Return to
nature - Part 1
More and more people are moving to cities or large conurbations. What remains is a yearning for nature, for the supposedly simple life in the country.
Of course, we can’t just move house to satisfy that yearning, but there are a lot of ways we can bring more colour and a taste of the country into our homes and our cities.
Many of you will be familiar with urbans trends such as yarn bombing or guerrilla knitting. We talk to some of the pioneers of this scene and show you just how much you can achieve with very basic resources…
You can also bring the countryside into your home quickly and easily with our addiExpress Kingsize and addiExpress Professional knitting machines.
Many of you will be familiar with urbans trends such as yarn bombing or guerrilla knitting. We talk to some of the pioneers of this scene and show you just how much you can achieve with very basic resources…
You can also bring the countryside into your home quickly and easily with our addiExpress Kingsize and addiExpress Professional knitting machines.
Embrace nature.
Fancy a bit of sun and sea today? Take a look at our addiExpress “Winding Nautical Stitches” pattern book for great ideas that are easy to make, both for the addiExpress Professional and the addiExpress Kingsize.
Embrace nature.
Fancy a bit of sun and sea today? Take a look at our addiExpress “Winding Nautical Stitches” pattern book for great ideas that are easy to make, both for the addiExpress Professional and the addiExpress Kingsize.
Ever heard of guerrilla knitting or yarn bombing?
Elke Hahn aka Gassenmaschen explains. “Yarn bombing is crochet or knitting for public spaces. It is an attempt to use wool to put something utterly unexpected in the urban environment; something completely different from the other, usual features of that space.
Ever heard of guerrilla knitting or yarn bombing?
Elke Hahn aka Gassenmaschen explains. “Yarn bombing is crochet or knitting for public spaces. It is an attempt to use wool to put something utterly unexpected in the urban environment; something completely different from the other, usual features of that space.
The cityscape contains a lot of grey asphalt, buildings, advertising hoardings, railings, cars, traffic lights – knitted or crocheted items really stand out in this environment.
The material is soft, warm and colourful, not hard and cold. It creates a scene that is striking in its contradictions. This is a special form of street art.”
Ute Krugman adds that
“knitted and crocheted pieces in public spaces highlight trees, trellises, lanterns, doorknobs, lampposts, etc., which feature inspiring artworks that ideally have a message for the observer”.
The cityscape contains a lot of grey asphalt, buildings, advertising hoardings, railings, cars, traffic lights – knitted or crocheted items really stand out in this environment.
The material is soft, warm and colourful, not hard and cold. It creates a scene that is striking in its contradictions. This is a special form of street art.”
Ute Krugman adds that
“knitted and crocheted pieces in public spaces highlight trees, trellises, lanterns, doorknobs, lampposts, etc., which feature inspiring artworks that ideally have a message for the observer”.
Interview
Elke Hahn and Ute Krugmann are prolific specialists in this field.
Elke Hahn and Ute Krugmann are prolific specialists in this field.
Elke Hahn tells us that
- in 2017, I set the world record for crochet ‘hats for posts’ in Stuttgart.
- In 2019, I co-organised and co-designed the www.wollkenkratzer.de project in Frankfurt.
- In 2020, there were various yarnbombing projects in Germany, including in Stuttgart, Schwäbisch Hall and Constance. On 3 October 2020, Ina Werner and I created a German unity scene in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
- In 2021, the project “Hotspot gegen Corona” [“Hotspots against coronavirus”] was launched with the Yarngang. The starting point was Stuttgart, more than 2800 colourful crocheted butterflies flitted from an old chestnut tree out across the whole of Germany; handicraft enthusiasts in 18 other towns and cities from Munich to the North picked up the idea and crocheted their own colourful butterflies to create more “Hotspots gegen Corona”. There was even a hotspot against coronavirus in Switzerland.
I also took part in yarnbombing festivals in Rossiniere, Switzerland (with Heike Unger), in Milan, Italy and in Mexico City (with Heike Unger).
Other projects followed in various towns and cities from Hamburg to Baden-Baden.
