Recently, we got a chance to catch up with one of Philadelphia’s premiere knit-bombers, Slipstich, at a café in Center City around which a majority of her work is installed. We were a wee bit late, so we weren't surprised that she was knitting when we showed up. Seated and sipping, we discussed her evolution as an artist since October 2009, when she first bombed a tree in a way that would make Dr. Seuss proud.

Why 'Slipstitch'?
Well, the book Yarnbombing by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain features some yarn bombing groups, like "knitta, please" and the members all have stage names related to knitting, like dropzitch, k1p1, and beatknit. Slipstitch is a knitting technique

How did you start knitting?
Just being on public transportation a lot. I got bored and I couldn’t read anymore because I got nauseous. I know how to crochet, so I tried to pick it up, but knitting looked nicer. I got a book and learned from that. I get an idea and I just work feverishly. I have this thing where if I don’t finish it quickly, it most likely will be forgotten. I always have yarn in my backpack. I hate sitting idly. It is ridiculous. I always have this huge ass bag, I can’t have a cute little purse. I do it  on the subway, wherever, I even have done it at happy hour. It’s awesome I can multi-task and do it.

Which book?
I got the basic book, Stitch and Bitch, when I was a kid.  I was taught how to do it in school, but I didn’t remember.

So you clearly got bored just making Christmas presents for everyone.
I really enjoyed doing it and then I stopped because I didn’t enjoy the pressure of making things people are going to like. I am not business savvy. I always undercut myself,  always say “you can have it for $20 even if it had cost $20 to make.” There was always constant pressure and work all the time, I began to think what am I doing,. Every time I tried to make a sweater I wouldn’t be done till spring.

You seem to pick only certain colors to use in your work.
I do, yeah. I only use pink, lime green and orange, never use yellow, barely use red, never use dark colors. Personally, I just love the neon colors. They pop up.

Are you fan of guerrilla art?
It's not necessarily the subversiveness of graffiti, not getting back at the system. It's about people going out there. It's not a venue that may be meant for them, you just saw a spot that looked awesome to do something, and you didn’t ask any questions. I like that about it . It opens up the realm of possibility.

What about when it gets torn down? I would get a little heartbroken.
Well, I got use to it, because they look gross, I saw one in my neighborhood yesterday that I didn’t put up but its hanging on a pole and when it rained it just fell down. First piece I did in Rittenhouse square was a little tree. It stayed up so long, I was almost baffled. It was like a little tube top, it lasted so long, but it started to fade. It was kind of neat because I didn’t know it did that. But it also taught me a lesson; I don’t use the same yarn I do now because I saw that it faded really quickly. Everything I have done has been a learning opportunity.

Do you ever sit and watch people react to your work?
Not really. Some people talk to me when I put it up. I don’t know if I am super ready for criticism,. It’s easy for me to walk away from it real quick. It's something I feel like I've got to do, but I don’t know if I am ready to know what the consequences are.

How many pieces have you put up?
I have probably put up 25. I used to put up a lot, now I am taking more time. I have taken pictures, a little photo album, “Guerrilla Knitting in Philly.” Its kind of neat. I have seen the evolution of my pieces. It's crazy. A gallery was wondering if I wanted to get a commission somehow and if they could help me. I would love to get commission in a neighborhood that really needed some color, some appreciation, knowing that someone took the time to do something for them.

So I’m sensing you don’t want to be confined? 
My idea was to do neighborhoods in the city that weren’t necessarily exposed, or didn’t have a lot of people who gave a shit, and wanted people to put their art there. But I found it hard to pay out of pocket for that, so I have been doing it in Center City to make it a sort of stepping stone. It's not my ultimate plan.

So what is your ultimate plan?
It's multi-faceted: Our city is mostly grey, brown and red. Because you get so bored looking at the same patterns, I needed to throw something in the mix. I needed a change for me. I couldn’t stand my walk to work, that’s the main reason I wanted to do it.

You have to have seen someone take a look at your work, did you notice any repeated reactions?
At first I liked seeing the shock people had when looking at it. Now people are getting used to it. It's like, “saw another one" -- a sort of a peek-a-boo in the City.

Does anyone ever ask you why you do it?
People ask me the real meaning of it and its really hard for me to say, because it's just something I feel like I've got to do. Another thing is that I use to be super political but with this I have tried to stay non-political about it. I don’t want to be super black and white in my opinions anymore, I don’t like to confine my audience. I didn’t want to keep going in a direction where I felt like a zealot. I didn’t like confinements of being a women in American society at times, and I just was angry about it a lot of time. I think knitting brought something back. It helps show that femininity isn’t the problem, it’s the perception of it. I think its an important lesson for me to learn as it was for anyone else to learn. I think knitting helped me do that.

Do you ever plan on doing something massive?
I would love to wrap up a gigantic abandoned house. That would be my dream. I would love to do that.

Photos by Christopher Freitag