Sunrise Hospital bridge gets yarnstormed

When visitors enter the West Flamingo Senior Center, 6255 W. Flamingo Road, the prevalence of knitted and crocheted decorations is apparent.

Yarn creations adorn nearly every corner of the center. The railing at the front entrance is covered in yarn. The bulletin board is framed in yarn. The handles on the backs of the chairs are also wrapped in yarn.

All of the creations are put together by the prolific, needle-wielding women of the center's crochet club.

The women, known as Yarnstormers, found that the bulletin boards were no longer a challenge. So the group decided to take on a larger canvas.

The Yarnstormers spent months preparing to adorn a pedestrian bridge leading to Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, 3186 S. Maryland Parkway, with crocheted and knitted artwork.

The project was installed June 10 with a public unveiling on June 11.

According to Diane Bush, the center's cultural and recreation supervisor, the project coincided with International Yarnstorming Day, when groups all over the world cover anything from trees and telephone booths to buses and bridges in yarn as a form of temporary public art.

The women worked tirelessly in May to complete crocheted circles of all colors ranging in size from 5 inches to 2 feet, which they arranged in a half-circle pattern on the bridge to represent a sunrise.

"It was originally done by young people in the middle of the night," Bush said. "It's sometimes called yarn bombing, but we don't like to use the word 'bomb.' "

The Yarnstormers range from 50 to 80 years old.

Delores Gill said she became involved with the group after meeting a member in the hospital.

"I asked her where she got that nice hat," Gill said. "It surprised me when she said she made it."

Gill has crocheted nearly 40 circles for the project, including 20 in one afternoon.

Jeanette Johannes, originally from New York City, said she had never heard of anything like it and was happy to be doing something new and unique.

"I think the bridge was a good choice," she said. "Hopefully it will cheer up the people going to Sunrise Hospital."

When Bush originally pitched the idea to the women, she showed them pictures of other Yarnstorming projects done in cities such as Los Angeles and London, where an entire bus was covered in brightly colored yarn.

"If I covered my husband's car in yarn, I don't think he'd be too happy with me," Johannes said, laughing.

Longtime member Joanne Dahl said she was shocked when she initially realized the magnitude of the project.

"I thought we'd never complete it," she said. "It just seemed impossible, but everyone pitched in, a lot of people. When it's a community effort, it works well."

A local Boy Scout troop helped the Yarnstormers install the artwork.

Evelyn Nee said she was pleased with how the project turned out.

"I think it's just beautiful," she said. "I hope that it will bring a smile to the kids heading to the hospital."

The project has brought notoriety to the group as well.

Two members have since joined the group, including new recruit Ardelle Bellman, and yarn donations are coming in more regularly.

There is one thing still missing, however.

"I'd like to put out a call for any men who'd like to join us in knitting," Bellman said, citing former football player Rosey Grier's affinity for needlepoint. "We'll recruit any man to help us."

Since the success of the bridge project, the group has turned its focus back to the West Flamingo Senior Center. Last year, the Yarnstormers covered the center's outdoor handrails in yarn to prevent visitors from burning their hands on the hot, sun-baked metal. After a year of sun, Bush said it's time to replace the railing cozies.

Donations of yarn for upcoming Yarnstormers projects can be dropped off at the West Flamingo Senior Center from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call Bush at 455-7742.

Contact Southwest/Spring Valley View reporter Nolan Lister at nlister@viewnews.com or 383-0492.