BBC News - Knitwear artist kits out Antony Gormley sculptures

Two of sculptor Antony Gormley's iron men, which normally stand on a beach wearing nothing but rust and barnacles, have been given a multi-coloured make-over by a guerrilla knitwear artist.

Part of Gormley's Another Place series, the life-size figures have been on Crosby beach in Merseyside since 2005.

The head-to-toe crocheted outfits were added by New York-based artist Olek.

"I feel that barnacles provide the best cover-up, but this is very impressive substitute!" Gormley said.

By covering them and giving them a new skin, I made them more alive”

End Quote Olek

One figure was given a pink, purple and green crocheted jumpsuit, while the other was clad in white, grey and black.

Polish-born 34-year-old artist Agata Oleksiak, known as Olek, has previously surprised New Yorkers by giving the Wall Street bull similar treatment.

She has also covered everything from cars and grand pianos to an entire apartment and its contents in her trademark colourful crochet.

 

To read the full story click here.

Granny Stripes Blanket

Poppy red & Parchment.

TRAID

TRAID stands for Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development. We are a registered charity with three main objectives:

• To protect the environment by diverting clothes and shoes from landfill;
• To reduce world poverty by raising funds for overseas development projects; and
• To educate the UK public on environmental and world poverty issues.

In 1999, TRAID's current Chairman Ian Hagg, worked with the Charity Commission to close down Humana UK due to concerns over how the organisation was managed and funded. The remaining assets were used to establish TRAID in July 1999, a brand new charity dedicated to raising funds for international development by reusing and recycling unwanted clothes and shoes in the UK.

Since its launch, TRAID has gone from strength to strength and has won accolades for its ability to bring messages of recycling, fashion and world poverty to the general public and mainstream press.
In 1999, TRAID met Wayne Hemingway, founder of Red or Dead and famous for his love of second-hand clothes. Wayne agreed to become TRAID's patron and has supported the organisation through many events and interviews since.
TRAID's chain of retail shops expanded outside of London when TRAID Brighton opened in 2000.
In 2001, TRAIDremade was born when TRAID staff recognised the waste created by damaged clothing donated to TRAID. Instead of sending these pieces to landfill, TRAID decided to customise the clothing into new one-off items and sell them under a recycled fashion label.
In January 2002, TRAID brought second-hand and recycled clothing to the mainstream through a lucrative partnership with Topman. The leading high street chain bought second-hand, vintage and customised clothing from TRAID and stocked it in its Oxford Circus outlet until June 2003.
In 2003, TRAID launched its first Bag for Life, which was designed by Wayne Hemingway. The same year, TRAIDremade was a finalist in the National Recycling Awards.
TRAID established its hugely popular Education Programme at the end of 2003. Having started as a simple assembly addressing textile waste and recycling, school visits now consist of discussion activities on the relationship between climate change and world poverty, hands-on customising workshops and culminating events such as photoshoots and fashion shows.

Visit TRAID here.

Bright Vibrant Hexagon Granny Stripe Crochet Blanket

Just completed a new hexagon granny stripe blanket, bright & cheerful and not a square.

available in my etsy store click here.

Granny Stripes Circular Blanket

I have been working on this circular blanket for the past couple of days and am now in the process of blocking it.

Circular blankets like these are often referred to as Mandalas.

The pattern or tutorial for this blanket can be found over at Crochet with Raymond. 

Mandala

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thangka painting of Vajradhatu Mandala

Maṇḍala (मण्डल) is a Sanskrit word meaning "circle." In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point. Each gate is in the shape of a T.^[1][2] Mandalas often exhibit radial balance.^[3]

These mandalas, concentric diagrams, have spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism.^[4][5] The term is of Hindu origin and appears in the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in other Indian religions, particularly Buddhism. In the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, mandalas have been developed into sandpainting. They are also a key part of anuttarayoga tantra meditation practices.

