Friday, April 1, 2011

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.  


3 comments:

  1. My nickname is Bali so I use that but my yarn bombing group is Twilight Taggers. Twilight because I do most of my work at night and taggers relating to the actual piece [or tag] that I put up.
    I like your name too. :)

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  2. Dropstitch Murphy here, from the Bluffside Bombers. If all goes well, I'll be hanging out at Yarnology in Winona on Saturday April 23. Any chance that you can stop by?

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  3. lol! You sound like me! I literally spent hours online looking at bombs! I am organizing my first now and can hardly wait!

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