Crochet Guevara
“Agata Oleksiak covers everything from mundane household objects to public sculptures to people. Her largest installation to date is a fifteen-by-fourteen-foot studio apartment, wherein every wall, picture frame, television, and toilet is wrapped in its own custom sweater. Originally stitched in Olek’s own Park Slope apartment, the crocheted mini-universe is currently exhibiting at Christopher Henry Gallery in Nolita, where it will remain until May 28.”
- More here
May 25, 2011 at 5:11 pm
The funniest/weirdest bits are her bedroom which she covered in sext’s from ex-lovers. Some of them are really bizarre lol
May 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Like the classic;
“I passed out, I think I came first though”
May 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm
I don’t begin to understand why that’s a former partner…
May 25, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Or how she found a partner at all. Especially one that stayed around long enough to be crocheted over.
May 25, 2011 at 9:11 pm
I’m still trying to figure out how two people completely covered in crocheted suits could have sex. Did she include handy little openings for the genetalia in the pattern?
May 26, 2011 at 5:19 am
Two words: knitted condoms
May 27, 2011 at 9:17 am
Two better words: crocheted condoms.
May 25, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Wow! that is dedication to ones art.
Probably very itchy and warm too.
May 25, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Im terrified.
May 25, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Not to mention soggy. That’s just what I’ve always wanted–all my bathroom fixtures covered in yarn. Not to mention the person crapping while covered in yarn. I guess toilet paper is no longer necessary.
May 25, 2011 at 5:43 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Agree, I got itcy just looking at it.
May 25, 2011 at 5:12 pm
I want the wall hanging.
May 25, 2011 at 5:44 pm
It needs to be sterilized by fire first. The image of the person crapping in a full knit body suit is not going away any time soon in my mind
May 25, 2011 at 5:13 pm
What? The iron, too? That’s a fire waiting to happen.
May 25, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Naw, acrylic just melts.
May 25, 2011 at 5:13 pm
I’m frightened.
May 25, 2011 at 5:14 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 5:29 pm
That’s a good thing, because she’s having an exhibition soon. Seriously.
May 25, 2011 at 5:38 pm
I don’t understand why people say this when someone exercises their craft to extreme, exhaustive levels. You don’t say it when you see someone smoking or watching TV or something.
May 25, 2011 at 5:44 pm
I do.
May 25, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I prefer to smoke, watch TV *and* crochet simultaneously.
May 25, 2011 at 9:14 pm
I’d say it if the person was attempting to watch 200 televisions sets at a time while smoking an entire carton full of Camels at once.
May 25, 2011 at 5:45 pm
I totally do. Watching “Rock of Love” or Nancy Grace = TOO MUCH (clap clap) TIME ON MY HANDS IT’S TICKING AWAY AT MY SANITY
May 25, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Get hooking then!
May 25, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Can I pretend you weren’t talking about Crochet?
May 25, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Funny thing is, when you’re a knitter/crocheter, these are the first people to ask for something handmade when they see you “with too much time on (your) hands”.
Usually I don’t have a problem with making stuff for people, but don’t fucking say that phrase then turn around and expect a blanket.
May 25, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Not a styx fan?
May 25, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Huh? Sorry I’m a 90′s kid and I wasn’t exposed to classic rock like I probably should have been.
May 25, 2011 at 6:15 pm
AMEN!!! I also hate that they expect it FOR FREE. I tell them “Sorry, I have a lot of time on my hands, but time is money… buy the yarn and add $25 for me!”
May 25, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Only 25 bucks for labor?? Hey, you have a deal! I just LOOK at yarn and it knots!
May 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Oh god, I hate the “can I has ________ (for free)?” I’m not a crafter, but I draw. I think the worst I’ve ever gotten was when a kid saw me doodling in my notebook in chem class and said “You should draw me and my friends.” I didn’t even know the asshat!
May 25, 2011 at 7:40 pm
Really, what kind of reaction do they expect after saying that? Clearly, they have a mental condition.
May 25, 2011 at 7:46 pm
I think some people are just really self-centered (I notice it especially with my generation), don’t know if that counts as a mental disorder though, but it sure as hell is annoying.
May 25, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Selfish people are everywhere, age or mentality aside but ugh you’re right – it IS annoying.
May 25, 2011 at 8:43 pm
Man, is that ever the truth!
May 25, 2011 at 9:47 pm
The awesome thing about being a jeweler is the people who ask for free stuff — and expect ME to buy the materials. Yeah, let me just drop a couple of hundred on metals and stones for your free swag, just because I met you at a bbq last weekend.
I think not.
May 26, 2011 at 7:59 am
I did custom cakes.
