ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

In my 3 years in the Netherlands I added knit graffiti to several concrete balls in Haarlem and in Maastricht. I no longer search for balls to embellish in the public arena as I was doing whilst living there in the cold Northern climes.

But on Friday – I was driving through the Manukau City Centre trying to find my way home after my sister dropped me off at my parked car, and after I bought the book “Wild Jewellery” at Whitcoulls.

And I got a bit lost, you might say, trying to get back to the motorway after a wrong turn after leaving the parking building. I seemed to be driving by some tall apartment buildings and council buildings until I got onto Station Road – at least I think that is what it was called. I was crossing crossroads – from a give way sign and out of the corner of my eye I spied; you guessed it, some concrete balls (at least 6 maybe 8 from the angle where I spied them). There was nowhere to stop and so I continued onto the motorway.

I hope someone knows where these balls actually are, as I would love the circumference, cause they could need some brightening up and I have not done that to a concrete ball for a year or so now.

So I was going from the parking building left between some tall buildings heading south towards a road which I turned left onto which travelled between the shopping mall and the amusement park Rainbows End towards the motorway. If you know where that is, please let me know. If you are there and have a tape measure – please record the circumference and send it to me and maybe you will find a ball or 2 suitably attired some time in the future.

Snowing, a grey ball being disguised as a snow ball

History:

Who stole the balls of Haarlem

Haarlem, A city without balls

Ball Warmer without a home

Memorial Day Tour April 30th 2011

Lost Balls of Haarlem

Fitting a Ball Warmer

Vodafone Ball Cover Install photos

Today I drove to Mangawhai, north of Auckland, from Miranda (about 185k’s if you go the direct route) to have lunch with some terrific people that I went to primary school with ever so many years ago. I was a bit late having driven the long way there and also included Orewa and Kaiwaka on my route. The restaurant was the Frog and Kiwi, a small restaurant with interesting salt and pepper shakers! you probably guessed already but just in case – one was a frog and the other a Kiwi.

I had a great French Onion Soup and a really good long black.

But the tree, Oh Yes the tree. On the way to Mangawhai I drove into Orewa to deliver a Beanie to Karl and I also stopped to see a tree at the Estuary Arts Centre And it was worthwhile doing so as this tree is festooned with all sorts of yarny things which seems to have happened during a KIP (Knit in Public) event held there during this last week.

They certainly had a psychedelic knit in public day in Orewa. It is a magnificently adorned tree. The Estuary Knitters celebrated WWKIP (World Wide Knitting In Public) day very well indeed.

Crikey it has taken me a bit of time to do this little write up. Shame on me really because within the digital pages of Entangled is an article about moi – and I don’t think I have really told anyone yet. Why is that – well I have been dealing with computer issues for some months, and I am sure that I have told you that. Of course now I have my fully featured, fully functional, but without all my data laptop back I have months of stuff to catch up on and as we are moving countries soon this may be my last real post for 2 or 3 months, maybe.

But this is really about the new on-line magazine from New Zealand “Entangled”. The brain child of Genny Stevens et al, of Crafternoon tea with Grannyg fame

You can review Entangled via the link below:

Click on “Inside” in centre of the screen, then on “Preview this article” followed by another click on the magazine cover of Entangled to reach the screen which has characters along the bottom including arrows. Click on the arrow pointing to the right to turn the pages and enjoy.

There is no cost for turning the pages digitally through this, the preview FREE offering of Entangled to view the delights of a glorious glossy full of ideas and information, inspiration and opportunity to delight and create. Go on have a look. Turn that digital page and you will see Knit graffiti underlined on the next page – and if you do nothing else here do click on Knit Graffiti and it will take you to an article about, you guessed it – Knit Graffiti (stuff done by two oldies in the Netherlands – you may even know or recognise us, maybe). Then please do page through the rest of Entangled as there are many many delights therein.

You may remember that GrannyG interviewed me about 9 or 10 months ago Grannyg and moi talking across the world and there are many other interesting interviews and odd writings on Crafternoon Tea with Grannyg

Entangled Magazine is only available digitally, Issue 1 is out now and it looks great, Issue 2 will contain a story of a Sydney yarn crawl which beats a pub crawl any day. Although wine and gossip after the yarn crawl will surely have followed.

You can become entangled with “Entangled Magazine” on twitter @entangledmag and if you like, you can like “Entangled Magazine” on Facebook.

Just in case you thought it – No they didn’t bribe me and cross my palms with silver. I do think this is a great addition to the craft, art, yarn, fibre world wide arsenal of information and it is beautiful as well. You can’t get better than that.

Thank you Grannyg

apart from a print copy, maybe. I was a librarian after-all, and we fear the digital world, or we used to.

Haarlem Ball Warmer Memorial tour & install – Queen’s Day, 30th April 2011

We took our snowball with its orange hat to view some of the lovely cafes and bars that we visit for jazz, blues, rock and wine and good company prior to installing on one of the shiny posts that now stand like the row of teeth on a comb in the Grote Markt of Haarlem.

I just can’t wait to say it – and I still have the medium length gloves to complete.

BUT I love this pattern and I cannot believe that I have actually created something using a lace pattern, even a very simple lace pattern, and then it is for arms! I don’t create for arms!

But these are so much fun, I know what I shall be knitting for wintery presents – MY FINGERLESS GLOVEs or GAUNTLETs. The name is a very personal thing, it could be a glove, a mitten, gauntlet or lacy thingymebob to keep hand and arms warm in a stylish fashion, or just arm and hand warmers.

So for the short length – only 40 rows or to the length you want x 2 – as most people have two hands. Not at all daunting for the quick Christmas present.

My etsy listing for these gloves At only US $2.50 till 19th September. Pattern available from Monday 13th.

My short length PURPLE version is a one skein pattern, and will become a favourite. Wear it one way and you have the curve of the fan over your hand, turn it one turn and the narrow rib at the back sits along the thumb and the fan curves are now over your hand sides, as it were. Perfect for a chilly day, easy and quick to knit and oh so “In fashion” right now. Make a pair to match your various clothing colour themes.

So you live in a warmer climate! then use a cotton or bamboo, or other cooler fibre, as I have done with the full length green version. These are stunningly stylish, young and oh so cool – being cotton; and oh so cool – being fashionable.

Wikipedia: A glove (Middle English from Old English glof) is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called “fingerless gloves”. Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes called gauntlets.