ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

knitter, designer, sometimes artist
Danish born, NZ raised, resident in The Netherlands since Sept. 2008

ConnieLene has been knitting since the mid 1950’s and began designing her own pieces soon after she started her family. She has been an avid crafter all her life and has created pieces using skills of basket weaving, marbling, tie dying fabrics, crocheting, knitting etc.

She is also a very creative cook and as a young teenager of 15/16 she was one of 12 finalists in “Cook of the Year” a New Zealand recipe and cooking competition. This meant she had to attend a bakeoff – cooking her own recipe and a recipe of one of the other finalists. As luck would have it the recipe she drew from the hat was that of the ultimate winner.

She has created / designed many many more pieces than she has a record of and they have gone all over the world.

Craft / Art Experience:

1973/74 – Cook Street Market – Auckland. – designed and created knit and crochet garments for babies & children, hats & waistcoats of many colours for adults. One passion was multi coloured shawls which she did both knit and crochet. She has also created garments after tie dying the fabrics. She professes that she cannot sew but she did sew hippy style shirts to sell at the market. Weaving natural cane baskets was also a passion at that time.

In 1974 or 75 Connie also had a stall at the Parnell markets where she sold machine knitted sweaters and received her first commisions for fair isle machine knitted sweaters and cardigans

1976/78 – Craft group in Titirangi, New Zealand – she shared her extensive knowledge of knitting, crochet, basket weaving as well as the tie dying of fabrics.

1982/3 – Craft group at Arahoe Primary School – Titirangi, New Zealand. Connie taught various crafts to school children including crochet and basket weaving.

1990 – Workshop “Marbling on fabric & paper” with Maxine Lovegrove – Auckland, New Zealand which developed further her interesting use of colour in her beautifully crafted pieces.

In the Netherlands she has added felting, shadow knitting, Hyperbolic planes, and now knitted graffiti to her list of artistic expression.

As an artist she is passionate about colour and texture and uses her knits to surprise and encourage in the wearer a confidence of expression. A confidence to wear the unusual and to enjoy how it feels and how the colours shift and adjust depending on the light of the day or space one is in. A confidence to wear magic – and it is magic.