Yarnbomb-tastic!!!

There have been two themes that we have been exploring over the 5 weeks at Northbourne - Identity and Connectivity. By our 5th week here, we have been able to organically let them merge as themes, and aspects of the work has manifested into the yarn bombing of Low Fell! In a bid to connect Northbourne Care Home with the Low Fell community, we have been galvanising an army of residents, family members, including Claire's grandma and other artists, including 'Open Clasp' Theatre Director, Trina McHugh, MBE to create over 70 knitted envelopes. Each envelope contains one of the postcards made using the thumb prints created in the early days of the residency. 




Last week Amy, Claire and Phyllis trekked out in the pouring rain to 'Yarn-bomb' the area outside Costa Coffee in Low Fell, about 200 yards from Northbourne. The rest of us stayed dry and watched them on the big screen through Skype in the dining room… The Yarnbombing was an invitation for people from the local area to take a postcard and write to someone who lives at Northbourne. We didn't really know what to expect, response-wise but this week we already have had 30 replies sent directly to residents. We all, including residents have been a bit overwhelmed!

 Yarnbomb film link

The messages have been so lovely. Most contain return addresses and Amy has been able to use the postcards to work with individual residents, having meaningful conversations and write replies. After feeling quite sad that the residency was coming to an end, the yarnbomb / postcards are our stepping stone into the next phase of the project. Even though we won't be living here anymore, we really want to continue collaborating with Northbourne and keep this dialogue with the community open and developing over the coming months (please send us an email through the 'contacts' bar if you would like to write to a resident!)