I think knitting is cool. Obviously! I never thought that it was uncool, to be honest, and I don’t see it as something fashionable either. I think it has always been contemporary, present and current in every era. But what about what we think -or better-, what do YOU think of knitting? I said it before. There is this stereotype that I want to break down. You know what I am talking about. Don’t we all have the image in our head? The one of a grandma sitting in front of a fireplace, knitting socks and hats for soldiers or grandkids.
Well, first of all, knitting is not – anymore – just a clear-cut necessity. I can obviously live without knitting. But when I knit, it makes my life better. If this isn’t cool, then what is? Secondly, I am not old. Not as old as a grandma at least. Thirdly, I like to think that I knit cool things. Products you use in the everyday life. Bookmarks, coasters, blankets, scarves, hats, you name it. You can have a look below and tell me what you think.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that “good ol’ knitting” is boring. On the contrary, I really think that it is useful and we can learn a lot from experienced knitters, grandmothers that is, especially from their techniques. They can certainly be applied in the making of new products or even come up with other ways of using it.
What do I mean by that? Knitting has so many aspects. It is not just about creating clothing or decoration. Knitting is also part of the arts. From fashion design to – my personal favorite – yarn bombing. Ha! Yarn bombing is such an awesome topic. It is basically the graffiti of knitting. Check this out:
Now. Don’t tell me that this is not cool! What I am trying to say is, stereotypes can be broken. Like views on certain things can actually be changed, as long as you are open to it and willing to see things in another way. So I think that knitting, this unpretentious and humble art, can be very cool indeed and fascinating. Depending on how we see it and via its ancient and very precious techniques we can reinvent it, make wonders out of it. And finally, realizing that it is oh-so-cool!
Till next time.
Love & Craft,
p.s. Magda Sayeg, the mother of yarn bombing, and one of my favorite artists, talks about the power of craft here.
Pretty cool!
I didn’t know that was a term for this kind of artistic interventions.
While I was reading your post, I thought about the crocheted tree at Zurich HB. And it was made by a Brazilian artist.
Would you know more yarn bombing artists we could follow?
Hey Patricia! Yes!! I did visit the installation you are referring to and I was in total awe!! The artist is Ernesto Neto and the name of the project is GaiaMotherTree. It was an interactive installation, you could actually go inside the giant crocheted tree and lie down, as there was space for mediation etc. I would like to write more about this yarn bombing movement in a future post. So stay tuned!??
I like the revolver, that’s pretty cool…
yes, it is! A knitted gun gives a totally new meaning to the whole holding a gun feeling.
Really cool, I didn’t even know that it’s called Yarn Bombing 😀
Question, are there different (new) knitting techniques involved that our grandmothers don’t know?
Yes!! Yarn bombing is pretty amazing! ? There are always new knitting techniques,.I mean everyone can invent new stitches or ways to knit or crochet. But it all has a solid base from old techniques. The ”new” thing I would say is that knitting machines are used now sometimes. These are connected to computer programs and you can load the pattern design you want to get. ??
I love that modern sort of graffiti.
But the most important question – can you teach me how to knight in order for me to reduce my stress? 😀
YESSSSS!!!! of course!! I will let you know whether a knitting workshop will happen!