Nelson, Boom!

The Creamery, If you have never been to Nelson, WI to visit the creamery you are missing out.  This Hippie Hooker decided to stop in for something to munch on for the ride home (and perhaps bomb, should the opportunity arise! And it always does!) 


I chose my bomb, and walked in through their old screen doors.  My mouth immediately started to salivate in anticipation of the delightful treats to come.  The decisions I was about to make could be some of the most difficult I would have to make, at least for the next hour or two.

I perused passed the cheese in the center and my eyes locked gaze with this handsome sack of garlic cheese curds.  It was love at first sight.  The Hippie Hooker was hooked.  I made my purchase and sat outside on the lovely weather warn benches. 

I stuck my hand inside that paper sack and tore into the curd bag as quickly as I could, I can still almost taste those yummy cheese curds!  I ate a few, and they were like heaven! 

But this wasn't why The Hippie Hooker was really there, those darn cheese curds were doing something to me, they were trying to foil my mission of bombing the place.  I won't be fooled so easily Mr Garlic Cheese Curd!  Nice try!

I noticed that while I was in my moment of curded bliss, a few people had sat around me, this could prove to be a difficult mission.  I was a bit nervous.

I got out my blue curly-q bomb and started to tie it on.  The gentleman sitting right next to me had the most confused look on his face.  My hands were shaking a bit as I said "It's a bit of a traveling art project, ever hear of yarn bombing?"  Well that caught the attention of one lady who was sitting next to me on the other side.  I briefly explained what it was, and she had to have her picture taken with me and the bomb. 

Over all the trip was a lot of fun, I only had purchased one sweater, one beef stick and a bag of yummy cheese curds.  A week later, I am not sure if the Nelson bomb or the Eagle bomb are still up, but I do know that the Farmers bomb is still waving in the wind! 


Until next time, Yours
The Hippie Hooker!

The National Eagle Center.... Consider It Bombed!

So what is a Hippie Hooker to do when she finds herself in a town like Wabasha, MN with chrocheted bombs just waiting to go off? 

While I passed through the streets filled with people scooping up their treasures from the garage sales, I wondered where in this tiny town would I bomb.  Then it dawned on me.  There happens to be a place in Wabasha called the National Eagle Center, housing Bald Eagles and educating the world about the amazing creatures that they are.  On my face grew a sinister grin as I pulled into a parking stall.

I casually walked around the front of the building, noting that there were two garbage bins right in front of the entrance to the building.  Perfect!  I could stick a bomb on one of those and place is just so the people working in the building wouldn't be able to see it. 

never having been to the NEC, I wanted to see what it looked like.  I walked into the building and was blown away by the amount of eagle stuff you could buy!  They had anything you could ever imagine in the form of an eagle.  This is just one shot of the nick nacks and paddy whacks.  Why?

Secondly I was shocked by the price!   Really?  Today, all the Hippie Hooker would see of this place was the gift shop and this imposing admission fee sign. 










I left with a slight smerk on my face.  Now they were REALLY getting bombed!


I chose my spot, sat on the curb next to it and quickly pulled it from my sack. I tied it on and snapped a few shots and left.  No one walked by as I was doing it, but as I was leaving someone did stop and read the tag!  That excited me!

On the road again!  Nelson, here I come!!!!

100 Miles of Bombing Fun (AKA The 100 mile garage sale, but that just sounds lame)

So last weekend was the annual "100 mile garage sale" in this area. It is the annual freak out event. People rent U-haul trucks, bet out the pick up trucks, wagons, what ever they can to haul their load of crap home!  I was excited to be able to go this year, I had to work last year.  It was a beautiful day, and was foretasted to rain! 

It used to start on Saturday and end Sunday. Then Friday and Saturday.  This year, Thursday and Friday were the big days, and by the time I went on my day off (Saturday) most of the stuff was so picked through it wasn't much fun.


Before leaving town, I remembered it was also the first Farmers Market in Winona!  I had to stop and support everyone there!  I picked up one of my favorite beef sticks from the Earth Be Glad farm!  If you have never eaten their beef, you had best try them out!  The chickens and cows are fed on a pasture based system during the growing season (i.e. warm enough to be outdoors and have food to eat) and beef are fed organic hay in the winter months, chickens organic oats corn and roasted soybeans.  The most amazing food I have ever tasted. (This coming from a former vegan.)

I decided that this would be the perfect time to do some Yarn bombing!  So away I went! I bombed the Farmers Market, in broad day light!  I even had the ca-hones to tape myself!  It will be posted on a later post, sorry folks, I don't have the time to edit it at the moment. 

STOP!!

I have been failure at blogging!  Failure!   I have had one HUGE success story to share about this little Diddy!  This little guy is STILL up!   Been over a month!  For all you Winonans out there, can you spot it?

I'm not dead yet! I'm getting better!

O.K. so I ripped that off from Monty Python!  Sorry! 

I suppose any of those few who read this silly blog are wondering what the Hippie Hooker has been up to these days.  Well, let me see here!  Hmmmm...



