Hlemmur

Last night was Culture Night in Reykjavík. That means that we did the amazing yarn bus a year ago. Wow! This year we decided to do something different. We wanted the people to join us and help out. So we applied for the project ‘Yarnstorm Hlemmur!’.

Hlemmur is a bus stop in the city center and has been a bit boring and dull for many years. It is one of the places where homeless people spend their day. But I have always loved this building. There is something about it. But I wanted to bring out how warm and welcoming it can really be. And what better way to do this than with yarn and togetherness?

So many people came! And so many people helped, either by yarnstorming with us, or by donating amazing material for the project. Everyone were interested and positive and we had a blast and are very thankful.

So here are some fun snaps we took.

Let the fun begin!

HELLO!

Twins?

Assembly line

Jón Gnarr, mayor of Reykjavík stopped by and off course he helped out!

You are doing it right!

Ticket office. The woman in there was knitting on and off throughout the day.

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More photos here (flickr link) and on our Facebook page!
Please stop by at Hlemmur in the following days and check all of it out. It gets to stay there as long as it is pretty and nice. Oh, and spread the joy by sharing and liking us, because we sure do like you!

Happy Gay Pride 2013

We love Gay Pride! It is so beautiful and powerfuland amazing. And most of all it is necessary. We need to support human rights. And we at RUY do so without hesitating. We did it last year, and we did it again this year

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Margrét Inga putting up her rainbow of support. This is located on Bankastræti.

Barbaknit putting up the yarngraffiti at Sóleyjargata.

Rut Guðna putting up her yarngraffiti, also on Sóleyjargata.

Anna Sigrún put this up today in Reyðarfjörður.

HAPPY GAY PRIDE, WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR DAY!

Yarnstorming while traveling

When I travel, I often think about yarnstorming and leaving something behind that reminds me of the vacation and that makes other people wonder and hopefully look at the world a little differently. Adding color to this Icelandic summer is needed. We have had about 2-3 days of sun here in the south west and rain almost every day.

Last week I went to my grandfathers cabin in the beautiful Skorradalur in Borgarfjörður. In that area you can find some amazing nature gems. And you can also find Hespuhúsið. Guðrún dyes einband (Icelandic single ply wool) mostly with herbs. The colors that she manages to bring out are incredible! I have wanted to go there for a long time and with it being so close to my grandfathers cabin, I decided it was time. While driving to the cabin we passed the sign by the road, and I immediately decided that I wanted to decorate it a little.

First. Make you piece. This was made by me and my mother.

Second. Go to your destination and put your piece up. Remember to take pictures.

Third. Admire your piece and take pictures.

Fourth. Visit Hespuhúsið and admire the gorgeous yarns!

It has been quiet around here

We have not stopped. Sometimes life gets busy and even though we try to keep yarnstorming as often as we can, we do not always have the time to sit down and blog about it. If you want immediate updates, we suggest that you like our Facebook page.

Here are some photos of recent yarnstorms we have done.

BarbaKnit made this cute and pink yarngoodness for June 19th, we in Iceland celebrated that 98 years ago, women over the age of 40 got the right to vote. Let’s paint the city pink!

We also decorated a camper car with a little yarngraffiti. Just to make it a little cozy and nice. You can rent this car from KúKú Campers in Iceland. They have funky and fun camper vans that you can rent and experience Iceland at your own pace.

We also found this pretty piece of yarnstorming on Laugavegur. We have no idea who did it! If you are out there and reading, do you want to join our group? If so, contact us through Facebook! We like your work!

Also. Last year for Culture Night, we did the Yarn Bus that we are still very proud of. This year, we also have big plans for Culture Night. The date is August 24th. Mark your calendar and keep an eye out! If you want to join our group or help out with the project, contact us through our Facebook page. We can always use more hands.

Breast Cancer Awareness – part 1

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Buildings in the city are bathed with pink light, the pink bow is sold as a fundraiser for research on breast cancer, the taxis have pink taxi signs on top of them, and there are many happenings going on around the country to show support and add awareness. We off course want to take part and make people think and be aware of the dangers that come with breast cancer and remind women to go and get checked on a regular basis.

So we make breasts of all shapes and sizes. And they are going up here and there. Here is what happened this first week in October. There is more coming.

Móðurást, A Mothers Love. Located in Mæðragarðurinn (Mothers Garden) in Reykjavík, close to Kvennaskóli Reykjavíkur. The text on the piece is info about breast cancer, where to go to get your check up, a note about the statue and more. It is beautifully stitched and knitted and we are very proud of it.
Graffed by Sin Título

Boob for awareness.
This is located in Ólafsfjörður, Iceland. Graffer will be anonymous.

And then we have the Boob on the go. It goes places, a new one each day, making people think and be aware. This is a project by Knitty Attitude. You can also check it out on her blog here.

October 1st: Tindastóll mountain, Drangey island, Boob, Þórðarhöfði cape.

October 2nd: Boob on a swing.

October 3rd: Boob in the library.

October 4th: Boob on a piano.

October 5th: Boob in a supermarket.

October 6th: Boob and a n00b.

We will update here every weekend with more from the Boob on the go, and even more projects that are being put up throughout October.

