Knitting christmas baubles - the end

My knitting christmas project is over for this time. Posting this just in time for you to see before I will remove it all, keep it in a box and hang it up again next year. It has been great fun.

knitted christmas baubles; subversive rendeers, nordic man and wife and lots of ice-crystals

most succesfull bauble of this collection (most asked for wannahave item) the white rendeers on red background

gebreide kerstballen - op een hoop

Scandinavian dark winternight ice-crystal bauble to the left in the middle.

Knitted christmas baubles; Hanging in the curtains on the front door.

Supersize crochet plarn rabbit

This giant rabbit is really astonishing. It's the work of Erika Scharff, all made out of old plastic bags, however not known how many of them went into this work, but I could imagine it must have been a truck-load. It participated in the Greenheart Artprice 2011, where it ended up a shared third. Rumor has it that the Rabobank has bought it and that it will be installed at the Rabobank headquarters in Utrecht.
link thanks to @Pascrosie

mijn konijn by Erica Schaff @ Nieuwkoop

mijn konijn by Erica Schaff @ Nieuwkoop

bigger-than-life-size doudou

If you can't have a real pet, why not make a life-size doudou and put in your living-room? Making and having a full size doudou sort of makes it ok for adults, doesn't it. It would also add an air of mystery and fairy-tale to your living-room.

Little deer photographed in Causeway Bay

These ones here are perhaps a little more advanced. They are made to be art-objects, but when I saw them, I wanted to take them right home. Look so real. It's the artist Cosima von Bonin, she incorporates a lot of animals like dogs and mushroom (also bigger-than-life-size) in her work. I guess she wants to tickle our affection for pets and maybe ask if other humans could really be replaced by animals?

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

Cosima von Bonin @ Documenta

And how about these, actual interior objects, made to put in your living-room.
Different technique; mosaique. such a pity you don't find dogs like this in the DIY, they seem to only be doing dwarfs.

Milan Designweek 2008

Milan Designweek 2008

And here's the pattern to make one yourself, just blow up the size!

Libelle Magazine 1951

Have fun!

Loop, London, knitting-heaven?

In Camdem Passage between the antique shops, you find this pretty, crafty knitting shop. I was so lucky to visit on wednesday 6th of October, that means speed-visiting, because I didn't have much time. Time enough though to notice their beautiful collection of yarns, including Habu yarns from Japan. The interior is full of crafted props, that could easily by my next DIY project. Very inspiring. 

Reknit project 4

let me start backwards with project reknit project 4. The last one I completed. This WAS an awful old shawl from my mum, probably from the dark stoneages of the 70's, at least I remember her wearing it when I was a kid. Really old-fashioned in both colors and style.

Firstly I unraveled this shawl and that was quite something, because it's made of an untwined type of irregular wool it really sticks together so it took me quite some effort. By the way the un-twinedness is exactly why I spend the effort, it gives the work a beautiful handmade texture. And where I live now, they don't sell this type of yarn. It's not that it wouldn't be impossible to get hold of over the internet, it's just that I like the other way more. Not wasting anything. Not throwing a beautiful and useful material away. Just upcycling it into something new.

It was turned into a poncho for my sister. So the yarn also jumped a generation. My sister loves the poncho (she still owes me in-use photos though!!) The knitting itself was quite some work, as it was knitted on thin needles. It's also in the nature of my work that I do things over several times, because I knit without a recipy, just let the work appear in front of my eyes, and guessing how to continue. Obviously that doesn't always go well. And then I unravel and do it again. And again. And again. Until I get it right.

Reknitting manifesto

The magic thing about knitting and crochet for that sake is that it's made out of one uninterrupted line of thread. In principle. Of course much of the knitwear you can buy in the shop today is cut into shape. Such a pity. Chops the thread up into little pieces. Makes it useless for recycling. Or re-knitting.

I have been re-knitting for ages, for many reasons. Practical ones like I'm just a frugal person, so why would I go out and buy new yarn, when actually I have heap loads in stock, lying in my cupboards in the form of unused sweaters that went out of fashion etc. But another reason is also that much of the yarn you can buy today is really crap, it's just not nice, not a nice texture, mainly made of artificial material, whereas I prefer, cotton, wool etcetc. 

If you unlike me, don't have the cupboard full of old knittings, you can just go to the salvation army and buy some nice old sweater etc, unravel it, and make a nice new piece of work. Supercheap and absolutely fashionable way to get through the recession, frugal or not.