Introducing Knitta

All right.  Knitta is not a close personal friend of mine.  That doesn't mean I don't love Knitta. 

As I walked to my car at lunch today, I closely inspected the six adolescent trees that line Briar Street, which have been tagged by gangsters.  Tagged with yarn.  Beautiful yarn.  By craft gangsters.  This is, I can only guess, a random act of craftiness inspired by none other than Knitta.  Houstonian founding members with handles like P-Knitty, Granny SQ, MascuKnitity, and the Notorius N.I.T. have put their fuzzy mark on the world one car antenna at a time.  Bike racks, stop sign poles, traffic lights, stair rails, subway handles, statues, really anything that will stand still is at risk of being decorated by these maniacs. 

I find their work exilarating and inspiring.  I love people who get away with stuff.  I never sneaked out of the house or drank beer in high school, and the thought of joining the Knitta momement might be more than I could handle.  But my name would be "McSchnafty".  As in "Crafty McSchnafty", which is pretty badass, but McSchnafty sounds a little tougher.  I have already said too much.  I have given away my proposed alias, and you all know what I look like.  The Knitta Crew is untraceable.  There are photos of them, but they don't show their face.  All you will ever see are menacing hands wielding bamboo needles, toes entangled in eyelash angora, or a decolletage with voluptuous boucle balls spilling out. 

Back to the trees on Briar: I feel so hopeful to live in a city that supports art installations, no matter how small.  These trees have been sheathed in knittage for at least a year.  What if a hoodlum comes along and slashes it?  Maybe the City of Chicago will intercede at some point when those trees need more room to grow.  Then again, maybe the world will come to an end tomorrow.  Why do I worry?  Thank you Knitta, for making me think, dream, and to strive to be a better knitter.