Our Permaculture Life: Colouring the Streets with Collaborative Community Art

Colouring the Streets with Collaborative Community Art

Maleny, my local town, hosted it's first Knitfest last weekend - a celebration of yarn and fibre arts. The streets and public sculptures were decorated, the halls filled with amazing works of art and artisans everywhere holding workshops to share their skills. Even the local kids joined in - making and decorating the streets with colour.  The inaugural festival was met with a cool wintery weekend - perfect! Everyone could come dressed up in their best homemade knits!

The Maleny cows at the Obi Obi bridge.

As we explored the streets and visited the many makers, we found ourselves putting our names down to do many workshops over the coming months from basket weaving, beading, dry felting... I really want to learn how to make baskets from weedy vines, and refine my knitting skills to create useful but beautiful household items.

Many months ago, Maia and I first saw the flier for this event and it inspired us to learn how to crochet so we could get involved. I grew up sewing, had done some knitting, but never crochet. Ever since, Maia has been visiting a local fashion designer every week and learning the art of crochet and design with her, as well as refining knitting skills (I currently have an order in for some fingerless gloves - to keep my hands warm while I type here on winter nights).

Maia entered her first crochet creation in the recent Maleny Show and received an encouragement award and a lovely little travel sewing kit - she was delighted.

We are both inspired to keep making, learning new skills, sharing our creations and hopefully seeing even more amazing public yarn-bombing happening next year.


The crossing tree.

Colourful crochet on display.

Monty thought the library canon looked pretty funny like this.


The Artisan Market bicycle.


The library tree was one of the most intricately decorated tree.

The kids got to explore textiles from the animals, to the weaving to the making.

The RSL poppies.

So many amazing beanies.

...and shawls.

Fabulous weaving using weed vines.


A felting wonderland

Maia liked these little dry felting worlds ...

and these cute little knitted/beaded animals.


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