Anonymous 'Knitteapolis' Preps For The Great Minnesota Knit Together

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One of the Minnesota State Fair's newest attractions is "The Great Minnesota Knit Together", which will be Minnesota's largest yarn bomb.

You may have seen some of some of the clever creations at other locations throughout the city, but this is the biggest by far -- all made by Knitteapolis. Her identity is a secret, but her art is most certainly not.

Stitch by stitch, this Minnesota native got hooked nine years ago.

"Sort of trial by error, I practiced a lot, had a lot of things fail, and then started figuring out the patterns and then it was super amazing. It was just one of the most amazing things in my life I've ever done," she said, behind her knitted beard disguise.

After learning to knit from a friend while in between acts in local theater, Knitteapolis has been on a roll ever since.

"I love knitting, it feels like magic. Knitting needles are like wands, you poke them around then at the end you have scarf or a sweater it makes you feel warm and happy," she said. "I love it because you put it out in the community because it makes them feel warm and happy."

We can't tell you her name, but we can tell you this is her full-time job.

"I saw my first yarn bomb at 2014 by Minnehaha Park and thought it was cutest funniest thing and I decided I wanted to do that," she said.

Knitteapolis has been working hard the last nine months in preparation for The Great Minnesota Knit Together at the State Fair.

"The first thing I had to do was to crochet a hot dog," said Knitteapolis. "It didn't' turn out and it looked like a falafel … and now I have good looking ones."

With the wave of her wands she is putting the final touches on your favorite fair foods. Things like mini donuts, ice cream cones, pizza, and she said the taco has been tough.

"Crocheting a taco has been so difficult, it wants to fall apart like a real taco… my friends will walk by and I'll be like 'oh, watch out for the tomato'," she said with a chuckle.

Working sun up to sun down with roughly 40 miles of yarn, Knitteapolis said it's an entrance you'll have to see for yourself.

"The entire Grandstand ramp is completely covered in knits and crochets. It's about 220 feet of chain link fence, and that is all themed Minnesota Nice and Warm Fuzzies. So you'll see signs that say 'oofta' and 'don't cha know'," she said.

You can even see a giant crochet fox that says hey foxy lady.

Whatever your reason to head to the fair, the food, the Mighty Midway, the music, or the exhibits, you're bound to find something you like at the Great Minnesota Get Together or Knit Together.

You can see the final display at the Grandstand ramp.

Knitteapolis tells WCCO her biggest creation that you will see at the fair is a dinosaur. She said it took roughly a week to make.