Afghans on trees

[jillianbausch]

I have been wondering since I walked the Frances last fall about this. Along the road outside of El Burgo Ranero there are crocheted afghans wrapped around the trees, several trees. Does anyone know why they are there?

 

[VNwalking]

Whimsical decoration. I hope @Rebekah Scott chimes in, because she organized this in Moratinos.

 

[JustJack]

Like these? I saw a bunch as well. No idea if there's any meaning to it.

 

[jillianbausch]

Like these? I saw a bunch as well. No idea if there's any meaning to it. View attachment 152500

Yes! Nice photo

 

[trecile]

I think that they are meant to bring smiles to those who pass them.

 

[JustJack]

I think that they are meant to bring smiles to those who pass them.

They brought a smile to this pilgrim!

 

[Tincatinker]

Yarn-bombing. Like graffiti only nicer

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Yarn Bombing Day is celebrated on   June 11.
It looks cool .

 

[henrythedog]

‘Granny squares’ - found pretty much worldwide.

We (along with millions of others I’m sure) have several blankets at home made of these squares. In our case they came from my Aunt Edna.

 

[Kirkie]

‘Granny squares’ - found pretty much worldwide.

We (along with millions of others I’m sure) have several blankets at home made of these squares. In our case they came from my Aunt Edna.

God! (Is that allowed?) Have I finally met someone with an Aunt Edna?

 

[Bradypus]

In our case they came from my Aunt Edna.

Did she call you "Possum"?

 

[henrythedog]

God! (Is that allowed?) Have I finally met someone with an Aunt Edna?

Well, you’re more qualified than I on the topic of God.

Auntie Edna was splendid. A striking woman in her youth she should have married a GI, but her mother intercepted her post and she was consigned to an unfulfilling life with a reliable but terminallly boring husband within a mile of her birth.

 

[henrythedog]

Did she call you "Possum"?

I’ve been called many things, I’m reasonably certain that nobody has ever called me ‘possum’.

 

[lovelyshell]

I saw these in a town but I don’t remember which town. I referred to them as “tree sweaters”. I thought they were so cute!

Edit: someone below mentioned Moratinos and that’s where these pics are from on the CF. I was so intrigued by the tree sweaters I left my iPod and headphones on the bench and had to walk back like 2 miles to get them.

 

[trecile]

Here's another example of crocheted "street art" - a canopy in Málaga

Massive Crochet Canopy Provides Color and Shade in Hot Spanish Town

A crochet teacher and her students made a really "cool" canopy.

mymodernmet.com

 

[Anamya]

Gosh, I clicked into this topic thinking Spain is building treehouses for Afghanistan pilgrims and get faced with tree blankets and Aunt Edna. This forum is full of surprises.

Lovely yarn bomb, btw

 

[peregrina2000]

On the streets of Alpera, on the Ruta de la Lana

.

 

[dick bird]

Another thing they do in El Burgo is dangle woolly pom-poms from the doors of some houses to show they are occupied.

 

[Anamiri]

Yarn Bombing Day is celebrated on   June 11.
It looks cool .

The day after world Knit in Public Day

 

[timr]

These were in Villeguillo on the CdM in 2017. During the lockdown quite a lot of pillar boxes (where we post letters) in England were decorated with crochet, and this has continued in some places with expressions of solidaritiy over a current war.

 

[GettingThere]

This brings back memories! I had to dig out this photo, taken in Cacabelos in 2015 - this was the first time I'd seen anything like this.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

The ladies of Moratinos Association Cultural started wrapping the trees in the plaza mayor several years ago -- it was not my initiative, but I have cadged blankets and squares and bits of crochet from Ireland, Australia, USA, and Canada to add to the color. The sweaters fade over the years, so this winter I cut down a lot of them; Leandra and Co. spent the cold months crocheting the flags of the world, which now deck the plane trees in the plaza. Pilgrims enjoy looking for their homeland's flag in the colorful profusion. It's fun to see how other towns liven up their streets this way.

 

[Bradypus]

During the lockdown quite a lot of pillar boxes (where we post letters) in England were decorated with crochet, and this has continued in some places with expressions of solidaritiy over a current war.