“Hey! You do cakes?! Could you make me a 5-tier wedding cake with [insert labor-intensive custom sugar work] for next weekend? What? That’s more than $25?! It’s just flour, eggs and sugar!”
May 25, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Since when is smoking or watching TV a craft?
May 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm
It isn’t one. You don’t see people getting exhibitions/awards for watching TV.
May 25, 2011 at 6:45 pm
And if there is an award for watching TV, WHERE THE FUCK IS MINE?
May 25, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Limi89, I could crochet you one! I’ll do it while watching TV, so it’s extra-special and poignant!
(Seriously, now I’m thinking how I could buy a little award and crochet around it.)
May 25, 2011 at 7:47 pm
I just had the thought that this would be an awesome Etsy store idea. Custom made awards – CONVO ME.
May 25, 2011 at 10:13 pm
>You don’t see people getting exhibitions/awards
>for watching TV.
Sure you do. They’re called critics.
May 25, 2011 at 9:17 pm
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May 28, 2011 at 7:20 am
A friend of mine makes beautiful handmade greeting cards. It started back in the “rubber stamping” craze, and while she’s moved on from that medium, she kept making cards.
Each one is a little piece of art, either specialized to the recipient, or to the occasion. I’ve framed two she’s made for me, just because they’re lovely to look at. A LOT of time and thought and artistic effort goes into each one, and they’re a gift unto themselves, if you ask me.
Yet at EVERY occasion where she gifts an “art card”, SOMEONE invariably makes this statement. “Wow. You must have a lot of free time.”
She has learned to just smile and say, “We MAKE time for what’s important to us.” And then she turns to the recipient and says, “I hope you like it. I know you love Egyptology…” (or whatever).
Shuts ‘em up every time.
May 25, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Now that’s some interesting camouflage pattern. What are you trying to blend in with? A paint factory?
May 25, 2011 at 10:25 pm
A herd of clowns? A preschool mural? A crayon factory? The yarn isle at the local crafting store?
May 26, 2011 at 2:16 am
I genuinely find a lot of it to be fairly ugly as far as the stitch – but then I’m not a big fan of crochet (as I prefer knit items.) She took the easy way out with all that double and/or triple crochet, too
May 25, 2011 at 5:15 pm
I would like her to cover the disabled guy in his own personal bodysuit. Then maybe he’ll stop hurting himself by doing mundane tasks.
Or maybe he’ll hurt himself more. So I’ll either get peace of mind… or entertainment.
May 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm
A win-win situation in my book!
May 25, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Exactly!
In the few weeks he’s been working on building the new deck, there have been countless splinters, one broken toe, a toe that wasn’t quite broken, a cut on his hand, another on his arm, several fingernails ripped to the quick, and who knows how many bruises.
May 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm
I winced at every single injury. Hope that deck gets finished fast.
May 25, 2011 at 7:59 pm
The fucking city came by today (it was raining, he wasn’t working on it) and gave us a “stop work” order saying we needed a building permit. We never needed one before. She said if the “materials are over $500″ then we’d need one. And she said, “these have gotta be over $500.”
Now we have to wait till next week to get this alleged permit (payday)… but DG added up his Home Depot receipts and those say the total materials are around $490-something and some change.
He said he needed a break anyway.
I say I want my fucking deck completed. (there are pictures on the blog, linked in my screen name).
May 25, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Are you married to my husband? He also has a debilitating injury (10 years ago the doctors said he might not walk again)and still works construction. And is constantly coming home with new injuries.
May 25, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Mine had a stroke when he was 28 years old (16 years ago) and only has the use of one arm. His right hand is completely useless and is dead weight. Not to mention, there’s brain damage and he walks with a limp.
However, he builds things out of wood and he’s easy on the eyes.
May 25, 2011 at 8:46 pm
I love your husband’s work (I want something like that bookcase) and I showed them to my dad who’s also amazed, especially after hearing about his arm, so now that I’ve said all that: omfg it’s a deck, not a NASA launch pad. Who’s the Judas of a neighbor who called the city on you?
May 25, 2011 at 8:49 pm
The claim it wasn’t the neighbors and she said she “saw it from the street” which is totally plausible. But, they’re doing a shit-ton of construction on the public golf course behind our house, so I’m pretty sure she was just back there doing whatever thing it is they do and saw it from there.
The way our house is situated road-wise, you’d have to be specifically searching for this kind of thing because the original deck has been there for about ten years (give or take). So I’m sure she saw it from some other angle.
Our side-by-side neighbors are fairly cool with his woodworking. (at least, they’ve never complained. And they don’t complain about me standing in the yard hollering: “Let’s go! Come on! In the house! IN THE HOUSE!” at the dogs multiple times a day).