I have made an assortment of yarn bombs that are just waiting for me to detonate them!  I have been holding off as I wanted to make some calling cards to string up with them.  I have plenty to last me for a while.  I have been using my lunch breaks, you know, from that time that I spend laboring to pay my bills? Half an hour makes about one bomb, if I eat a light lunch, which I do most days.

Then there is the calling card situation.  I know most folds have little business cards made up and then laminated.  Not this girl.  Nope.  I got out my mom's set of quills that she gave me eons ago and a few ink wells and began working on my calligraphy again.  It's been a few years so my skills are rusty.  But it is coming back to me, slow but sure.  And with all scrap booking toys and papers I have, why just settle for plane Jane cards.  O.K. so perhaps I am just trying to build myself up here!  To tell the truth, I am cheap.  I am doing my yarn bombing on no budget.  I don't believe in spending money on it. I truly think that this art form can be just as amazing using all upcycled materials, found items, or things I currently own and am pack ratting. Not that I pack rat anything, never!!!!! (right!)

So the calling cards are covered, I even wrote this silly blogs site on it.  Bombs are made, and ready to go...... so what am I waiting for?!?! 

I am not sure! Being a lone bomber, it is hard to prove that it was you who did it, so I would like to employ a side kick to snap some shots.  This has held me back a bit.  Any takers out there in bloggersville?

I will end with a whoop whoop and a pat on the back to myself!  I learned tonight, at one a.m., how to crochet a peace sign!!!!!! Who's awesome and has two thumbs?   This hippie chick! 

Peace, Yarn, and chicks with hooks!

Stop sign fun!

Last night I had that crazy dream of getting stuck in a snow bank, trying to hang up my newest tag.  

I decided, even though I was almost ready for bed, to get dressed and run out and bomb the crap out of something!  I looked out the window and found only one sign that would be visible from my window.  That wouldn't do, as it wouldn't get much attention.  People drive by that sign too fast, may not see it.  

So at 2:30 a.m. I donned a hat, coat, grabbed my keys and bomb and left to find the perfect spot, on foot, bare foot.  (I love the warmer weather!  I can walk outside with no shoes and not freeze.)

There it was. Just as I got outside, I saw it.  A stop sign. Perfect.  People will surely see that!  Not sure how long it will last, but it will be visible. It is a lime green bomb with eyelash yarn stripe on the top.    I ran over to it, checking for cars of course, and bombed the sign with my tag.  I couldn't get a great pic of it, as my camera's batteries were wearing out and didn't want to power the flash.

  So I resign to going to bed, without the shot of it on the sign, and only hope that it will last until daylight.

Good night and happy hooking! (I just love it!  Sounds so dirty, but I truly mean it in a purely innocent way! )

Hippie Hooker Has A Dream!

It is I, the Hippie Hooker.  Last night as I was curled up in bed, cats snuggled around me, I had a dream.

It all started when, just before hitting the sack I finished a tag that was meant for a post of some sort, a sign post.  I used lime green yarn and topped it off with matching green and blue eyelash yarn for some pizazz.

By the time I had finished this piece and was ready for bed, it was nearly 2 a.m. I was feeling a little guilty for not putting up my tag right away, as I had the perfect place for it.  I wanted it in a location I could see from my window.  But, I shoved this tiny bit of guilt aside and went to bed.

I should have hung the tag.  I began to dream about the spot where I was going to bomb.  I had it in my bomb in hand, had made a tag for it, and was bundling up to go out in the elements.  Yes, snow, wind, freezing cold temperatures.  (In reality it is on the cusp of spring, and I would beat the teeth out of anyone who told me wished for winter again at this moment!)   I got outside and started to trudge through the snow.  Only as I got closer, the snow progressively got deeper.

This snow got so deep, that I lost my boot in the bottom of a snow drift. (This is actually something that had happened to me a few years ago, on my walk to work after a freak March snow storm had dumped over a foot of snow over night!  I got stuck in a plow's drift! Imagine, if you will, you are driving by and see someone's feet sticking out of a drift, one with a boot and the other with nothing but a sock.) My dream progressed in such a way that I had to dive in and get my boot, only then it was my yarn bomb!

I had grabbed it (magically my boots were both on my feet) and began to struggle to get out.  I was almost straight up and down, and was struggling to get out.

Needless to say, that tag never got hung up in my dream.  When I awoke this morning, it still was laying on my sofa, just where I had left it when I had finished it. 

What does it all mean? Will I get stuck in some trouble if I tag again?  Should I, the Hippie Hooker stop my dastardly deeds?

One word.....

No!

On to start more of my "chain" gang of hooked graffiti!

The Hippie Hooker Strikes (one!)

First Bomb, A.K.A. Leaky 

Leaky

  After doing some research into the different types of bombs out there, I decided to make one for a hydrant, one that would look a bit like water leaking from it. So I grabbed some spare yarn, remnants of cotton yarn I had from making washcloths for myself. It happened to be "blue lagoon" color.
 

I hooked up some curly-q's on one long chain. It was no where near perfect.  That is the beauty of this.  These are going to be in the elements, rain, wind, people, sun, perfection will only last a few moments, that is to say, if it doesn't get cut down right away.

