Transformative Knits

Day Four: Where are they now? Whatever happened to your _____?

In last year's Knitting & Crochet Blog Week, I wrote about how my creations ended up in the UK DIY exhibition.

I also briefly mentioned Marianne Jorgensen's pink tank cosy which was featured as part of the Craftivism section in the exhibition.

I'm happy to say I contributed a knitted pink square which went into that very same tank cosy! I know it sounds small and insignificant, but together with others who contributed, I like to think the overall result was thought-provoking and memorable. I made a short film clip of the video installation at the exhibition (excuse the awful sound quality):



Over 4,000 knitted and crocheted 15 x 15 cm squares from crafty types all over the world went into making the cosy for a combat tank which was used in WWII. The basis for this installation was a form of protest against Denmark's (also the UK & USA's) involvement with the war in Iraq.

The tank, complete with pink cosy and a pom-pom (!) hanging off the end of the cannon, was situated outside the Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center in Copenhagen in April 2006. As Marianne says, "When [the tank] is covered in pink, it becomes completely unarmed and it loses it's authority. Pink becomes a contrast in both material and color when combined with the tank."

Click to find out more about: Craftivism (definition) | Marianne Jorgensen | The UK DIY movement!

Blast from the Past

Day Six: Revisit a past F/O; Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted, whether it is the hat your sister wears to school almost every day, or a pair of socks you wore until they were full of hole. Or maybe that jumper that you did but just didn’t like that much…

The 'Finished Object' (FO) I've chosen is one that ended up being quite significant. It was also a project that was a departure from what I usually make. It was actually a special request from a lovely lady who had seen pictures of my Space Invader scarves. These are made from Merino lambswool on my vintage mechanichal Knitmaster knitting machine with Fair Isle aliens, then felted, and the floats cut. So quite different really to an equivalent hand knit. She asked if I could design and make a Pac-Man scarf.

I said yes, of course. Nothing like a challenge to get your creative juices flowing! Ultimately it was agreed that the level of detailing required the scarf to be hand knitted. What I love about the old-school games is the simple pixel images translate remarkably well into knitting patterns because of their geometric composition.


I had not hand knitted many motifs in this manner before that point, so it was a great way to build up my confidence getting the balance of tension right between the different yarns and stranding the non-working colour across the back of the design.
It's a design I spent quite a bit of time trying to get right, and it was definitely worth it.

After that, I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone asked me to make a scarf with the ghosts on it! I was glad to be asked because it was an idea I'd actually had floating around in my head for a good while before being asked to design it.


Turns out it too was quite a hit! One incarnation of this Pinky scarf even ended up in the UK DIY exhibition, I'm very proud to say.

WildCat Designs is 4!

Yes, the idea which began as a notion to produce my own designs after graduating from a textile degree, WildCat Designs, is four years old, and going strong!

I couldn't be happier about that, and never dreamed it would get this far...

This year has been a busy one and has seen my work featured in an exhibition (UK DIY), blogged about by some lovely people (such as UK Handmade), posted to various corners of the globe, and I even reached a big milestone just last month: 150 sales on etsy!

Woolly world domination, here I come :D

On a more serious note, my little business would not have survived for this long, were it not for the help and support of my friends and family over the years. I also have to say, it's also been quite a thrill to hear from, and get, customers from far-flung corners of the world, places I never thought I would be sending my creations to. There are some really rather well-travelled scarves out there...

Even more remarkable, there is even one scarf, which, extraordinarily, saved someone's life. If that isn't motivation to keep making them, I don't know what is!



It doesn't stop here...the Christmas rush is already well underway, I am knitting more scarves than ever, just to keep up with demand! The last date for placing a custom order in time for Christmas has now passed. However (a little heads-up here), I'll still be offering the custom skinny striped lambswool scarves for a little while to come.

In the meantime, find me here:

Facebook * Twitter * Ravelry

...or start your Christmas shopping here:

Etsy ($) * Bigcartel (£) * DaWanda (€)

A Crafty Journey

This week has been pretty busy, but my busiest day had to be Wednesday. I got up at dawn to catch a train to Greater Manchester. The purpose of my trip was to visit the crafty "UK DIY" exhibition at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh. Partly out of curiosity and partly because some of my work is actually in said exhibition!

I was not disappointed. Right from the start, when I saw some trees wearing pieces of knitting by ArtYarn outside the gallery (also known as yarn boming or graffiti with knitted/crocheted fabric!), I knew it was going to be good.



Then I went into the building and right at the top of the stairs was some lovely mixed media work by Kay Haskins, influenced by nostalgia, the loss of memory that Alzheimers patients suffer and the life experiences of different generations.



This was a nice lead into the UK DIY exhibition. The first thing that caught my eye was all the gigantic sculptural knit and crochet pieces! I was also amused by the 'mathematic' crochet:



Other sculptural offerings included this amazing piece made entirely out of ordinary drinks straws, rendering them decidedly extraordinary!



I thought these flowers made from recycled fizzy drink cans were great.



The Techno-crafting section of the exhibition included my very own work, so naturally I was more than a little excited to see it in situ!



Next to it are funky pixel-inspired jewellery creations by spugmeistress. She was also responsible for at least one of the fab 'zines on display:



One of the things I was most impressed by was the knitted pillar cosy which even incorporated a 'neck' for the thermostat. How awesome!



Then there was the incredibly detailed knitted landscape, which made me smile.



I thought the interactive elements of the exhibition were really quite good. There was a cosy knitting area:



...where you could even have a go at french knitting:



Then, finally, alongside a pom-pom tree, was the craftivism section, including the Oxfam quilt, which is a knitted petition. Each square represents one of the 1,400 women worldwide who die every day in childbirth or pregnancy because of a lack of healthcare and medicines.



I was especially delighted to see Marjanne Jorgensen's knitted pink M24 Chaffee tank cosy as I submitted my own 15 x 15 cm square as part of this project back in 2006!



All in all, an inspiring and fun exhibition which encouraged people to get involved and have a go too. Always a good thing, in my opinion! :)

For more about UK DIY happenings, please see www.ukdiycraft.com.

P.S. Please click any of the above images in my post to have a better look.

UK DIY

I'm very excited to announce that there are some WildCat Designs 'artefacts' on display at the recently-opened UK DIY exhibition. It's on at the Turnpike Gallery in Leigh, Greater Manchester and runs until the 25th of April 2009. It's part of a larger series of UK DIY events and projects taking place throughout 2009 - see www.ukdiycraft.com for more information.

The exhibition is an exploration and celebration of modern British Craft and includes the work of many innovative UK and international makers as well as community projects. It also incorporates a hands-on element where visitors can get involved have a go at crafting themselves!



There are a couple of my creations in the 'techno-crafting' section, relating to work influenced by the iconography of 1908s video games :) You can probably guess that one of my Space Invaders numbers is present and correct!