May 25, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Aw sounds like you guys ran into some serious bad luck. Hopefully, it works itself out and you get your deck. The old one was really nice though. (And I get screechy with my puppy too – he’s at the wanderlust stage and it’s starting to piss me off)
May 25, 2011 at 5:15 pm
That’s a lot of hooking.
May 25, 2011 at 5:41 pm
She’s an extremely happy hooker.
May 25, 2011 at 5:15 pm
It looks pretty consistent, too. I would have started fucking up on about the third line.
May 25, 2011 at 5:34 pm
If that wall hanging isn’t surrounding a piece of foam core or something, I’ll never pick up a needle again–I don’t care how much blocking I do, my stuff never looks like that.
May 25, 2011 at 8:44 pm
If you do enough of anything it starts to work out; I just assume she started on the walls, and by the time she made it to something that needed to look right…
May 25, 2011 at 5:16 pm
of COURSE this originated in Park Slope . . .
May 25, 2011 at 5:17 pm
“WTF” just doesn’t really cover it…
May 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm
“What the fuckety-fucking-fuck” is a start.
May 26, 2011 at 2:18 am
Yep, but only a start heh.
May 25, 2011 at 5:17 pm
I think the word I’m looking for here is “amazeballs”.
May 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm
holy fucking awesome. this girl is like my knitting hero. i would love to pull this as a prank in the office… screw tinfoil, we knitted your office… how great would that be? except it would take months.. but whatever… it would still be awesome.
May 25, 2011 at 5:30 pm
IT’S CROCHET, FUCKMONKEY.
…Sorry, it’s just I’m a knitter/crocheter and people always assume everything is knitting.
BUT IT EVEN SAYS IT’S CROCHET RIGHT THERE, YOU TWATWAFFLE. HOW DID YOU GET IT WRONG?
May 25, 2011 at 5:33 pm
THANK YOU.
May 25, 2011 at 5:40 pm
I know! I mean embroidery like that is just so hard to misidentify. Especially with the distinct quilting pattern going on in the upper left.
May 25, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Extra thumbs up for making the same point but with humor instead of vitriol.
May 25, 2011 at 5:41 pm
I hate it when clothing and home items that have cotton lace, tatting, cotton lace knit, macrame, eyelet, any textile with holes on it, are all called crochet. I especially loathe Cluny lace being called crochet, because there is no relationship at all. This drives positively bug-fucking nuts.
Some people get wigged out over grammar and spelling. Some of us are stitch-tetchy. Deal with it, bitches!
May 25, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Like that commercial for “quilted” paper towels or Tp (cannot recall exact paper product) where the cartoon ladies sat around the “quilt” we knitting needles? Found myself yellilng at the TV like at football fan on superbowl Sunday.
May 25, 2011 at 6:55 pm
It’s quillted Northern aliceblue you unwashed heathen.
May 25, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Still don’t know if that is towel or TP – I refuse to let hands or ass know anything that isn’t store brand. And just how do you know that I have not showered yet? Is that you under the crocheted afghan in the corner?!
May 25, 2011 at 11:12 pm
That commercial made my mom go mental!
May 25, 2011 at 5:49 pm
You get upset when someone mis-identifies. I get upset when someone calls a perfectly nice person a fuckmonkey and a twatwaffle for making a simple fucking mistake. See, we all have our pet peeves.
May 25, 2011 at 6:02 pm
On the internet, people are become over-reacting cartoons.
My response is always this:
May 25, 2011 at 6:20 pm
Angel drawers and Derpy Hooves, do y’all mind if I adore you both equally?
May 25, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Thanks angel drawers. I hate it when people on the internet don’t have the same limitless knowledge of bullshit that I do.
May 25, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I get upset when people get upset over being called names for making a simple fucking mistake.
May 25, 2011 at 6:49 pm
I’m wit’ you on this.
May 25, 2011 at 7:21 pm
No no! What I meant was, I’m with angel drawers on this.
(Christ Almighty, my self-esteem is one fragile motherfucker. A single thumbs down and I’m explaining myself to strangers.)
May 25, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Testify, sister! *fist bump*
May 25, 2011 at 9:58 pm
‘Cause knitting is inherently superior?
That’s right, I went there.
(Mostly because I can knit the hell out of stuff, but anything more complicated than single-chain crochet turns into the kind of knotted up nesting material that ambitious rats save up for years to get.)
May 26, 2011 at 2:21 am
As my favorite yarn store proprietor and knit instructor has explained, crochet IS a form of knotting, where knitting isn’t. (I think knit is better too, for the most part.)
May 25, 2011 at 10:23 pm
DreamRaper’s avatar needs a larger bandage. Preferably made of duct tape and Atavan.
May 26, 2011 at 2:19 am
I second the thank you. Jeez.
