…but i like it. I know that the tactile graphic trend is everywhere, but hey, lets enjoy it while we can. Two lovely things i saw in the gym this morning

This audi ad with plinky plonky folk music

And also this rex the dog music video (love the little puddle of puke)

Today i want to sing the praises of illustrator / designer Yulia Brodskaya and her amazingly detailed papercraft. Did you see this cover of G2 just before Christmas? It really caught my attention.

Quilling is the art of paper curling. Long thin strips of paper are curled around what is essentially a round stick. Obviously, most of the stuff out there is all flowers and bonnets, so i love that Yulia has made it look so contemporary. Want to give it a try? Get involved.

I know this is a very random post, but i can’t help but notice all the crazy customised shoes i’ve been collecting on weheartit.

Here’s a selection of highlights.

rush hour shoe
from javirroyo

Scary invasion shoe
by jethro haynes

Meat shoe
nor sure of origin of this one, but comes via designyoutrust.com

Lovely grass shoes, so you always have grass under your bare feet
nice work from mischief pr

10 points for anyone who can find some more.

As both a knitter and a web / interactive stuff designer, i’m fascinated by the space between interaction design and craft.

Leah Buechley invented the lillypad (a kind squidgy version of the arduino), and in the talk below speaks about getting knitters and grannies and the like involved in innovation and interaction design.

Design Futures: Leah Buechley (MIT Media Lab) – New Craft – A Marriage of High and Low Tech from Elizabeth Goodman on Vimeo.

We are not quite at the point of getting my gran writing processing just yet, Leah admits, but i genuinely love the idea of technology as an extension of craft. Also a common theme of the work she shows seems to be exposing the circuit and making it part of the asthetic, see this flickr set on the paper circuit, or have a look at the things people are making with conductive embroidery.

Conductive embroidery from make magazine

Interactive paper

“The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee.
It permits a number of possible uses and each
designer can look for a solution appropriate to his
personal style. But one must learn how to use the
grid; it is an art that requires practice.”
Josef Müller-Brockmann

My Auntie Rose died this morning. Overall, it’s very sad, but she was 90 years old (a great aunt, you see), which is a good innings in anyone’s book.

Rose was a prolific knitter, and knitted literally hundreds and hundreds of squares, making blankets for lots of different charities… the kind of productivity some of us could only dream of.

Ahh. The humble knitted square. As fancy or as straight up and down as you like. A long bit of string in a great big knot – but don’t be fooled, a knitted square might change the world:

Clean water

Back in 2007 iKnit London created a knitted river over 2000 ft long to raise awareness of of Water aid international. See all the photos here Can you see my square? It’s in there somewhere…

Curing Cancer

Stitch and Bitch London created a 52ft scarf for London’s Lions in Trafalgar Square, raising money for Cancer research.

So where does this leave me? It leaves me knitting some humble little squares, trying to change the world with bits of string.

I’m now the proud owner of a pair of huge knitting needles, from wool ‘n’ boats
I’m completely in love with them. They come up to my shoulders and lead to several interesting conversations with strangers at the bar and bus stop last night.

My first giant knitting attempt at fabrications produced this

Its a kind of collar / wrap thingy. Ok, not sure when or where exactly I (or anyone else for that matter) would wear such a thing, but knitting with strips of fabric (in this case lace) is an absolute revelation to me.

As is casting on this way

Rather than this way

This is the sort of thing that is very exciting for my inner knitting geek.

For some big knitting inspiration, check out:
Sebastian Schönheit’s massive knitted rope fabric

Do your socks look like this?

If so, you might like to go and see Michael Swaine, who is going door to door fixing peoples clothes and talking to them about sewing. Most of us could make things last a little longer and throw away a little less if we bothered to learn the basics. In this clip Swaine explains that the project has just as much to do with the community as the clothes:

Find out more about Door to Door darning in London here and here