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Millie’s new threads
Visitors on campus can expect to see Wichita State’s beloved millipede sculpture by the 17th Street gateway to the Ulrich Museum, fondly known as “Millie,” fitted in a most unique attire this fall —thanks to the efforts of a local fiber arts club, nearly 30,000 yards of yarn and a few bottles of wine.
“About twenty years ago, a few of us started meeting together on Friday afternoons for a glass of wine and discussion,” said Laura Creekmore ’85. “We’ve just continued ever since.”
Creekmore is one of 16 members of Sip & Stitch, alongside Donna Ard ’73, Linda Bowles ’71, Dianne Coleman ’84/88, Melissa Conley ’01/06, Pam Cornwell ’80, Kellie Hogan fs ’89, Jane McHugh ’80, Jill Thompson fs ’04, Lee Wadsworth, Leann Barth, Erin Erhart, Roshelle Ford, Mandi Gibbs, Marilyn Hansen and Genee Kubin.
Jane McHugh ’80 first pitched the graffiti-style street art “yarn-bombing” to the Ulrich Museum of Art in 2012.
“They were initially skeptical, but I printed out the article where I first saw it, and of course they all got behind it,” McHugh said. The group yarn-bombed Millie that year and again in 2014 before returning to campus this fall.
The group had two rules for the project: measure your pieces and use autumnal colors.
To assist with the former, Creekmore, Wadsworth and McHugh ventured to campus to collect the statue’s specs from head to tail, including, while not quite 1,000, Millie’s many legs.
The group chipped away at the 25-foot anthropod in sections, featuring artistic influence across the gamut of fiber crafts: knit, crochet, cross-stich, quilting and crewel embroidery, to name a few. The group also incorporated old pieces into the project, including Millie’s Shocker headband, knit by Marilyn Hansen in 2012 and featured in all three yarn-bombings.
“The first time we saw it all together, it was like we collectively gasped,” said Creekmore. Added McHugh, “Kind of like seeing a rainbow.”
But with its diverse stitch patterns, yarns of varying thicknesses and textures, and raised knit flowers and leaves, the group’s handiwork appeals to multiple senses.
“Lee’s husband is blind, and I think we all kept that in mind as we created our pieces,” said Linda Bowles ’71. “We made something that is very tactile, meant to be touched and felt. It can be enjoyed by anyone.”
The community concurs. Millie’s new threads have garnered ample foot traffic on campus. The Ulrich Museum has invited the women to campus to give an artist talk about the creation of the project.
“We all come from different places, backgrounds and professions,” Wadsworth said. “But our shared love of our hobby and this university brought us together to make something beautiful.”
Hear more about this project from the members of Sip & Stitch at their Artist Talk on Thursday, Oct. 3.
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