A love letter to Richmond: the Knitorious M.E.G, yarn bombing and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

A love bomb by the Knitorious M.E.G. is seen at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.

You have probably seen the Knitorious M.E.G.'s work around town.

For the past 15 years, she has been yarn bombing Richmond. Usually, it is an abandoned pole that she wraps in a crocheted sleeve. Sometimes, she is more ambitious, like when she outfitted an entire bench in Byrd Park with rainbow yarn.

Her love bombs — crocheted hearts placed atop abandoned poles — have popped up all over town.

"My goal is to have 150 love bombs in Richmond by Valentine's Day," Knitorious said by phone last week.

The Knitorious M.E.G. is a street artist. Her artwork is temporary and can be removed without any damage to existing structures. She prefers to keep her identity anonymous. Which made the launch of her first exhibit — Lovers Lane, now open at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden — a little tricky, but not impossible.

"As a Richmonder, I’ve been following her street art in the community," Beth Anne Booth, exhibitions manager at Lewis Ginter, said. "Every time I see one of her love bombs, it brings excitement and joy. I thought, ‘How cool would it be to have that experience in the garden?’"

Booth reached out to Knitorious on Instagram.

"Usually, I turn everybody down. I’ve had offers. I like doing what I want to do. But I have a soft spot for botanical gardens. They hit me up at the right time," Knitorious said.

A love bomb by the Knitorious M.E.G. is seen on Riverside Drive.

Knitorious grew up in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area. She moved to New York for a while, then moved back to Richmond and started learning how to knit with a group of friends. They formed a yarn bombing squad called K1D2, as in "knit one, drink two."

"I’m not sure what got us going. We liked how different it seemed at the time," Knitorious said. Then life happened; people in the group got married and moved away. But Knitorious kept going.

She had admired the graffiti scene in New York, often taking pictures of the street art she had seen.

"The love bombs I’m very particular about. I feel they’re very specific to Richmond," Knitorious said. "When I started 15 years ago, there was a lot of decay. Poles aplenty. Now you see a lot less free sign posts. I don't cover up existing signs. I cover up naked poles."

She was drawn to the rougher neighborhoods around town — the derelict spots that seemed in need of a little love. She stayed within the city limits.

"The more unexpected the spot, the better. I love areas that normally wouldn't get a lot of street art," Knitorious said. Her friends and her kids are always on the lookout, sending her pictures of empty poles or good spots for a yarn bomb.

A bridge ball bomb by the Knitorious M.E.G. is seen on the Mayo Bridge in Richmond.

Knitorious has a master list of spots around town she wants to hit. When the mood strikes her, she puts her ladder in her car and heads out in the dark, ready to yarn bomb.

Growing up, Knitorious was inspired by The Purple Lady of Suffolk. There wasn't any graffiti or street art in Tidewater at that time, but there was the Purple Lady.

Love Bomb No. 53 is seen on Canal Street in Richmond.

"She was this mystery figure. No one knew much about her. She would dress head to toe in purple, with a purple turban. Everyone knew her house. It was a purple house. You’d see her walking down Route 17, carrying a big bucket of purple paint and she’d paint telephone poles, as tall as she could reach," Knitorious said.

"The mystery of the poles and the mystery of this figure. She brought something very odd and unique to a pretty mundane environment. I’m thankful for her," Knitorious said. "I don't know why I do what I do, but I know she's a part of it.

"I liked that we didn't know too much about her. You could come up with your own guess. That's why I like to keep a little mystery," she said.

The Knitorious M.E.G. will host her first exhibition at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden called Lovers Lane through March 31.

Knitorious was invited to participate in the RVA Street Art Festival, where she yarn bombed the railings with a love bomb. And now she is taking over a portion of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden with a series of yarn bombs for Lovers Lane.

"Knitorious has embraced the mask, for COVID. I’ve never seen her without a mask," Lewis Ginter's Booth said of the times they met to plan the exhibit at Lewis Ginter.

"I don't want to give away any spoilers. A specific area in the garden will receive some love bombing," Booth said. "Our guests have the opportunity to come curious and find that experience for themselves."

Keep your eye out for new love bombs from Knitorious around town in the weeks ahead.

"It's been a decade of love bombs. I’m at 140 right now. But I want to get to 150 by Valentine's Day. Valentine's is my time to work," Knitorious said.

Colleen Curran

(804) 649-6151

[email protected]

@collcurran on Twitter

When: Now through March 31

Where: Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Ave.

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

General admission: $8-$17.

More info: www.lewisginter.org or (804) 262-9887

Colleen Curran is the features editor for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She also covers arts and entertainment and food and dining.

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