My first crochet exhibition, entitled “Die Maschen der Autor:innen” [“Authors’ Schtick and Stitches”], will be held in Stuttgart in April 2022. I want to show, in my own way, the people behind the stories we all love so much and present my crochet versions of authors from all over the world, from a whole range of genres and eras.
Another major project in a German city is coming in the autumn of 2022.
Update: The 1st International Yarnboming Festival - the Woolinale - will take place in Cologne at the end of March 2023.
Elke Hahn and Ute Krugmann are prolific specialists in this field.
Elke Hahn and Ute Krugmann are prolific specialists in this field.
Elke Hahn tells us that
- in 2017, I set the world record for crochet ‘hats for posts’ in Stuttgart.
- In 2019, I co-organised and co-designed the www.wollkenkratzer.de project in Frankfurt.
- In 2020, there were various yarnbombing projects in Germany, including in Stuttgart, Schwäbisch Hall and Constance. On 3 October 2020, Ina Werner and I created a German unity scene in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
- In 2021, the project “Hotspot gegen Corona” [“Hotspots against coronavirus”] was launched with the Yarngang. The starting point was Stuttgart, more than 2800 colourful crocheted butterflies flitted from an old chestnut tree out across the whole of Germany; handicraft enthusiasts in 18 other towns and cities from Munich to the North picked up the idea and crocheted their own colourful butterflies to create more “Hotspots gegen Corona”. There was even a hotspot against coronavirus in Switzerland.
I also took part in yarnbombing festivals in Rossiniere, Switzerland (with Heike Unger), in Milan, Italy and in Mexico City (with Heike Unger).
Other projects followed in various towns and cities from Hamburg to Baden-Baden.
My first crochet exhibition, entitled “Die Maschen der Autor:innen” [“Authors’ Schtick and Stitches”], will be held in Stuttgart in April 2022. I want to show, in my own way, the people behind the stories we all love so much and present my crochet versions of authors from all over the world, from a whole range of genres and eras.
Another major project in a German city is coming in the autumn of 2022.
Update: The 1st International Yarnboming Festival - the Woolinale - will take place in Cologne at the end of March 2023.
“In 2011, I founded the ‘Maschen-Gilde Osnabrück’, a loose association of knitting and crochet artists whose creations are a constant source of entertainment, surprise and amazement.
Output in collaboration with cultural affairs departments, advertising associations, festivals and PR campaigns:
- 2011: “Wenn die Laterne lila Strümpfe trägt” [“When the lampposts wear purple stockings”] in Osnabrück
- 2012: “Knit your style” night-time yarn bombing for the adidas “Neo” brand
- 2013: “Bohmter Frühling” festival
- Planned for 07-21 August 2022: “Neue Blickwinkel in der Natur” [New perspectives in nature] in Osnabrück Botanical Gardens.
As you can see, yarn bombing comes in all shapes and sizes and is now widespread. There are international yarn bombing festivals where artists from all over the world exhibit their crochet.
“In 2011, I founded the ‘Maschen-Gilde Osnabrück’, a loose association of knitting and crochet artists whose creations are a constant source of entertainment, surprise and amazement.
Output in collaboration with cultural affairs departments, advertising associations, festivals and PR campaigns:
- 2011: “Wenn die Laterne lila Strümpfe trägt” [“When the lampposts wear purple stockings”] in Osnabrück
- 2012: “Knit your style” night-time yarn bombing for the adidas “Neo” brand
- 2013: “Bohmter Frühling” festival
- Planned for 07-21 August 2022: “Neue Blickwinkel in der Natur” [New perspectives in nature] in Osnabrück Botanical Gardens.
As you can see, yarn bombing comes in all shapes and sizes and is now widespread. There are international yarn bombing festivals where artists from all over the world exhibit their crochet.
Would you like to enter the fray?
We will soon be sharing more about the origins of yarn bombing, what yarn is best and, of course, which addi hooks you need.
Mrs. Krugmann
Would you like to enter the fray?
We will soon be sharing more about the origins of yarn bombing, what yarn is best and, of course, which addi hooks you need.
Mrs. Krugmann
