Hello!
I successfully completed my first yarnbombing run ever this morning! I was going to do a piece on my town’s main drag, but I got up later than I had planned, and it felt a tad exposed to be yarnbombing on the main road at 7:15 in the morning. Instead, I passed a handy playground en route and bombed there. I had five tags and a calling card in my bag, along with an id, a cell phone, and a pocketknife. I was nervous as I pulled in and checked the area for hidden observers – this particular playgroup is catty-corner from a library and right next to a city admin building.
I climbed onto the playground, checked my measurements, and started bombing. I quickly discovered that yarnbombing, at least for newbies, is a nerve-wracking process. Every few stitches I stopped to check that no one was watching. But I couldn’t do anything about it when civil servants started pulling into the parking lot and passing the playground on the way in to work! Fortunately, the bit of parking lot that backs the playground is a small one, and I don’t think anyone noticed me.
But then came the kid. In the middle of tag #3, a little girl showed up and started putting the swing set to good use. She was watching me the whole time! My strategy was to keep quiet and try to look like I was supposed to be there. She didn’t say a word, but I was on the receiving end of several weirded-out glances. I finished the fifth tag and got the heck out of there, hoping she wouldn’t tell on me. I took a couple cell phone shots, which I’ll put up later, and pedaled away VERY quickly.
Despite my fears of getting caught, the leg cramps ensuing from crouching for half an hour, and the guilty feeling I have for “defacing” a playground, I’m hooked. My next project – bike racks!
