Yarnbomb alert issued for Newry

A shadowy group of local knitters and crocheters have issued a warning about a planned yarnbomb attack on Newry.

Newry bound: Expect weird and wonderful sights in Hill Street, Newry

The group, Secret Outside Crocheters and Knitters (S.O.C.K.), which has already struck Belfast and Newcastle in recent months, has issued a warning that Newry is next on their ‘knit list’.

Yarnbombing – also known as guerrilla knitting – is a type of street art that brings colourful woolen displays to unsuspecting urban areas.

Previous wool explosions for which S.O.C.K. has been responsible have taken place in the early hours of the morning, with residents and shoppers waking to lampposts, railings and other street furniture left in a barely recognisable – and much improved – state.

Newry residents have been asked to be on the look-out for anyone knitting or crocheting suspiciously in the Hill Street area in coming days. It is believed that the planned attack is linked to a major fundraising effort for Southern Area Hospice Services (SAHS) in the run-up to Christmas.

Yarnbombs are colourful woolen displays

Newry’s own ‘Black Santa’ John Dalzell MBE is due to start his annual Christmas sit-out to raise funds for SAHS on Hill St and it’s time for the local people to get their winter woollies on in preparation for John and his team.

In a statement to Newry Times, a yarnbomber from the group – who would only give her name as Purl Wunn – said, “S.O.C.K operates in a close-knit cell structure and we never reveal our identities, but we all support the work of the Hospice and we want to help John Dalzell and his team to wrap up warm for the Christmas Sit Out.”

2012 marks the 21st year of the sit-out event, where the local fundraiser braves the December cold to sit in Hill Street collecting money in the week leading up to Christmas Eve.

John Dalzell MBE and his team have been fundraising for the SAHS since 1992 and his famous sit out has raised over £1 million for the charity over the last 20 years.

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Posted by Newry Times News on Dec 7 2012. Filed under Community, What's On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry