The title of this recording is "Yarn bombing". It is described as: Learn about yarn bombing during Wellingtons Pride Festival. It was recorded in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand on the 4th March 2019. This is an interview with an unidentified interviewee (or possibly interviewees) conducted by Gareth Watkins. The name is spelt correctly but may appear incorrectly spelt later in the document. The duration of the recording is 13 minutes. A list of correctly spelt content keywords and tags can be found at the end of this document. A brief description of the recording is: In this podcast we learn about yarn bombing during Wellington's Pride Festival. The content in the recording covers the 2010s decade. A brief summary of the recording is: The podcast titled "Yarn Bombing," hosted by Gareth Watkins, explores the vibrant local movement of yarn bombing in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, during the city's Pride Festival. The interview, recorded on March 4th, 2019, showcases the thoughts and experiences of members of a queer stitching group as they engage in this unique form of urban art and expression. Yarn bombing, as explained by the participants, is a practice where civic furniture, such as benches or bike stands, is adorned with knitted or crocheted yarn creations. This spontaneous decoration of public spaces aims to add color and joy to the cityscape, eliciting smiles and admiration, particularly from children. It's described as graffiti done with stitches rather than spray paint, turning ordinary urban objects into delightful works of art. The group’s motivation to start yarn bombing originated as a coping mechanism and a communal effort to lift spirits following an earthquake that shook Wellington. The group began by enchanting the bike stands outside the city library, with some pieces remaining intact even years later. The interviewee conveys that the movement has gained international traction, with references to yarn bombings seen as far away as Germany. The aesthetics of yarn bombing lie in their ornamental nature. The creations are often professed to serve no other purpose than decoration, yet they have been met with positivity, even from police officers and city workers. The stitching group, which calls itself Stitch and Butch, meets weekly, fostering friendships and providing support among its members. The act of knitting and stitching forms a secondary byproduct next to the powerful bonds of companionship that the activity cultivates. Stitch and Butch was formed five years prior to the recording of the interview. Initiated by Erin Kennedy, the group rapidly grew from two to eight members, with each individual seeking a unique form of solace, be it company, calmness, or support through life challenges. The action of stitching offers both a meditative experience and an opportunity for sharing life stories and forming lasting connections. The recording elaborates on the group’s creative process, detailing the assembly of yarn creations such as flowers and monsters as part of specific projects like the Pride Week festivities. The locations for the yarn bombings are often chosen for convenience or significance, with a group consensus driving the decision-making. Yarn bombing activities are discussed as typically occurring after work hours for practical reasons, contradicting the common image of covert, nocturnal operations. The group emphasizes that the process of yarn bombing holds greater depth beyond the simple installation of pieces; it’s a ritual of kinship and a symbol of pride. Speaking of pride, the interviewee expresses a deep sense of honor towards Wellington’s wider support for the LGBTQ+ community, highlighted by the abundance of rainbow flags and paintings across the city. Yarn bombing, in its essence, is regarded as a subtle form of activism that contributes to the queerness and openness of Wellington’s culture. The documentary audio ends on a celebratory note, capturing the joy and pride the yarn bombers feel in enhancing Wellington's public spaces, and by extension, its community spirit. Various references to specific locations in Wellington and the mention of international awareness emphasize the local and global relevance of yarn bombing. The full transcription of the recording follows.  It includes timestamps every thirty seconds in the format [HH:MM:SS].  The transcription begins:  Maori. We're at an undisclosed location in somewhere in Wellington. Can you tell me what we're about to do tonight? We're yarn bombing. We're yarn bombing. We're graffiti in Wellington with stitches. What is yarn bombing? Um, we find some, um, civic furniture, and we decorate it with with with wool and yarn and pretty things. At the moment, we're doing the benches on Cuba Street. That's our current focus. So how did [00:00:30] this all come about? Um Well, a couple of years ago, there was an earthquake in Wellington, um, 2. 5 years ago, and we were a little, um, stitching group a little queer stitching group. And we were all a little bit discombobulated by the earthquake. But we decided to do something for Wellington that would help us as well as brighten up everybody. And so we thought about it for a while, and we decided to, um yarn bomb. [00:01:00] The bike stands outside the city library two years ago, and some of them are still there. So is yarn bombing? Uh, kind of like an international movement. I hear it's done other places as far a field as lower hut Palmerston north to these are all places that have been touched by thread. But also I have some sisters in Germany and in Hamburg who recently showed me some photographs of yarn bombing there, too. Now, when I look at them [00:01:30] II, I kind of think of them as kind of just really beautiful ornaments, kind of yarn ornaments. How would you describe them? Ornaments is a good is a good description. It's, uh, the Sometimes people come along and ask me, What's this for? Which is a really hard question, and I think that's purely decorative. It's purely to make people smile and carry on walking. But I tell you who notices the most. Are the people shorter than 3 ft tall? They [00:02:00] are the ones who notice them heaps and heaps and heaps. Have you been, um, questioned or pulled up by anyone in authority? No. No. Anyone in authority has been extremely delighted by what we've been doing. Some people have have noticed some policemen have noticed and said, Good on you, mate. Some City Council workers have said, um uh imagine this being done for free, and so every everyone seems to be delighted. [00:02:30] And so this is people that are that are stopping you as you're actually yarn bombing? Yes, The most of the comments come when we're actually yarn bombing people. Actually, nowhere else in my life does anyone ever say I love your work so much as when we are installing our our little creations on the street. And what kind of time of day do you kind of yarn bomb, is it? Is it like, in the middle of the night? People want us [00:03:00] to be covert and think of us as doing it in balaclavas and the, um, surprise element of it arriving at the next morning. But actually, we're we're quite busy. And so we arranged to meet at a convenient time, like after work to do it. So the yarn bombing is just one aspect of it in terms of like putting it on to the public furniture. But you're also creating these things before that, aren't you? Yes. Yes. Our little group [00:03:30] is a group of it's called Stitch and Butch as our little group. And we are queer, and we meet every week. And just between you and me, the knitting and the stitching is is a secondary byproduct of what we do because we meet every week. We form really trusting friendships slowly as the weeks go by. And if we have a shared goal, that's well and good. But really, we meet because we're friends [00:04:00] and we've formed friends by by the stitching. So yes, so sometimes, um, we come along with bags of pre prepared items to go on, and sometimes we just come along to so on what other people have so and on because the point is really the friendship and the camaraderie and the support for each other. So where did Stitch and Butch come from? Well, Erin Kennedy contacted me one day about five years ago and said, Can we have a little stitching [00:04:30] group? And I said, Oh, God, if we must Oh, when? And she said Monday nights would suit me and I said, Oh, how about Wednesdays or Fridays? And she said Monday nights, And so Erin instigated this and we started off with two of us. And then the next week, eight of us turned eight turned up, and we all come for our own reasons. Some people are in, um uh, looking for company. Some people [00:05:00] are looking for calmness, and some people are looking for support while they go through something in their life. And we just quietly sit there and support each other. And it's It's just it's just about, um Well, it has an aspect of old time meditation to it because we are doing something rhythmical with our hands. But I'm also listening and hearing the stories that my friends tell about their lives, [00:05:30] too. And they very kindly listen to my stories, too. Yeah. Can you describe for me some of the, um the items that you make at the moment? We're making flowers and we're making flowers because it's Pride Week in Wellington and we're contributing to the fabulousness of the city. Um, and that's our our current, our current project. But down on the waterfront, we've got some. We've got some little monsters [00:06:00] with eyes and ears and monster feet and up at Saint Andrews on the terrace. We've got more monsters and up at Thistle Hall. We've got some monster feet. So we do all sorts, Really whatever takes our fancy And how do you pick the locations? Um, sometimes they're just convenient because we're there. Like we we meet at Saint Andrews on the terrace. So we like to decorate. The church and the church seem to be happy that we do decorate it. Thank goodness, [00:06:30] um, and we're doing at the bottom of Cuba Street because the big conference is coming shortly. And we just want to make to people to know that they were very welcome on a grand scale that the Council is doing, but also on the smaller scale that we can contribute. So we just It's a group decision and a group discussion, and we go with the consensus of the group. Yeah, now you mentioned and you also mentioned pride. And [00:07:00] at the moment throughout the city, there are rainbow flags flying on lampposts, and there's a huge, uh, rainbow painting on the on the front of the airport. Um, what do you think about those things? I feel so proud of Wellington to be able to put put the put the pride colours up without fear or fear of recrimination? I think it's exciting to be to be part of Wellington that flies the pride flag so freely [00:07:30] Well, should we go and yarn? Bob? Hey, let's put those flowers on the vines Thank you. So, Murray, we are now standing in front of one of your yarn bombs on a on a public on a public seat. Um, tell me. Describe to me what you're doing. Well, we scoped out these seats and we decided that they've got little weenie slaps. So we're a very creative group, and one of our members has made these vines out of [00:08:00] many layers of wool. And so I'm winding the vine around the slats. And once the vines are these multicoloured vines are on. I'm going to go along and sow flowers onto these vines. Yeah. And do you do this in all Weathers? Because I know I mean, you, you'll probably hear on the recording that it's actually quite a windy day today. Do you come out, like, in the winter and do this as well? Yes. We do it in winter, too. We do it in winter, too, just because we love it. We just love doing it. And I guess it's just a little breeze today, [00:08:30] isn't it? Yes, indeed. Look, the sun's