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Our Yarn Art Sheep

Have you ever wondered about the baaad ass sheep hanging around in our store? Actually there are two! Most of you know Lady BaaBaa the Knit City mascot that has chilled out with us since last October, but today I want to introduce you to our Art Sheep. If you’ve been in store lately you may know the one — browny-grey, a crochet hook for an arm and decked out in a neon sweater and leggings? It’s eye catching, to say the least.
 

Meet our resident baaad ass sheep.
 

Those of you that have signed up for our newsletter already had a sneak peek at this intriguing little story (for a heads up on events and happenings, sign up for our blog updates through the link in our homepage) but for those of you that haven’t had the pleasure we present the story of this lil’dude. This baaad ass sheep was made by 18-year old local artist and English Honours student at UBC, Rachael, who didn’t start knitting until last year. Pretty cool, eh?

 

Hanging out with sheepie buddy.

How each of us learned to knit is memorable. The hours spent poring over needles and yarn, the person who taught us, our frustration (or not), our fits and starts, and the successes that followed. These stories are so familiar. So worn, so loved. This, in part, is what makes Rachael’s story so odd and awesome (just like her sheep)!

 

Last year, Rachael was placed in West Vancouver store The Knit and Stitch Shoppe as part of a North Shore youth work experience programme. She had never picked up knitting needles before. After working there for a while, she continued to not pick up needles. Other staff offered to teach her and she declined. She says, “I was strangely against learning how to knit.” 

One day, something changed, “I figured, since I knew all about the different yarns, I might as well learn how to knit.” She locked herself in the storage room, pulled up some youtube videos and taught herself to knit. She recounts, “when they came into the room and saw me knitting, everyone was shocked.
 

Our sheep even comes with his own matching shawl. Baaad ass.
 
Our sheep had his humble beginnings when Rachael popped into the store and chatted with Paula about yarn artforms and using the medium of fibre as a canvas. Rachael was challenged to put together a proposal to create some original art for Baaad Anna’s and to document the process as she went along. And our baaad ass sheep was born!

 Rachael went home, wrote up an elaborate proposal for a conceptual and abstract piece (one that is slated to appear in our store window come the Fall) and then as a 3am add-on, tacked a little bit about our sheep at the end. Great ideas seem to come at the oddest moments. From then on, it took a whirlwind mere two weeks to create this almost-life-sized sheep that will now hang out with us in East Van.

  

Hangin in Hastings Sunrise.

Check out Rachael’s Tumblr postings here to relive the creation of her artwork, and do stop by in store to chat with our baaad ass sheep. Also keep an eye on our Knit City contest to name our sheep and win yourself a free skein of yarn!

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Guest blog post by summer staff Jess Knowles.

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