What’s What Wednesdays

Last week we learned about an 8-bit gold embroidered computer and the yarn recorder. This week I invite you to knit monopoly. Or if you prefer mystery knits, this year’s MIT Mystery Hunt included a knitting clue. [thank you for the link A!] In this article, One stitch at a time: Weaving rehab for Vietnam trafficking victims, we visit a textile cooperative in northern Vietnam’s Quan Ba district. It provides hope, income, and purpose to women of the Vietnamese Hmong hill tribes many of whose lives have been blighted by people trafficking while also preserving the local tradition of weaving. A jeans factory ...

The link between weaving and computing is well established. What if there was an embroidered computer? This is a working 8-bit universal electromechanical computer embroidered in gold! Can you use yarn (containing steel fibers) to record and playback sounds? Yes! Are you curious where your steel wool comes from? 😉 For the curious, steel wool is generally made of low-grade carbon steel wire, aluminum, bronze or stainless steel. If you’re looking to exercise more this year, please don’t forget to Knit Comfortably. Reviewed in Knitty, Deep Fall 2017 by AS. Knitty is for everyone. Are you interested in ...

It’s a new calendar year and your thoughts may turn to starting a new year-long project. I love that a frustrated commuter knit her train delays into a scarf! There’s also the Tempestry project, knitting visual representations of changing temperatures over time. If you’re looking for additional ideas, I recommend Knit the Sky by Lea Redmond (reviewed by Jillian in Knitty, issue 54 Winter 2015). Each week as I write these posts, I scour the internet to find interesting textile exhibits to share. I was delighted to discover this webpage that lists upcoming events around the globe! In Tokyo, Japan ...

When I need a visual pick-me-up, I often turn to the miniature crochet animals of the Su Ami family of knitters and crocheters (Vietnam). This fox is adorable! Moving toward full-sized animals, the work of artist Michele Beevors (New Zealand) recently caught my eye. She is knitting a 4m-high subadult African giraffe skeleton from a specimen at the Otago Museum. Her work reminded me of Ruth Marshal’s (Australia-America) big cats and Australian animals from a few years ago. (Marshall’s Ocelot #1 is pictured.) The Burke Prize 2018, the future of craft (part 2) is on view through March 17, 2019 at the Museum ...

Completed in 1876, Ellen Harding Baker’s Solar System Quilt is stunning. (It’s left me speechless.) I apologize for missing sharing this before the event. The 5th International Loinloom Festival concluded on on December 7 in Diezephe, India. Plan now for next year! Ancestral art of engraving felt revived thanks to a project by Iğdır University (Turkey). Remember, if you have a link of interest for What’s What Wednesday, please share it!

It’s the season of giving. Do you use yarn for your charitable work? Yarncanada.ca partnered with Bernat Yarn and Patons Yarn to give away a total of $2000 worth of yarn to 12 individuals and groups. The deadline to apply is December 31, 2018 and is is open to Canadians and Americans (sorry rest of the world!). Learn more and place your request at www.yarncanada.ca/for-good. Both of these articles make me think of free-form crochet. From The New York Times, “This Is the Way the Paper Crumples” and this video by Steve Mould shows Intricate Patterns Created With Sound. Do you track the residue of your ...

I love this report of plastic shopping bags being reused and crocheted or woven into mats for the homeless by residents in an independent and assisted-living facility in Gainesville, GA. Some may with they had access to this fundraiser for ‘underappreciated’ knitted items (this particular endeavor is local to Waterloo, Canada). Museum roundup: On the morning of Sunday December 9th, museum members can enjoy Knitting at the MFA (Boston, Massachusetts). Please note that tickets are required. ST Presents Museum Confidential: The World-Famous Crochet Museum an audio podcast about the World Famous Crochet Museum in Joshua ...

The Tangled History of Weaving with Spider Silk explores some of spider silk weaving’s history. While this article is a few years old, I think The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool pairs nicely with this new one, Unique multi-tasking combinations. Knitty has featured coded designs, see Morse code mittens (First Fall 2011) and the QR-key scarf (First Fall 2013). Twisted, Twined, and Woven: Contemporary Fiber Art is a new exhibit at the Cahoon Museum of American Art (Cotuit, MA USA) that looks how textile art is evolving. It is on view through December 22.

It turns out creativity is difficult to define. That’s the finding of why it’s a challenge to describe what what an artificial intelligence is doing. If you didn’t see it earlier this year, neural networks have already been used to create knitting designs, skyknit. If you’re confused by AI, this chart and article from the MIT Technology Review may help. The New York Times released a short documentary, While I Yet Live about the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. The story of these women, their bold voices, their quilting, and their craft is one of love. Fiber artist Kimber Follevaag and ...

I write these posts the day before (it’s currently early on Election Day in the U.S.). I can’t foresee the future, so I hope you’ll enjoy some animal cuteness I found. First up is