shining. What is it like creating something? Um, kind of so ephemeral because I imagine in in six months the these may not be here. I imagine they're very ephemeral every time I sew something on to something in the public arena. I think this is probably won't be here in a week. I'd be lucky if it lasts the night. Really? And you know what? They're still there. Two years later, it astounds [00:09:00] me that that they are that they stay up for so long that people don't take them off immediately. And I it, um But when I walk past and see them, I feel quite proud that I've contributed to Wellington. Yeah, and sometimes I secretly stand on one side and watch people photograph them. This evening, there were two people sitting on the previous benches. Um, like that woman over there sitting on one of our benches and she stopped me and she said, Look [00:09:30] at me eating my burger on these beautiful, flowery seats and I thought, Wow, that's really cool. I'm pleased that we've contributed to the happiness of Wellington. Somebody tracked me down on Sunday, where I was working in a public in a in a in a retail place. This random woman came in and she had an accent, so I suspect she was of German ethnicity. And she came up to me and she said, I found you. I found you. I found you, and I was a little bit alarmed. [00:10:00] And she said, Do you make the knitted things? And I said yes. And she'd been asking around all the shops to see who'd been putting up the knitted things on the waterfront. And so I felt I felt like my, um that she had no, that she'd noticed and that she'd bothered to find who had put up those little monsters on the waterfront. Really delighted me. And And do you know where where she came from? Was there Was there anything like this? She said [00:10:30] she had seen a tree with a sleeve on it in Hamburg, and she she said that this was like, like the ones that she'd seen in her hometown. Yeah. So we've got trees, We've got poles, we've got seats. What? What other places do you do? You put stuff? Yes. Trees, Poles, seats. We've done all those and, um um uh, light poles on the waterfront. And we've got, um, bike [00:11:00] stands. In fact, the bike stands was quite interesting because the bike community took photos of the bike stands and then they put it on the front of the magazine, the international magazines. And they said how kind it was of Wellingtons to make it make it easy for their bikes to not be damaged. And I thought, Oh, fair enough. Fair enough. And somebody asked me for a commission. So I've been commissioned to do a bike stand down on the waterfront by one of the cafes. [00:11:30] Yes. So it's good fun. How long does it take you to to make the flowers? Um, I can make two flowers a day, as we're as we're coming up to, um, yarn bombing. So I just do a few every day and it just melts slowly. It mounts up. Yeah, yeah, it's a nice thing to do while I'm watching television. Or, um, just having a little down time. It's very calming and soothing for me. So [00:12:00] is there a particular, um, knot or how how are you tying things on? Um, each flower I've made has a little tail to it, and, um, so I thread that onto a nice, big, thick darning needle and just sew it on with lots and lots of stitches, and they seem to last for years. It's astounding. I have no no particular skills in in tying fishermen's knots, but it just seems to work. If you do enough stitches [00:12:30] and you've got a whole big bundle now of beautiful flowers, I do. I do. I I've enjoyed using the wool in creative ways. Where where does the wool and the yarn come from? Um, friends and family at first. And then I put an ad on and I was overwhelmed by bags and bags and bags and bags and bags of beautiful wool and old projects that people were happy to give me for the purpose of yarn bombing. [00:13:00] And, um um, and I've just about used all of that now, so I might have to go and find some more. But I found a bag. I got very excited in the weekend. I went to I was in the tip shop and I found a bag of colourful wool there. So every time I find a, uh uh, a little bag of treasure, I get very excited. Would you call this activism? Yes, in a it is. It is definitely activism in [00:13:30] um, in a with a very small A because it it keeps we enjoy contributing to the queerness of Wellington and whether or not people notice it or acknowledge it is beside the point because we enjoy doing it, Yeah. The full transcription of the recording ends. A list of keywords/tags describing the recording follow. These tags contain the correct spellings of names and places which may have been incorrectly spelt earlier in the document. The tags are seperated by a semi-colon: 2010s ; Aotearoa New Zealand ; Berlin ; Coming Up ; Cuba ; Cuba Street ; Erin Kennedy ; German ; Germany ; God ; ILGA World Conference (2019) ; People ; Rainbow flag ; St Andrew's on the Terrace ; Stitch n Butch (Wellington) ; Stuff ; Wellington ; Wellington International Airport ; Wellington Pride Festival (2019) ; activism ; airport ; bike stand ; bottom ; church ; community ; conference ; council ; earthquake ; eating ; ethnicity ; face ; family ; fear ; fishing ; flags ; flowers ; flying ; friends ; fun ; graffiti ; happiness ; hat ; hit ; knitting ; library ; listening ; love ; magazines ; meditation ; neighbourly. co. nz ; other ; painting ; pride ; public spaces ; queen ; queer ; rainbow ; sleep ; smile ; stickers ; stitching ; support ; time ; walking ; wind ; work ; yarn bombing. The original recording can be heard at this website https://www.pridenz.com/yarn_bombing.html. The master recording is also archived at the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand.  For more details visit their website https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1089845. Please note that this document may contain errors or omissions - you should always refer back to the original recording to confirm content.