A bit of a yarn around town

Secret knitters have "bombed" Wanaka with yarn, keeping locals guessing as to who is behind the colourful prank.

Over several days this week, sculptures have been capped with beanies, trees have been sleeved and bike stands have acquired socks.

Members of Wanaka's Creative Fibre Arts Group believe they know who the enthusiastic knitters are but do not want to spoil the joke by revealing their identities.

"I know where it originated from but she is probably being modest. She's been a ringleader of spinning and weaving for many years. She's a local inhabitant, a very enthusiastic and skilled knitter," artist Gwenda Rowlands said yesterday.

"She found he had some things superfluous to her needs and thought "That would warm the place up".

Fellow fibre artist Susan Manson said she believed a couple of people were involved in "yarn bombing" and the idea was to "stay under the radar".

Internationally, yarn bombing happened in June but Ms Manson believed locals wanted to make a splash now, to coincide with the recent Festival of Colour, the school holidays, this weekend's Wanaka Arts Society exhibition and next week's Autumn Art School.

"It is an arty month. It makes me smile seeing it ... I think there are 10 to 15 locations, maybe," Ms Manson said.

Seeking out the yarn bombs could make a good holiday project for families, and it has been suggested people look around local cafes, shops and the library.

"There is a random one on the pedestrian crossing by the Four Square supermarket. It is like playing hide and seek, or a treasure hunt without eggs involved," Ms Manson said.

Websites note "yarn bombing" (also known as "graffiti knitting", or "guerrilla knitting") is a type of graffiti or street art employing colourful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth, rather than paint or chalk.

The installations may last for years but are considered non-permanent, and can be easily removed.

The practice is believed to have originated in the United States.

World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKiP) was launched in 2005 by US woman Daniella Landes, who felt knitting need not be a solitary activity for grannies.

The WWKiP website does not have a listing for New Zealand public knitting events but elsewhere around the world, knitting is celebrated in the week starting on the second Saturday of June.