TNB Night Owl–Heavy Metal Knitting World Championships

Yarn ball, Photo by Lori

Finland is known for a lot of things. It’s known for the Northern Lights, for being the nation where Angry Birds was invented, and known for it’s heavy metal scene. In fact, it has about fifty metal bands per every 100,000 residents, making it the most metal nation per capita. It’s also known for having long, cold winters during which people tend to stay indoors and indulge in hobbies such as knitting.

Which led to Finland hosting the first annual Heavy Metal Knitting World Chapionships on July 11th. Bands and crafters from around the world descended on the small town of Joensuu to combine the two arts in an unlikely pairing.

Co-founder Mari Karjalainen explained why this came to be: “We have such dark and long winters. This really gives us lots of time to plan for our short summers and come up with silly ideas.”

Some of the bands competing include 9 Inch Needles from the USA, Bulkagov Satan from Finland, Crafts with Ellen from Denmark, and Backstage Knitter from Sweden.

The champions, Giga Body Metal from Japan, threw Sumo wrestling into the mix, wowing the audience with a unique viewing experience.

Question of the night: Do you have any strange hobbies?

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