The plan is to install the finished pieces around River Bend. Many pieces have already been installed on the playground fence and the fencing behind the school.

With five copy paper boxes full of granny squares, knitted gauge swatches, and doilies, Cronin’s students had no shortage of material to work with.

“We got really good responses,” she said. “We received hundreds of granny squares and knit gauge swatches. People heard about the project mostly on the website called Ravelry, which is a group of people who are knitters, crocheters, and other fiber artists. They were really excited to share their work with the students so they mailed a lot of stuff to us.”

They weren’t all local submissions either. Some squares came from as far as Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Mason Fleming (top left), Alacely Morales (top right), Chase Beltz (bottom left) and Brandon Guggisberg (bottom right) sit on the rainbow stairs outside door 3 of River Bend. On the railing is knitted cylinders made by the students.

Each student also added little flairs to special pieces. After crocheting a green square, student Chase Beltz surface crocheted a face on it to make a Minecraft creeper. Cronin said students got to experiment with all kinds of techniques and methods.

When it comes to applying the creations outside, Cronin said there are important specifications to ensure success.

“I gave the students guidelines,” she said. “I told them the most important thing is to keep it pretty tight. As it’s outside in the rain, the weight of the water in the yarn can make it fade. It was really important for the students to find a place the square was stretched out and secured pretty tightly.”

From those who have seen the art thus far, Cronin said the response has been largely positive.

“People in the building have said they love it,” she said. “It’s really colorful, fun, cheerful. It’s been really positive. I wasn’t sure what their responses were going to be because it’s an unusual art installation. It’s been nice to hear some good feedback from people.

Junior Zariya Russell said she was excited when she first heard they were going to do this project, as she had seen pictures of similar projects online. She said it was not hard to work with, as the fabric was pretty flexible.

“First you have to have the crocheted or knitted fabric,” Russell said. “Then you sew it together. You try to make it a little tighter so it stays because you don’t want to have it really loose.”

She said the biggest skill she honed in this project was teamwork. Working with others while designing the pieces and placing them around River Bend. Overall, Russell said she enjoyed the process from beginning to end.

Fellow student Brandon Guggisberg agreed. He said he enjoyed each square and the different characteristics and feel each one had.

Cronin said all of the student’s creations should be out for viewing by the end of next week.