Stretch of Modesto’s 10th Street gets ‘yarn-bombed’

No one thought the lampposts, bike racks, door handles and other fixtures downtown were chilly Friday morning. No, the scarves and occasional hat affixed to them were the result of a “yarn bombing” to draw attention to a conference in town.

More than 400 textile artisans and educators from all over the country are in Modesto this weekend for the Conference of Northern California Handweavers event, which features a “Field to Fiber” theme.

They’ll be taking or teaching classes, seeing or giving demonstrations, purchasing tools, supplies, clothing and other finished pieces and basking in what is a “feast for the eyes and touch,” said event co-chairwoman Tina Welch, a member of the Motherlode Guild.

“The normal greeting for weavers and spinners is, ‘Ooh, can I touch this?’ ” added Kathleen Thorne of Atascadero.

In the marketplace of nearly 40 vendors, “if you’re not a nudist you’re going to find something you like,” Welch said Friday morning as the convention floor was taking shape at Modesto Centre Plaza, 1000 L St.

Out conducting the yarn-bombing art installation along 10th Street were Cathy Koos Breazeal of Volcano, Lee Bergman of Glencoe and Janice Johnson of Pioneer. They pulled a wagon carrying roughly 250 to 275 handmade fabric items that they put out, free for the taking.

Each piece carried a tag that read, “If you are cold, please take this scarf and enjoy its warmth with our compliments!” and included an invitation to check out the conference.

“The main reason we’re doing the engagement with the public is to gather more new weavers into learning about an ancient skill that’s being lost,” Breazeal said. She said conference members will sweep the area Sunday and give any unclaimed scarves to the Haven Women’s Center. As the women walked along, though, the scarves were getting a lot of attention, and several were up for only a minute or two before admirers put them on.

The “Field to Fiber” theme of the conference is intended “to link the area’s agricultural community to one of their end products – textiles and fibers,” Welch said. Through the meeting and the yarn bombing, “we’re trying to show how much textiles and fabrics are part of our lives.”

The membership of the Northern California Conference extends from the Oregon border south to San Luis Obispo and from the Bay Area to the Sierra and into part of Nevada, event organizers said. But vendors have come from places including Washington state, Virginia and Idaho, offering products that range from yarns, raw fleece and natural color cottons to wall and floor coverings.

For the general public, marketplace admission is $5, which includes access to demonstrations and galleries. The marketplace will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

There will be six to eight galleries at the convention. Among them, instructors have their own gallery, as do artisans under the age of 16. Another will show works by weavers who are “really into complex things,” Welch said. Galleries also include baskets and even woven glass.

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 12:54 PM with the headline "Stretch of Modesto’s 10th Street gets ‘yarn-bombed’."