SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Worldwide Knit in Public Day was about the growing knitting community "getting out of the closet and into the public," according to Erin Suliak, event co-ordinator.

Olivia Lanteigne, 10, knits a slipper outside the Quilted Raven on 53 Street during the Worldwide Knit in Public Day event on June 11. - Heather Lange/NNSL photo

On June 11, Suliak helped Yellowknife knitters come together and celebrate the event by bringing out their yarn, knitting needles and a spinning wheel into the sunlight on the steps of the Quilted Raven on 53 Street.

Although knitting may have an association with days gone by, in today's society, knitting has had something of a resurgence. Knitters appear subtly in movies, quietly creating items with the lively stirring of their needles in the background on the subway and, more locally, being taught as a course at William McDonald Middle School.

The motto for Worldwide Knit in Public Day, which has been going on since 2005, is "better living through stitching together."

Suliak said one of the really cool trends in the knitting world is yarn graffiti. Yarn graffiti is the process where knitters make items for an outdoor venue to brighten up the environment. Suliak said she actually saw some yarn graffiti in town.

"I saw some on the trail. Someone put a cozy on a tree on the Frame Lake Trail. Keep an eye open for more activities like that in the dead of night. It's a way of brightening up the city," said Suliak.

Another knitting participant, Muriel Tolley, said knitting helped her manage her anxiety in a stressful situation.

"We were stuck at an airport when the volcano in Iceland hit and all flights were cancelled. The only thing I could do was concentrate on my knitting. It was the only thing that would calm me down. I knitted 28 rows and it was all wrong but at the time it was very therapeutic and worth it," said a chuckling Tolley.

Olivia Lanteigne, 10, started knitting when she was six and shares her passion with other friends her age.

"I just saw my grandma knitting and then I wanted to knit. I get together with two friends every Monday night to knit," said Lanteigne.

So far she has made purses and blankets for her dolls and her next goal is to make a big blanket or sweater.

Michelle Burtch doesn't know how to knit yet but is starting from the ground up.

"I learned how to spin yarn in a class I took at the Yellowknife Guild of Arts and Crafts," said Burtch, while sitting at the spinning wheel and turning pencil roving wool into yarn. "The next thing to learn is how to knit," said Burtch.

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