Happened here in Wales too. This one was in Llanelli shortly before Christmas!

 

[timr]

Happened here in Wales too. This one was in Llanelli shortly before Christmas!
View attachment 152565

oh there was one like that here too! i wonder is there a pattern book?

They do look nice and people seem to respect the work.

 

[kayagee66]

Yarn Bombing Day is celebrated on   June 11.
It looks cool .

define cool.
it was popular for a while where i live.
on lampposts too.
certainly didn’t look cool after a few weeks in all weathers.

 

[Jodean]

They were there last year and I swear, every single tree in El Burgo had a sweater on it. This year, it looked like a lot of them were gone, but there were still plenty of them there. Made me smile. Figured it was a Covid activity, nothing to do? We can decorate our trees.

 

[kayagee66]

I have been wondering since I walked the Frances last fall about this. Along the road outside of El Burgo Ranero there are crocheted afghans wrapped around the trees, several trees. Does anyone know why they are there?

To paraphrase Ogden Nash.

I think that I shall never see crochet as lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the crochet fall, I'll never see a tree at all.

 

[naplesdon]

God! (Is that allowed?) Have I finally met someone with an Aunt Edna?

My mother’s name was Edna but she was never an aunt to anyone.

 

[Elle Bieling]

Outside the former albergue in Alpriate, so I guess they do it in Portugal as well. This was several years ago. At least it was white and after all that work, the colors wouldn't fade!! A bit more effort than Granny Squares! Fringes even!

 

[Kirkie]

Outside the former albergue in Alpriate, so I guess they do it in Portugal as well. This was several years ago. At least it was white and after all that work, the colors wouldn't fade!! A bit more effort than Granny Squares! Fringes even!

Beautiful work! Lovely photo.

 

[joeboybollo]

W

Gosh, I clicked into this topic thinking Spain is building treehouses for Afghanistan pilgrims and get faced with tree blankets and Aunt Edna. This forum is full of surprises.

Lovely yarn bomb, btw

Wow,I'm so glad that someone else owned up to not knowing what an afghan was(in this context) I was fearing a story about lynching

 

[C clearly]

This Wikipedia article gives some background.

 

[wynrich]

I first heard about this in Rebekah Scott's wonderful book "A Furnace Full of God". (See her post above.) My husband and I had gone through Moratinos in 2013, I think before the people there had started doing it. But we got to see it in El Burgo Ranero in 2022. We wrote about it in our blog at the time and our neighbor at home in New Mexico was so impressed by it that when we got home she had crocheted squares and put them on her carport posts. I was hoping this would start a neighborhood trend but that hasn't happened so far. I need to get my mom to re-teach me how to crochet.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

define cool.
it was popular for a while where i live.
on lampposts too.
certainly didn’t look cool after a few weeks in all weathers.

Ok , it looks cool but it's also illegale.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

It's not illegal here. A Guardia Civil agent donated two bags of crochet to our project, and told a reporter about it so Moratinos could "get some credit!"
Maybe it's a bit like wild camping along the Camino. There might be a law out there about it, but so long as real people act responsibly and no one complains, the police don't bother enforcing it.
Who needs police on the ground, when Internet People are so keen on enforcing rules?

 

[SabsP]

Ok , it looks cool but it's also illegale.

In lots of municipalities here in my country ( and pretty sure it will be the same in other countries) councils give subsidies to local organisations for yarn bombing. It is a great way to get communities and neighbourhoods together. Does wonders for group dynamics and against the growing individualisation of our society.
Yarn bombing is much nicer than graffiti, dog poop or streetracers.

 

[Silverbarista]

In NZ Afghans are choc biscuits with choc icing and a walnut on top. They are tasty and that's what caught my attention. The post, whilst having nothing to do with biscuits, was enlightening and funny.

 

[Bradypus]

In NZ Afghans are choc biscuits with choc icing and a walnut on top.

When I saw the thread title my first mental image was about long-haired dogs....

 

[Paladina]

To paraphrase Ogden Nash.

I think that I shall never see crochet as lovely as a tree.
Perhaps, unless the crochet fall, I'll never see a tree at all.

