location I arranged the meetup. I met with seven out of the 11 members, all of whom have code names (making them even awesomer!). The members that we’re in attendance were (not listed in any particular order):

• Crow Shade (say it out loud then you’ll get it… I know I didn’t get it until I said it out loud either. Very clever!)
• 2 Legit 2 Knit (Ha! love it!)
• Knitty Knitty Nine Doors
• Uneven Tension, Roving Spirit
• Granola Square
• Happy Hooker
• and Fresh Water Purl.

So here I found myself drinking lemonade with incognito people wearing wigs, hats and sun glasses talking about this underground movement in Mission. I was elated but there we questions that needed to be asked! My first question? How did this all get started? Crow explained how she had seen this book, Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti, on Granola Square’s coffee table. Just like that, they decided they should start yarn bombing. So they did. They made a blog and that was that. Oh and they ordered some labels. They took forever to arrive BUT That didn’t stop them. Quietly they just started. Other books that influenced the group were Peter Blocks‘, Community: The Structure of Belonging, Projects for Public Spaces website and Paul Born’s Deepening Community (He grew up in Abbotsford!). However, mostly the yarn and texture it’s self, dictates the inspiration.

Crow discussed, a big part of their decision to start the group had to do with how Mission gets such a bad rap. Granola Girl concurred, retelling  how often people who discover they live in Mission ask, “are you going to move soon?” We all agreed, most times people practically apologize when they find out we live here . The group expressed their love for living in Mission. Uneven Tension has lived here her whole life. Knitty, Knitty Nine Doors spoke about how she’s lived all over the world BUT this is longest she’s settled anywhere. She fell in love with Mission and has no plan to move. To the group it’s a “social responsibility” to yarn bomb. They even suggested the yarn bombings were like an intervention, to help other people see Mission as a more beautiful, joyful place; the place they love.

The group loves overhearing people talking about the yarn bombings, just as much as they love seeing people discovering them and interacting with them. All in all they’ve had a great response… but, haters gonna hate. 2 Legit 2 Knit, well her boss is not a fan. Really not a fan but not to give herself away she quietly sits and listens while complaints are made. Now, that’s commitment not all of us could do that!

Some bombings have been tampered with, or taken down (the chicks on the fire hydrants went missing quickly, probably because they were so darn cute!). Being socially responsible, if a piece starts to look ratty or is vandalized they take it down. Although one piece they’ve been maintaining is the snake. It is located over by the Mission Library in an area that needed some love. Love that these member are willing to give. Which is why their story of hanging a laundry line full of mitts and hats at a bus stop in the middle of the winter stands out strongly in my mind. If Yarn Bombing is considered Graffiti, it’s one that is giving to the community and definitely not taking anything away from it.

Most of the Yarn Bombings are done individually but on occasion the group does come together for an installation. These projects the group seems to especially adore. Dolly the Sheep was one the first projects NirvYARNah did as a group. They’ve done International Yarn Bombing Week  and a God Eyes installation, in memory of 2 Legit’s grandfather. The God’s eyes were especially enjoyed, since members had help from their children in making them.

New members have since found NirvYARNah by contacting the group. Happy Hooker, newly to the group explained how she contacted NirvYARNA. First she contacted The Mission Arts Council, who directed her to Trendy and What Knot. Suspecting she had discovered the ring leader, she was thrown off the scent. In the end Happy Hooker decided to send an envelope full of crocheted flowers. The group was overjoyed by receiving a love letter filled with flowers!  Crow related, the group isn’t exclusive to knitters and crochet, wherever your talent lays, whether it’s a hammer or thread, if you want in, you’re in.

It’s turned into, well a movement picking up momentum with 264 NirvYARNah blogposts and over 22,000 views! Ranking most views from the USA, then Canada (what? c’mon Canada!), Russia, Germany and then Poland. The post most viewed is, From Sweden, with Soul. Now, I know what your thinking. Sweden? What the?!? Another aspect t to NirvYARNah is have yarn, will travel. They have left their mark all over the world leaving Yarn Bombs in Australia, Austria, England and yeah, Sweden!

Now have they ever been caught? Almost. They claim they are getting much more bold. Sometimes older gentlemen walking their dogs will stop for a chat but mostly if women see them, they just keep walking, like they never saw a thing.

“As for the name of the group, it was coined by our Wily Commuter…  I’m careful to only capitalize the YARN part to make it stand out – but of course it draws from nirvana: that perfect place we’ll never attain. It won’t stop us from trying.”-Crow Shade

When we decided to become land barons and moved out to Mission (really we’re just city people pretending to be country people, shhhh… don’t tell anyone) we noticed this strange pensive, apologetic look in people’s eyes when we said we lived in “Mission”. I’m not 100% sure what was going on behind that look but my guess it went a little something like this:

You live out in the boonies?

Why  would you want to live out there?

I don’t think they even have paved roads…

Outhouses, no running water… oh god!

I bet they have a pedal bike set up in their house to use electricity…

WHY, why would anyone ever live out there!

So yeah, I started telling people we live BETWEEN Maple Ridge and Mission. That seemed to ease the uneasiness. When we were looking into moving out to Mission 11 years ago we fell in love with it. It felt like one of those places, where artists settle before it becomes a sought after artsy place to live. Since then we’ve seen fantastic shops open on main street like The Sweet Spot Cafe,  English Tarts, Trendy or What Knot and an awesome yoga studio called the Iron Lotus, (they have roof top yoga! I know! How fancy is that!)

And when I saw this, I thought! Ya Baby! Yarn bombing! WooHOO! Mission is awesome!!! (I have thing for Guerilla art.)

This is on the west end of main street. I noticed some sunflowers last year and thought quietly huh?!  That’s cool, I’m so glad to see someone doing that.

Then after noticing the Mount Baker piece, I noticed this at the east end of main street.

Look the “E” looks like Cookie Monster. I LOVE cookie monster!

Then basking in my, “look what I found moment,” I noticed this too!

AND then! Beside the Canada flag I saw this! I don’t think it’s meant to say Stop Gratitude, it’s just angle of my photo while I was standing in the middle of the road trying not to get run over. Totally worth it!

Unlike the others I spied, the Canadian flag and the Gratitude had labels on them saying Meet your neighbours www.nirvYARNah.blogsopt.ca. and this one saying…

I checked out their blog. It’s awesome, then I checked out their:

Facebook page

Pinterest boards

Oh, and they’re on Flickr too (well they said they sorta are, but it looked like to me they are.)

Then of course they’re on Twitter

I was thrilled to see all the little goodies they’ve left all over Mission. Some I’d seen, I think a few have been taken down but god, it made me just proud and jazzed to live out here! You could even say it made me feel like I was living in nirvYARNah! Ha! See what I did there?

And for the record, if you consider driving miles past Ikea in Coquitlam the boonies, then yes, I live in the boonies. We do have paved roads, running water and electricity. Most importantly we have flushable toilets!