By Julie Scharnberg

I read an article about yarn bombing that appeared in Yankee Magazine about four years ago and passed it around to some knitters, thinking, Who wouldn’t want to do this? How fun! Yarn bombing is a form of temporary street art where brightly colored yarn in any form—knitted, crocheted, woven, felted—is used to decorate objects in a public place. Sorry to say, it did not happen for the town of Norfolk, but a quick trip down to Torrington this summer will show you the results of months of effort by knitters from all over the Northwest Corner.

The center of Torrington, in the blocks leading out from the five points intersection, has been yarn bombed—not in a big showy explosion, but in a series of delightful vignettes, breathtaking works of art and little laugh-out-loud surprises. You’ll see charm and humor and sheer artistry side by side.

This yarn snake was made by Patricia Capell Wolfing and Carole Capell.

On Water Street, the natural foods store has a knitted cornucopia on its façade and knitted vegetables in its front window. An 18-foot “Mondrian” hangs from roof of the Five Points Gallery, and a peacock graces the outside of the building across Main Street. A little park at the foot of Franklin Street has been turned into an aquarium, with a giant red whale floating in the trees and octopuses and fish hanging from the branches. Most of the lampposts and parking meters have been festooned, and in Coe Park the Sullivan Senior Center has wrapped trees in knitted and crocheted fabric.

The project was conceived and organized by Torrington’s Five Points Gallery as a public art project to help people rediscover Torrington. The gallery’s associate director, Noel Croce, is the official yarn bomb coordinator. She taught herself different techniques that would be easy for others to learn quickly. With the aid of Ginger Balch of In Sheep’s Clothing, a local yarn store, she ran workshops all winter long to introduce people to the project, sign up participants and teach various forms of knitting, such as finger knitting and arm knitting, that could be used on large-scale projects.

Despite terrible weather on Saturday, June 11, just about all the yarn pieces went up as scheduled, thanks to a team of volunteers. Installations started early in the morning, but a big rainstorm came through around 11 a.m., much sooner than predicted. According to Five Points Gallery director Judith McElhone, “Some workers just kept at it in the rain, and they were singing! When the sun came out, people driving down the street rolled down their windows and yelled ‘thank you!’ to the workers.”

McElhone said more work is still popping up organically. Extra little touches are showing up just about every day. “The stories coming out of this are amazing. For example, from the Wellspring center in Bethlehem—those teenage girls were not so enthusiastic when they first came in. But they met with Noel and learned how to crochet and knit, and now they plan to knit for the homeless shelter this winter.”

Patterson Park was turned into Patterson Aquarium by the Yarngineers: Curtis and Vanessa Swarthy and Molly Danskin.

She added, “People from ages 2 to 102 have worked on this project. And the stories! The stories about the community and the people who created this project need to live on. Tiny children at daycare centers made pom-poms, Girls Scouts learned how to finger knit and arm knit, thanks to Noel. Valerie Manor [nursing home] residents created a project, and they have a van bringing them down to view their finished work and see the rest of the yarn bomb. The list of social service agencies and local artists participating is incredible. Coe Park has been transformed. There are business people having coffee on benches and families walking around.”

The yarn bomb will be up until September. Five Points Gallery has scavenger hunts planned for children throughout the summer, along with Sunday afternoon yarn walks. Stop by Five Points Gallery, at 33 Main Street (860-618-7222, www.fivepointsgallery.org), for information. A map of all the yarn bomb locations will be out soon.

The next time you’re in Torrington, look up, look down, look very carefully . . . and enjoy!

Photos by Julie Scharnberg and Stephen Melville. Top: An homage to Vincent Van Gogh, by students at Torrington High School.