String into Place – Yarn Storm Ready to Blanket HutchCC Campus Again

By Cathlyna Theriot
Staff Writer
IG: @th3riotnix

With the temperatures lowering and each day feeling just a little closer to winter, the need for warm clothes arises. Warm clothes are essential here in Kansas during the wintertime. Kansans are used to this harsh weather and know how to prepare, but what about the HutchCC students who have never experienced a winter like ours? Or the students who can’t afford warm clothing?

One of the ways warm clothes are given out is during the Yarn Storm giveaway, though you may be asking, “What is a Yarn Storm?”

“The Yarn Storm is where we make things of knitted/crocheted items, it’s basically graffiti with yarn, an idea we actually got from Wichita State and how they decorate their millipede statue,” said Beth Edwards, a secretary for HutchCC’s Fine Arts and Humanities Department.

“It’s a collaborative project, making the squares and pieces for the hat and scarf we put on Duke. We have students and faculty all helping to make bits and pieces for this project, all skill levels are welcome. We’ll gladly teach people how to crochet, knit, anything, we love to see students getting involved.”

Along with decorating Duke, they graffiti the whole plaza, covering tables, gazebos, and chairs, all with brightly colored red, blue, and white yarn decorations.

“At that time of year when it’s starting to feel colder, and people can feel sad or down, it’s just a thing that makes people smile,” said Bethany Newburn, a secretary for HutchCC’s Fine Arts and Humanities Department.

“Last year, we gave away probably over 50 clothing items. The giveaways are personally my favorite part of the yarn storm,” Edwards said.

The yarn storm also involves creating things to warm any student who may need something warm for the winter, things like hats, scarves, gloves, ear muffs, etc. They make and place things outside on a rack for students to just go and grab if they are in need of something warm.

Yarn Storm will be put in place on Jan. 23 and will stay up until the week before spring break. If you’d like to contribute or have any questions about it, you can contact Edwards at edwardsbe@hutchcc.edu, or Newburn at newburnb@hutchcc.edu.

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