Here in Ireland, there’s a poetry trail in Galway city, of two dozen bronze and limestone plaques, each inscribed with a poem inspired by the site. The one relevant to this thread reads ‘Make Visible the Tree’. (It’s drawing attention to the site of the former Magdalen laundry.) What did the trees on the Camino do to deserve the cover up?

 

[ksam]

I have been wondering since I walked the Frances last fall about this. Along the road outside of El Burgo Ranero there are crocheted afghans wrapped around the trees, several trees. Does anyone know why they are there?

It's called yarn bombing. At least that's what we call it near me. And yup, it's for no other reason than to bring a smile to those who see them. Just before Covid, on the Camino Portuguese we found the entire plaza had been done by the local school children of the village. Great way for them to show off their new skills!!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Now that's the proper way to girdle a tree.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I am loving this thread and all of the fun pictures being submitted; I unfortunately have never seen any.
A big thanks to the OP for starting it and hope the posts and comments continue!

 

[Rita Flower]

The one relevant to this thread reads ‘Make Visible the Tree’. (It’s drawing attention to the site of the former Magdalen laundry.) What did the trees on the Camino do to deserve the cover up?

One thing that ‘yarn bombing’ on trees does for me is to make them visible in a new way. And bring a smile. And given that knitting / crochet is traditionally something nearly all women of a certain age and culture do for babies, blankets on trees give me a message of care and love.
Yarn bombing has been in my awareness for a long time and I loved seeing how it manifested in Spain.
Some examples from the Via - but I think these projects are more municipal approved street art.
Edit. The mural of women knitting says - Weaving Life’.

 

[VNwalking]

Ok , it looks cool but it's also illegale.

Peter, have you lost your sense of humor? Of course it's legal.

Who needs police on the ground, when Internet People are so keen on enforcing rules?

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Peter, have you lost your sense of humor? Of course it's legal.

I don't lost my sense off humor but in some cases over here it's illegale.

 

[VNwalking]

in some cases over here it's illegale.

Ah, OK, that's more precise.
Which is why the International Yarn Bombing Day webpage they say this:

Just please keep in mind that yarn bombing is technically illegal in some jurisdictions, so it would be wise to check your local legislation on the matter before creating a yarn bomb installation in a public space.

'Technically' carries a lot of weight here. Police in lots of places have been turning a blind eye to this since it began. And even (as some posters here have described) encouraging it.

 

[Lleslie]

Crochet dream catchers strung across the street in Santa Maria da Feira - about 3k off camino where I ended up when I was told the albergue in Sao Jao da Madeira (Portugal) was closed. - found out later that the albergue was open! But did enjoy my evening in this town

 

[Robertb345]

but wait, there's more world-wide...
http://www.whodunnknit.com/graffiti_knits_explained/

 

[Camino Chrissy]

but wait, there's more world-wide...
http://www.whodunnknit.com/graffiti_knits_explained/

Love this thread and am learning a lot about somethng I knew nothing about. I have skimmed through the photos, but will be reading the whole article.
Thanks for adding it to this very interesting thread! It has been a nice and fun variation from the forum norm, and I used to do alot of crocheting in my 20's...mostly winter scarves and afghans; nothing complicated.

 

[John Holland]

Yes Chrissy, a great thread. I didn't know trees needed to be kept warm with crochet squares. In winter I am sure they appreciate it. But don't they get too hot in summer? And calling them afghans. In Australia our Ghan is a train. And, yes, it is really named after Afghan cameleers.

 

[Myra13]

On the via de la plata in Oliva de Plasencia.
We saw in the evening a group of ladies sitting together on a square and making these. So yes, its a great thing for the community.
Oh, don't sit on the bench when it has rained

 

[dick bird]

Ok , it looks cool but it's also illegale.

In Spain?

 

[VNwalking]

In Spain?

No, of course not, as Rebekah said. Peter made a blanket statement, leaving out the 'sometimes' part until questioned.

 

[Anna Cameron]

W

Wow,I'm so glad that someone else owned up to not knowing what an afghan was(in this context) I was fearing a story about lynching