Noticing people’s double-

take reaction, they started

to create cozies and sweaters

for trees, car antennas,

scooter handle grips, and

bike racks.

 

racks. Emboldened by the reception these pieces received, they continued to operate in stealth mode and quickly formed a crew — ranging in age from 21 to 72 — to knit pieces for their exploits. The group is mostly female but boasts one knit-savvy guy. As its website states, “Knitta is a group of more than 10 ladies of all ages, races, nationalities, religions, sexual orientation … and gender.” The actual pieces or “tags” might be remnants from unfinished knitting projects, or made especially for an intended target. They’re quickly wrapped around an object, secured with zip ties, and tagged with a small card displaying the group’s name and URL ( knittaplease.com), which was created with as much humor as the knitted tags themselves. As more members joined the Knitta mix ( currently holding steady at ten members), they were able to hit other cities, including New York, Paris, and Seattle. The most adventurous coup was wrapping one of the bricks in the Great Wall of China. At the same time, the rise of the crafting scene meant more curators were looking to explore the idea of craft as art, and many called on Knitta to create installations. Most recently, Sayeg headed up to Seattle with GrannySQ to create a large-scale exhibition for Seattle’s prestigious Bumbershoot Festival, including wrapping ten trees in fuzzy sweaters outside the visual arts exhibition hall. Despite Knitta’s increasing success, and its opportunities to do increasingly grandiose and high-profile projects, Sayeg steadfastly keeps it real. She says, “While I love doing bigger projects, and I’d like to see this move into the gallery arena, I will always want to keep doing street projects.”

Kirsten Anderson lives in Seattle, where she runs Roq La Rue Gallery ( roqlarue.com). She spends her free time researching art, life science, and high weirdness.