Have you booked your check up? If you are in Iceland you can do so here. If you are elsewhere, contact your doctor. This is important, and we care.

Bus Yarnstorming

Today is Culture Night in Reykjavík. The whole city is full of music and arts and fun. About 6 weeks ago, we in Reykjavík Underground Yarnstormers were asked to take part by yarnstorming a bus for this night. All bus rides today are free and many people choose to leave the family car at home and use public transport instead since parking in the city center can be hard on days like this. The schedule for the night ends at 23.00 with a huge firework show by the harbor. It is a great day, so off course we wanted to help out by making one of the buses pretty and full of yarn and colors.

About 30 of us knitted and did a whole lot of crochet for this project, and about 20 of us came yesterday to put it all up in the bus. The bus has 44 normal seats so it was a lot of work.

Off course we took pictures. Lots and lots of pictures! I only have my own for now, but there will be more added over the next few days. So keep checking the photo link at the bottom, and this blog, and our Facebook page.

Now, on to the pictures!

The assembly line – photo by Lena

Working hard

Reykjavík city logo – how awesome?

The guys helped also!

Things got a bit silly after 7+ hours of work.

So cozy and colorful and beautiful!

This is bus #196. If you are in Iceland and want to take this bus, you can call the number for the bus service department: 5402700 and ask where it is located. The yarnstorm will stay on the bus for some time, it is not just for today. It basically gets to stay up as long as it is not ruined or getting very dirty and messy. So please, take good care of it and respect all the work that went into doing this. We all enjoyed it so much, and we want you to enjoy it also, for as long as possible!

More photos, and even more will be added later here, and on our Facebook page.

Happy Gay Pride!

Today is Gay Pride here in Reykjavík. Off course we show our suppor to all LGBT people in the world, and put up some rainbow colored beauties around the city, and in the countryside.

We will let the pictures do the talking for now. Enjoy, and be HAPPY & PROUD!

This one is located in Reyðarfjörður

BarbaKnit did some yarnstorming in the middle of the pride walk today, while the parade walked by she whipped out the ready piece and put it up on a light post in the center of Reykjavík. Yarnstorming in public and in broad daylight!

 

More pictures can be found here.

1st Mission – Statues

One Tuesday night in Reykjavík, a group of people met at a local bar, had a drink and then stormed out into the night, armed with yarn, needles, cameras and tags. Why? Because it is fun and we believe it makes the city more interesting and beautiful to decorated with yarngoodies. Simple as that.

First stop: Vatnsberinn, a statue located on the corner of Bankastræti and Lækjargata.

Name: Vatnsberinn by Ásmundur Sveinsson
Location: corner of Lækjargata and Bankastræti
Graffer: BarbaKnit

Second stop: Jón Sigurðsson, a statue located on Austurvöllur.

Name: Jón Sigurðsson by Einar Jónsson
Location: Austurvöllur
Graffer: Eva

Third stop: Stúlkumynd, a statue located by Kvennaskólinn in Reykjavík.

Name: Stúlkumynd – Soffía by Ólöf Pálsdóttir
Location: Fríkirkjuvegur, by Kvennaskólinn í Reykjavík
Graffer: YarnDiva

Fourth stop: Fótboltamaður, a statue located by Listasafn Íslands.

Name: Fótboltamaður by Sigurjón Ólafsson
Location: Fríkirkjuvegur, by Listasafn Íslands
Graffer: BarbaKnit

Fifth stop: Adonis, a statue located on the corner of Fríkirkjuvegur and Skothúsvegur.

Name: Adonis by Bertel Thorvaldsen
Location: On the corner of Fríkirkjuvegur and Skothúsvegur
Graffer: WAR

And on we went, into the night, looking for more statues to dress up.

Sixth stop: Útlagar, a statue located by Hólavallacemetery.

Name: Útlagar by Einar Jónsson
Location: Hringbraut by Hólavallacemetery
Graffer: Knitrek, BarbaKnit and Eva

Seventh stop: Tónlistarmaður, a statue located on Hagatorg.

Name: Tónlistarmaður by Ólöf Pálsdóttir
Location: Hagatorg
Graffer: YarnDiva

Eight stop: Björg C. Þorláksson, a statue located at Oddi by the University of Iceland.

Name: Photo by Hrund Þórisdóttir
Location: Oddi by The University
Graffer: Erla

Ninth stop: Móðir og barn, by Landspítalinn – The National Hospital.

Name: Móðir og Barn
Location: Landspítalinn, Kvennadeildir – the National Hospital
Graffer: KnittyAttitude

Tenth stop: Hannes Hafstein, by Government offices of Iceland, Lækjargata

Name: Hannes Hafstein by Einar Jónsson
Location: L Government offices of Iceland, Lækjargata
Graffer: Ninja

And then, when Ninja was so close to being finished, the cops showed up.

Not one, but two cop cars! Knitting gangsters, that’s what we are!
And we were asked to take the awesome Batman mask of mister Hannes Hafstein. I don’t know about you, but I think he looked so much better with the mask on.

More missions coming up. Stay tuned!

*View all photos from this mission HERE