ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

Video of 490 houses installation at Gunzenhausen, Germany 4-5th June 2011

Knit Houses Installation

490 Knitted Houses, Lest We forget

An installation by the artist Stephanie Rhode in Gunzenhausen, Germany

Artist from Amsterdam stirs people from all over Europe into action for exchange of thought.

For two days the Market place of Gunzenhausen was the centre of an installation by the Artist Stephanie Rhode from Amsterdam. 490 houses with knitted facades were set up. In a very special way they brought back to life the memory of members of the Jewish community throughout time.

Rhode mobilised numerous people from Germany and other country’s all over the world to knit covers to form facades for simple miniature houses. These houses were set up at the market place as part of an intense operation lasting two days to bring back to memory the homes of former Jewish citizens to participants and visitors alike.

The installation, the knitting people as well as phrases from conversations between the artist and participants during and after the exhibition were documented in a book.

The installation continued to have an effect, even after the knitted houses had been taken down, because every house rested on a purposely positioned piece of gold leaf on the ground of the market place. As the remaining outlines of gold leaf, reminiscent of the houses, wore away in the everyday life of the market place, we were reminded that
something used to be there.

Text: Ingo Heizelmann

I knitted 2 of the houses for this installation and had hoped to be present for the installation in Gunzenhausen, sadly in the end we could not make that journey as we were in the middle of the process of relocating back to New Zealand.

I have been working with the hyperbolic plane and Fibonacci sequence for managing increases. I have considered how to create and Work a Juxl Puzzle in yarn, and then see if there is a way to use the resulting design – not there on that one yet. I am fairly sure that the rhombus should be a doddle. The piece cannot be like a patchwork – it will have to be different somehow. Will keep you posted.

In geometry, a rhombus or rhomb is a quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. The rhombus is often called a diamond, after the diamonds suit in playing cards, or a lozenge, though the latter sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 45° angle.
Every rhombus is a parallelogram, and a rhombus with right angles is a square.
The English word “rhombus” derives from the Ancient Greek ῥόμβος (rhombos), meaning “spinning top”. The plural of rhombus can be either rhombi or rhombuses.

Fortunately I have time yet.

Mr Wolfe might have been pleased, although I am sure he would not have taken to knitting as a method for explaining maths to a 15 year old.

Sunrise Circle is a jacket that I want to create a version of – just because it is a circle – something quite different to my own pieces.

Kate Gilbert - sunrise circle jacket

The pattern can be found on this link and it really is the jacket you will want to wear with jeans, to the office and even for a night out. Two half circles overlap to form a neatly fitted cardigan with tapered sleeves. The sweater begins at the wrist and is worked up to the armhole then out across the front where strategically placed increases create a rounded edge. The curved edge is hemmed for a tailored finish. The back’s gentle darts add flattering waist shaping. The cardigan closes with simple toggle buttons.

It is a stunning jacket and very versatile. You can see other patterns by Kate Gilbert You can also see other patterns by the Twist Collective group here.

I created the original post in June 2011 – so that I will be reminded to consider a circular jacket at some time. It has been sitting in my draft list for very nearly a year. Time to say it will be on my to do list along with steeks courtesy of Christel Seyfarth

Clapotis

whatever shall I use to create my Clapotis?

I know I have forms to fill, stuff to plan etc. because we are relocating to New Zealand soon. But some mornings just require something else.

This morning I found a lovely summery yarn in my stash. Linie 238 Bagno. It is a 55% cotton and 45% Rayon variegated yarn with thick and thin sections in gorgeous colours evocative of the summer we are now longing for. link to Online-yarns.de product information

So while that Best Beloved worked on his forms for a new passport and those details needed for the relocation company I knitted a little moebius scarflette – using the lovely Cat Bordhi’s magic cast on and then did increases using the hyperbolic plane method. After the first row I knitted 5 rows with an increase every five stitches and ended up with a little something to wear around the neck – not too big, not too small, just right to add some colour over something light and summery.

It was a pleasure to knit, ever so easy. Knit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and increase; knit 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and increase till I was back at my stitch marker and cast off. Almost knitting a haiku. Needle size was 6.5mm.

Now I have to get back to that “To-do List” for our journeys ahead.

Bring on that summer, you hear!