In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts, as a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction. According to the psychologist David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises."^[6] The psychoanalyst Carl Jung saw the mandala as "a representation of the unconscious self,"^{[citation needed]} and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional disorders and work towards wholeness in personality.^[7]

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically, a microcosm of the Universe from the human perspective.^[

Crochet Hook Conversion Chart

CROCHET HOOK SIZES AND CONVERSIONS

METRIC SIZES(mm)	US SIZES	UK/CANADIAN
2.0	-	14
2.25	B/1	13
2.5	-	12
2.75	C/2	-
3.0	-	11
3.25	D/3	10
3.5	E/4	9
3.75	F/5	-
4.0	G/6	8
4.5	7	7
5.0	H/8	6
5.5	I/9	5
6.0	J/10	4
6.5	K/10 1/2	3
7.0	-	2
8.0	L/11	0
9.0	M/13	00
10.0	N/15	000

Source - Yarnfwd.com

Knitting Needle Conversion Chart

 

Metric Sizes UK Sizes US Sizes 2.0 mm 14 0 2.25 mm 13 1 2.75 mm 12 2 3.0 mm 11 - 3.25 mm 10 3 3.5 mm - 4 3.75 mm 9 5 4.0 mm 8 6 4.5 mm 7 7 5.0 mm 6 8 5.5 mm 5 9

Metric Sizes UK Sizes US Sizes 6.0 mm 4 10 6.5 mm 3 10 1/2 7.0 mm 2 - 7.5 mm 1 - 8.0 mm 0 11 9.0 mm 00 13 10.0 mm 000 15 12.0 mm - 17 16.0 mm - 19 19.0 mm - 35 25.0 mm - 50

Source - Laughinghens.com

Springtime Granny Square Picnic Blanket

Just completed this morning. Nice and bright fresh springtime colours.

Jubilee Knitting Pattern

Jubilee Free Knitting Pattern from berroco available here.

Arabesque Blanket Knitting Pattern.

Arabeasque Knitting Pattern by Berrocco available here.

Berroco® Free Knitting Patterns

 

Buss Cushion Pattern available here.

IKEA Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce.

 

Ingredients:

• 250gm minced beef
• 250gm minced pork
• 1 egg
• 200-300 ml cream and water (or milk and water) (I used half milk and half water)
• 2½ tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 50 ml or ½ cup of breadcrumbs.
• 2 cold boiled potatoes
• 4-5 tbsp butter, margarine or oil
• salt, white pepper (allspice)

Method:

1. Heat the onion until golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.
2. Mash the potatoes and moisten the breadcrumbs in a little water.
3. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth mixture of the right consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little fine-crushed allspice.
4. Use a pair of spoons rinsed in water, shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board, then fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

 

Ingredients for cream sauce:

• 100 ml cream
• 200 ml water or beef stock
• Chinese soya sauce (I used 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce.)
• 1 Tbsp white flour
• salt, white pepper

Method:

1. Swirl the water or beef stock in a pan. (Cook over medium heat.)
2. Add cream and thicken with white flour if preferred. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled potatoes (I used extra potatoes to make mashed potato), uncooked lingonberry jam (alternatively Cranberry Sauce) and salad.

Vail Mountain Wrap Crochet Pattern

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Wrap measures approximately 66 x 18"/167.5 x 45.5 cm.

GAUGE

One motif measures 6 x 6"/15 x 15cm

Gauge is not critical for this project.

STITCHES USED

Chain (ch), double crochet (dc), half double crochet (hdc), single crochet (sc), slip stitch (sl st)

SPECIAL TERM

beg-Cl: Beginning cluster—Ch 2, yarn over, insert hook in indicated sp and draw up a loop, [yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook] twice.

Cl: Cluster—Yarn over, insert hook in indicated sp and draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook; yarn over, insert hook in same sp and draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook.

dc2tog: Double crochet 2 sts together— [Yarn over, insert hook in next st and draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook] twice, yarn over and draw through all 3 loops on hook.

Free Pattern available at Naturally Caron.com Click Here.

Dewdrops Baby Blanket Crochet Pattern

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Blanket measures approximately 34"/86.5cm wide x 34"/86.5cm long, including border

GAUGE

In pattern, 5 pattern repeats = 8"/20.5cm, and 8 rows = 4"/10cm.

Gauge is not critical for this project.

STITCHES USED

Chain (ch), double crochet (dc), slip stitch (sl st)

Free Pattern available at Naturallycaron.com Click Here.

A New Month & A New Crochet Stripes Blanket.

Happy May and may the sun shine for everyone.