What bikes and knitting have in common
Knitted bike rack in Portland
This was the rack I recently locked up to – conveniently located at one of my favorite yarn stores in Portland – Happy Knits.
It got me thinking about the way that we interact with our urban setting and how, some people try to make it more beautiful, soft, human, or other adjectives to fill a void that many city dwellers have. Enter Urban Knitting or Yarnbombing. You can see this local example on the bike rack, but there are even larger examples of this type of “graffiti” being used for social causes.
I like that this is a very non-offensive way to create a connection to place. For me, seeing this knitted bike rack, it was almost a friendly welcome mat. Inviting me to bike to the places around town that I love and to see them for a different perspective. I feel that way in general about biking – so it was a good reminder that slowing down (by knitting or biking) is a good way to reconnect with your city.
I get the same feeling each time I pass one of the many poetry posts that have sprung up in our neighborhood in recent years. I love the opportunity to pause as a I walk the dog and get a sense of who lives in my neighborhood by reading the poems that caught their eye.