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I Don’t Quite Know What to Think of This

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sweater flashmobI just had a link to this video come across my Facebook feed courtesy of Caron International’s Facebook feed, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.

The link is to a video on Vimeo about one Loes Veenstra, resident of Rotterdam, who has been knitting sweaters since 1955 and tucking them away in her home.

There are more than 500 of them.

No one had ever worn them until this video was made.

It’s part fashion show, part flash mob. There’s a whole marching band decked out in coordinating black and white sweaters. And a trio singing “So Happy Together” by the Turtles. And the knitter herself in a throne-like chair in the middle of the street, decked out not in a sweater but in a fleece poncho.

Give it a look and if you can make more sense of it than I have, let me know. I’m mostly just wondering what would possess someone to knit so many sweaters and never give them to anyone?

If you can read Dutch, there’s apparently a book about the sweaters coming out, which you can read more about here.

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Comments

  1. I’m a Dutch student living in the States and have seen the video show up on FB last week multiple times. Hope this helps:
    For more information, please read this translation of the important parts of the NRC article:

    Designer Christien Meindertsma stumbled upon the collection Loes Veenstra has been making. The production level was higher than the give-away-rate. The designer decided to take pictures of them and create a book.

    She has made a wide array of different sweaters and they show the knitting culture as well as fashion sense through the last couple decades.

    Loes didn’t know that this what happened in the video was going to happen. She just knew about the book and was very surprised as well as happy to see all her work together. It was a true flashmob.

    The project is also part of a larger initiative to characterize living in the neighborhood in Rotterdam she lives in.

    http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2012/11/24/kijken-de-500-zelfgebreide-truien-van-loes-veenstra/

Have you read?

Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.” 

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them. 

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits. 

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves. 

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit. 

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy. 

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]