 The first yarn bomb was done.  I was very eager to get it out there, but had to wait until I could have the cover of darkness to help hide me.  After all,  The Hippie Hooker tends to stand out.  It was Tuesday past, March 29th, around 9:00.  I had to do it now, or I would never do it. Before I left, I had written up a tag, saying that the Hippie Hooker had placed it there.  And wrote a brief  sentence about yarn bombing.

I got in my car and started to drive around town to find the perfect hydrant.  As I drove, I began to realize just how many there were.  Lots! And then, there it was, like a beacon. I parked my car around the corner, shoved the bomb under my coat, and walked up to the hydrant.  

I chose to bomb the hydrant right outside the yarn store that had inspired me to start bombing in the first place.  Only problem was, there was people inside the store, I had to plant it swiftly. No hopes of ever getting a picture.  The flash in the darkness would surely alert them.

The corner was a busy intersection, with a stop light and surrounded by bars just down the street.  So swiftly I swooped in and tied it on,  I wanted a picture, needed one, but didn't want to risk giving up my identity.

The next day after work, figuring it would have been cut off, I drove down town, only to see it still there.  I had forgotten my camera and decided I didn't feel like going all the way back home and back here again, it most likely will still be there one more day.

Thursday rolls around, and again, I smile inwardly as I walked up to the Leaky with my camera to snap a shot.  A friend of mine, had just pulled up right behind me.  He was also on his way to check out "The Hippie Hooker's" handy work he had heard so much about. (That seemed like a lot of H words in that sentence!)  On our way back to our cars, we celebrated the two days of it's existence in this world with a high five!

Tonight is a bar night, and I wonder if it will make it through the onslot of college drunks.  Will they notice my pretty tendrils of Blue Lagoon? Will they like Leaky? Will they take pictures of Leaky and say that she is lovely? Or will they yank on her tendrils and the Leaky? Will it make Leaky cry real water (her tendrils could still be wet, it did rain!)? Who will comfort Leaky? Who knows?  

The bombs are never meant to be permanent.  It has been a joy to see it last this long.  So come the morning if it is gone, I will have at least have shared some of The Hippie Hookers artistic abilities with the world. 

For now, I will continue to hook on in the only legal way I know how... 

Until the next bomb goes off...... 

The H.H.

How the Hippie Hooker came to be!

You may wonder who I am.  And how I came to be.  My name is the Hippie Hooker.  I come from a parents who are crafty, artistic, theatrical, great gardeners, hard workers,  fixers of all that is broken, alternative, quirky, goofy, silly, fun, and most of all, loving.

You probably are wondering how they feel to have a daughter named the Hippie Hooker.  Well, this wasn't given to me by them.  Nope, it is my code name, my super duper amazing alter ego, wearing tie die and wielding a bomb and hook! Look out world, this hippie is out to get you!

I am a yarn bomber.  I confess.  I love to bomb things.  With yarn.  A lot.  

For those of you who do not know what yarn bombing is, it is the art of knit and crochet graffiti.  Yes, you read this right.  Yarn Graffiti. 

Many times these two arts (knitting and crocheting) get overlooked and brushed off as something meaningless and non artistic at all. Something for those who have a lot of time on their hands. Some think of little ladies knitting in their rocking chair. (I do have a very famous chair I like to sit in... a story for another day!) Or the infamous GRANNY SQUARES!  Neither one of these two scenarios applies, I don't knit in a rocking chair, and I hate granny squares. HATE them.

There has been a group of knit and crochet artists who decided to defy this age old thinking, and show the world just how artistic knitting and crocheting can be. These people are out there to show the world a tiny bit of their ability, in hopes of making them smile.  I am one of them.  

What's In A Name?

The typical bombers or bombing group's name is a bit funny or risque but always refers to the craft in some way.  I pondered for a bit about my alter ego.  I created a long list of things that defined who I was. Here is why I chose "The Hippie Hooker"

So why I feel I am a hippie, well- my tendencies to be fairly earth friendly, love of  my tie die sarong,  artsy fartsyness,  wacky creativity, organic garden at the community garden in town, love of volunteering, slight disdain for "The Man", adoration of all farmers markets, willingness to shop second hand and have a ball, and the love of animals (I could be the next Crazy Cat Lady, if only they would leave my yarn alone when I am hooking!)

And now the hooker portion of my name.  For those of you not familiar with knitting and crocheting terms, I will explain in brief detail.  Knitters use two needles, typically they have a stopper on the end preventing the yarn from coming off. The needles are pointed and vary in thickness for the size of yarn used and stitch you desire.  Crocheters on the other hand use a single needle, only it is much shorter than most knitting needles.  (I do have some afghan crocheters that are long)  Crochet needles also vary in thickness for the size of stitch and yarn you are using, only this needle has a hook on the end that you work with.  Thus the "Hooker" portion of my name.  

I must say that I owe this facination of yarn bombing to a local yarn store in this town, who posted another blog on their Facebook page.  The day I read that, I spent hours sifting through blog after blog of other bombing groups and individuals.