Artists' work spins town a yarn

The project used 45 miles of wool to complete

Parts of Inverness city centre have been covered in red wool as part of a so-called "guerrilla knitting" project.

The publicly funded project - designed to celebrate the regeneration of the city's Old Town - puts an unusual twist on the idea of painting the town red.

The displays include large pom-poms in the street, crocheted spiders' webs across alleyways and tombstones in an ancient graveyard covered with cosies.

The yarn's cost has not been revealed, but it is part of a £300,000 scheme.

Inverness Old Town Art, which is behind the scheme, has refused to say how much of the budget provided by the Scottish Arts Council and the council has been allocated to the week-long "yarnbombing" project.

A spokesman said: "Focusing on costs of events may mean the actual social and promotional benefits to the area and arts community are overlooked."

Fluffy

Organisers said the initiative, which also involves sculptures, street art, projections and live music, will attract visitors and shoppers to the city centre.

Highland artists Annie Marrs and Jennifer Cantwell are said to have spent three months knitting 45 miles of wool into their fluffy street furniture.

The duo, known as Sundogs, insisted that public money was being put to good use because their woollen creations would draw attention to unused or overlooked spaces in the heart of the city.

They deliberately choose to use bright, blood red to give the impression of connecting spaces like an arterial line through the town.

The artists were also granted permission by the city's Old High Church to place woollen cosies over historic tombstones in its graveyard.