To share the knitting experience with other MSU students on a large scale, McFee and other FDSA members decided to follow a nationwide trend called “guerilla knitting” by knitting over the rock on Farm Lane on Tuesday night.

Otherwise known as “knit graffiti” or “yarnbombing,” guerilla knitting involves covering random objects on the streets with knitted material, such as trees, telephone poles and even entire gas stations. It has been seen at many well-known sites across the U.S., including on the Merrill Lynch bull near Wall Street in New York City.

Nancy McRay, the owner of yarn shop and fiber art gallery Woven Art, 325B Grove St., said the trend often goes beyond beautification.

“It’s possible that fiber artists and knitters feel like the craft they love is in the closet,” said McRay, who has experimented with guerilla knitting herself. “When other knitters see people putting it out there, it’s exciting, and they want to play along. It’s about reclaiming a craft and declaring it hip.”

Human biology junior Elizabeth Kuhn, who saw the decorated rock on her way to class, said the project puts a spin on graffiti not many people have seen.

“Everyone always paints the rock, and it looks OK if you’re talented and lucky,” she said. “But (guerilla knitting) is something different and new.”

McFee said the project, which took six FDSA members about a week to complete, was meant to brighten the days of students and even bring on some nostalgia.

“People are somewhat sentimental toward knitting,” she said. “It’s often thought of as something your grandmother taught you, and when it’s done in such an interesting way, people revert to their childhood a little bit when they see it everywhere. It’s like a piece of home.”