Research

This weekend, starting tomorrow I’m going to take a bunch of surveys  out into the world and find out who knows about how Yarn bombing is perceived. I have two different surveys, one to see if people already know about Yarn Bombing and if they do not, what they think it is, whether its violent or silly or stupid or a great idea and then another survey giving the definition and then asking what they think of it knowing what it is. I really think these surveys will show how much awareness there is right now and if, when people actually know what it is, they are interested in either seeing it or doing it themselves. I realize that the survey questions I posted on this blog are a little difficult so I have put up a survey monkey survey instead, the post got a lot of views but only a few answers.

To find out if Yarn Bombing is going to increase in popularity I think its really important to figure out if people actually know about it. The biggest thing that I’ve found through my research and personal experience is that people don’t really know about this craft. The people I tell seem interested in at least seeing examples and some really want to start working on tags. I think doing these surveys will not only give a feel for how much people know about Yarn Bombing but also spread awareness and curiosity. I hope the busy people in Pittsburgh and the University of Cincinnati will give me a bit of their time and fill out my surveys, otherwise its back to the drawing board for a new way to research Yarn Bombing. If you have any suggestions feel free to comment.

In other news I have seen a lot more graffiti on campus and not just sloppy tags but really nice looking pieces. If this is an indication that there are creative people wanting to start street art it may also mean that the tags I’ll be putting up may continue having positive reviews and reactions. I really need to knit more.

Please take the survey I have at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RVQJDWG it’ll help me get a better feel for how many people know about Yarn Bombing (its only eight questions)

Wish me luck!

Surveys

So, I made up a survey for both Yarn Bombers and Non Yarn Bombers I’d love it if you would help contribute to my research by commenting on this post with the answers to the survey that pertains to you. If you do not want your answers posted please specify in the comment otherwise I’m going to post them for curious readers. Hopefully through this research I can get a better grasp on where Yarn Bombing is headed and if it’s catching or being forgotten. It would be great if you could have your friends answer the questions of the survey as well the more people who answer the better the results will be. I will also be giving a survey through other means to get more balanced answers.

I’m posting the surveys in two separate posts to make them easier to read and hopefully encourage people to answer them. I realize that This is not the best way to give a survey but the answers I end up getting will be helpful.

THANKS!

Survey for Yarn Bombers

Yarn Bombers

1) Gender?

2) Age?

3) Location?

4) How long have you been a Yarn Bomber?

5) How were you introduced to Yarn Bombing?

6) About how many tags have you put up?

7) Do you have a place to document tags ex. a blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr etc.

8 ) Have you recruited other people?

9) What are your experiences with law enforcement while Yarn Bombing?

10) What age or ages do you believe are most attracted to Yarn Bombing?

11) Do you believe that Yarn Bombing is on the rise or falling in popularity?

Update

I came back to the building today and all my tags are still up! It was a happy surprise for me and it means that my easy to remove yarn bombs don’t seem like horrible graffiti to the maintenance staff here, also that the students and teachers who use these classrooms don’t find them offensive enough to take down. I’m going to continue tagging this building and the grounds and see what happens, I’ll be a busy knitter this weekend.

 

If you are a Yarn Bomber and you’re interested in having your work published in my blog feel free to contact me, just leave a post with your email and what you’d like to talk about. I’d love to interview more Yarn Bombers and hear more stories and experiences.

 

If you are someone who has seen Yarn Bombing and you’d like to learn more or get involved you can also contact me the same way

 

The last thing I’d like to update you all about is that I have more interviews to post soon, I’ve been a little overwhelmed with classwork but I’m going to type up my entries about the interviews I’ve done very shortly.

Second Installment

So, my boyfriend says that when I decide that I like something I don’t like it I love it. It’s true. I love Yarn Bombing. My second installment in my experiment was put up today. So far I have only received positive reactions but, we’ll see if they’re still up tomorrow. I intend to continue tagging my campus until I receive a real reaction, maybe that will never happen. I think I’ll be doing surveys soon to see how aware students are of Yarn Bombing now and after I start bombing more often. I hope that my work will have a warm welcome and that people will enjoy the color I’m putting on campus. If I get in trouble I’ll know to stop. In the mean time I think that this Yarn Bombing is catching on, some people are starting to get interested.

 

My First Tag

All This talk of Yarn Bombing had me wanting to try it out myself, I’ve been knitting a lot recently but never actually got around to Yarn Bombing. I was talking to my little brother on the phone about this blog and he kept asking “Have you done anything, what have you tagged?” It made me feel silly, I’ve been writing about all of this, knitting in my spare time and have not actually experienced what I’ve been writing about.

Tonight I decided was the night I’d do my first tag. Someplace where not a lot of people go and where I wouldn’t have to immediately have to explain myself. I took what I had knitted already and walked to the back of the building and knitted it up. The whole time I was going through what I’d say if anyone caught me…. “Oh, yeah this is a social experiment I’m doing for my research and resources class. You don’t like it? You want me to take it down? Ok, but can I interview you about this, this is exactly the reaction I need for my paper?” So while thinking of the worst and how I’d manage to keep out of trouble I finished my work without any interruption. My first tag, done! I even put a paper calling card on it directing people to modernknitting.wordpress.com. I feel more like a Yarn Bomber already. I got the rush, I made a place more beautiful where it’s dark and dreary and I didn’t get in trouble. I’m just glad I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.

My First Tag

After this my intention is to put more Yarn creations up around campus and see how people react. I may even do a survey, I’m not sure yet. But, after putting up my first tag I got a taste of why people do this and I like it. I haven’t even seen anyone’s reaction yet. Once again I think this is something that is just in its beginning stages and will probably go through a lot more before it becomes a fad of the past…. but I’ll keep researching to see what I can find.

My First Tag