The entire concrete structure was wrapped in a warm, knitted hug courtesy of the Knit Cambridge installation.
“They’re keeping it warm for the winter,” 10-year-old Isabel Skinner said.
The official opening of the art project in the Galt section of Cambridge attracted hundreds of visitors to see Sue Sturdy, artist-in-residence at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts, unveil her impressive knitted vision.
“It’s so unusual, it’s beautiful,” Sturdy said.
About 16,000 plastic zip ties hold thousands of knitted afghans, scarves, socks, hats and blankets to the cold concrete of the bridge. Some of the pieces arrived from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
Volunteers helped Sturdy sew together all the knitted scarves to wrap around the arches, totalling nearly 830 metres. Between Tuesday and Friday, about 30 volunteers helped Sue attach the pieces to the bridge.
It is a truly collaborative piece of community art.
Many in attendance at the opening were impressed by the scope of the project.
Bruce Scholl and his brother Robert said they just had to stop to see the bridge on their way to a Cambridge Winterhawks game.
“Where did they get the patience?” Robert asked.
Aside from offering knitting fans a way to exercise their passion on a massive scale, Sturdy intends the piece to remind people of Cambridge’s strong history in the textile industry.
It was also a way for people to “declutter and decorate,” she said.
Friday night, before the official opening, a few hats were stolen from the bridge, but Sturdy wasn’t fazed.
The entire installation will be up until Sept. 27 when it is to be removed — with the help of many volunteers, Sturdy hopes — to be laundered.
Afterwards, many of the pieces will be distributed to local charities.
The scarves will be refashioned to be auctioned off at the Tie One on Party, benefitting the Arts Guild at the Cambridge Centre for the Arts, the YWCA and the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank.
For now, residents of Cambridge can enjoy a warmer bridge as the month gets colder.
“Cambridge will never be the same,” regional councillor Claudette Millar told Sturdy.
JUST WANTED TO UPDATE EVERYONE ON SOME EXCITING KNITTING NEWS
. AVERAGE KNITTERS AT THE LIBRARY HAS BEEN ABOUT 6-7 WEEKLY, SO A NICE GROUP WITH THEIR OWN LITTLE SPECIAL CORNER. AS THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED, THERE WILL BE NO KNITTING ON APRIL 3RD OR APRIL 7TH (EVENING CLASS). HOWEVER, THE LIBRARIAN WANTS TO LEARN TO KNIT SOCKS, SO GUESS WHAT......................THERE IS GOING TO BE A SOCK CLASS - THAT IS GREAT.
THE INS
TRUCTIONAL CLASSES WILL BEGIN AFTER EASTER. KNITTERS WILL NEED 5 WOODEN DOUBLE POINT NEEDLES - SIZE 2 - AND AT LEAST 416 YARDS OF SOCK YARN. SOME SKEINS NOW HOLD ENOUGH YARN FOR A PAIR OF SOCKS. IF THEY NEED TO BUY 2 SKEINS AND THE YARDAGE IS CLOSE - IT IS ADVISABLE TO BUY 3 SKEINS. THIS WILL BE FOR A REGULAR WOMAN'S SOCK. NATURALLY, IF YOU WANT YOUR SOCK TO BE LONGER OR LARGER, YOU WILL NEED MORE YARN AND POSSIBLY LARGER NEEDLES. I'M SURE IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS, REN WOULD NOT MIND YOU CALLING AT THE EXTENSION OFFICE FOR ADVICE. SHE ALSO ADVISES TO DEFINITELY GET WOODEN NEEDLES, AS METAL WILL NEVER STAY PUT!!!!
SO THERE YOU GO - SOMETHING DEFINITELY TO PLAN FOR AND LOOK FORWARD TO.
