What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1223724
LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette G ina Gallina is a crocheting superstar. If you think of crochet — a craft where yarn is looped into different patterns using crochet hooks — as a staid, conventional hobby that results in bland sweaters and unused scarves, one look at Gallina's projects over the years will set you straight pretty quickly. Among the things that she's crocheted are a giant strawberry (you might have seen it last year, swinging in front of the historic Walker-Stone House just off the Fayetteville square); an 8-foot-tall pineapple for a Chicago hotel; a huge banner featuring a delicious plate of bacon and eggs; a racy pair of red high heels; Las Vegas showgirl-style headdresses; and exquisitely detailed ball gowns. Then, this month, she crochet-bombed Maxine's, the popular Fayetteville bar on Block Avenue. "I always thought it would be the perfect building to crochet-bomb," says Gallina who, in a phone interview, is as bright, cheery and whimsical as her colorful yarn art. "It's big, flat and square. When I suggested it, Hannah [Withers, who operates Maxine's with her husband, Ben Gitchel] didn't even flinch. I formed a group called 'Crochetitville,' and we all did it together to commemorate National Crochet Month and Maxine's 70th birthday." Gallina says the group started work in November and installed the art on Feb. 29, where it will stay until the end of March. They used PVC pipe almost as curtain rods, and the panels are weighted at the top by cinder blocks Call today so your dog can play! 912 S MaeStri Thank You for Voting Us BesT PeT Boarding/ daYcare & PeT grooming! Best of Northwest Arkansas the 912 S MaeStri rd • Springdale • 479-306-4660 • www.dogpartyuSa.com Call today so your dog can play! 125 E. Locust St • Rogers, AR • 479-636-4151 www.garnerbuildingsupply.com BARGAINS of the MONTH ® While supplies last. While supplies last. MARCH 22-28, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 5 See Gallina Page 6 Not Your Nana's Crochet Gina Gallina's latest coup is yarn-bombing a bar Gallina has created crocheted fruit, shoes, ballgowns, spiders, flowers, bees — you name it, she's made it with yarn and crochet hooks. (Courtesy Photo) Gina Gallina and Crochetitville covered nearly every square foot of the facade of Fayetteville's Maxine's Tap Room in honor of that establishment's 70th birthday. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe) FAYETTEVILLE