LOCAL officials in Orkney are unlikely to get worked up about the recent spate of "graffiti" appearing around Kirkwall and beyond – despite the fact the annual St Magnus arts festival is well underway, attracting visitors from around the globe.

This isn't graffiti of the paint variety but something that uses knitted and crocheted yarn to decorate urban features such as trees, lampposts and railings.

Better known as yarnbombing, or guerrilla knitting, these multi-coloured pieces of wool have been popping up everywhere around the town – in front of the library, on the town's main street and just about anywhere.

Adding much-needed colour to public places, this has become quite the local talking point.

So who is doing it? Apparently it's the work of Ripples The Crocheter, according to the Facebook page which says they are part of team Yarnbombing Orkney.

While locals and artists have praised the efforts of these knotty knitters, BBC Radio Orkney has gone so far as to ask if this makes Orkney the yarnbombing capital of the north?

It's not the only place yarnbombing has appeared, reportedly first springing up in the Netherlands in 2004 before spreading globally to places as far-flung as London, Texas and Australia. It has even prompted books on the subject.

Most recently, the Saltburn Yarnbomber knitted a colourful canoeist to make a huge scarf lining Saltburn pier in North Yorkshire, as a tribute to the Olympics.

I would become a graffiti knitter myself if, in fact, I could actually knit. Instead, I hope to see some yarnbombing in Glasgow. Colourful, urban and crafty – I love it.