May 26, 2011 at 7:57 am
I bet if you started a year early, you could pull it off.Snatch everything on and in the victims desk one at a time for proper fitting, measure everything that would be really obvious and while they’re on vacation just slip everything on and hang up the wall covers etc. If it’s all pre-made by the time you need it you’re set. I now wish I had yarn skills.
May 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Man, I have trouble finishing a baby blanket!
May 25, 2011 at 5:24 pm
I know, right? Ugh.
May 26, 2011 at 2:23 am
You wouldn’t if you were using all those big-ass double and triple-crochet stitches. Crochet goes quicker as it is, but when you use big needles, big yarn,and massive stitches (despite them being less attractive) it’s easy to cover a lot of area. Since you don’t care if there are giant “holes” in everything.
May 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm
This lady took “Not Tonight Honey, I’m [Crocheting]” waaaaay too far…
May 25, 2011 at 6:58 pm
This bitch wasn’t playing when she said no.
May 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm
For those curious as to what was in the toilet
http://www.regretsy.com/2010/03/26/i-falafel-just-looking-at-it/
May 25, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Why was I curious as to what was in the toilet enough to click on that liiiiiiiink?
*cries*
May 25, 2011 at 5:22 pm
I have to give her credit on the camo body suit though – I had a hard time picking her out in the first picture.
May 25, 2011 at 5:29 pm
RIGHT! I was looking at the first picture like “Did I drink that last beer to quick, what the fuck is this?” and then suddenly it became clear =D
May 25, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Like one of those mystic pictures that it just looks like squiggles but the longer you stare at it… suddenly a schooner pops out at ya!
May 25, 2011 at 5:45 pm
It’s not a schooner, it’s a sail boat!
May 25, 2011 at 5:53 pm
A schooner IS a sailboat stupid head!
You know what? There is NO Easter Bunny! Over there, that’s just a guy in a suit!
Colicub, I less than 3 that you got that.
May 26, 2011 at 2:24 am
When can we unsee it?
May 25, 2011 at 5:23 pm
until now i have thought the whole cover-everything-in-yarn thing was pretty silly, but this is just creepy enough to work.
May 26, 2011 at 2:26 am
I can’t believe there’s ALL that crochet and still not a toilet tissue cover. I mean,come on!
May 25, 2011 at 5:25 pm
I’m trying to get the cat to hold still long enough to get his measurements.
May 25, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Let me know if you find a good method. I’ve tried and all I got was some really itchy claw marks on my arms. Ironically the claw marks were 3 lines… the mark of satan.
May 25, 2011 at 8:24 pm
I propose someone crochet a mummified cat cozy. Taking measurements should be no problem.
May 25, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Why?
May 25, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Why not?
May 25, 2011 at 10:38 pm
You is so differents, but your avatars are so similarity.
May 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Please tell me that’s a tampon on the bathroom counter…
May 25, 2011 at 5:37 pm
You wish. That would make sense. It actually is a paint roller. I don’t want to know why it’s there or what it is used for.
May 25, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Because it’s like, she painted the room but with yarn.
I think.
May 26, 2011 at 7:39 am
I thought it was a curling iron.
May 25, 2011 at 5:41 pm
Looks like a paint roller to me.
May 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm
I think it’s pretty cool and if I had time to get over to Nolita before the 28th to see it I would.
May 25, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Just looking at the photos make me claustrophobic. I crochet myself, and appreciate the time that went into all this, but I feel short of breath just thinking about it.
May 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm
You know, in the winter when we discovered that the heater wasn’t working, I would have really appreciated her coming to do some “work”. Now? “GODDAMN DOES THAT LOOK UNCOMFORTABLE” is my main reaction.
Give her kudos to the amount of time that takes though. I can barely finish a scarf in a month.
May 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm
What a cozy apartment she has!
May 25, 2011 at 5:47 pm
15 X 14 feet is not an apartment, it’s a roomy jail cell.
May 25, 2011 at 6:32 pm
But it’s cozy!
May 25, 2011 at 5:29 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Oh, go back to watching TV.
May 25, 2011 at 5:29 pm
It’s like an ugly sweater from the 80′s THREW UP ON EVERYTHING AND DIED.
May 25, 2011 at 5:47 pm
You’ve been Cosby-fied!
May 25, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Now we must encase the entire thing in jello.
May 25, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Lemon jello.
May 25, 2011 at 7:21 pm
or pudding pops
May 25, 2011 at 5:30 pm
Unless she’s rich I bet she had to use really cheap acrylic yarn.
I now can say I have seen hell. **shudders**
May 25, 2011 at 5:54 pm
A jail cell, where every inch is covered with Red Heart Super Saver…just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.
May 25, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
May 25, 2011 at 10:04 pm
I was trying to come up with a suitable expression of mortal terror, but you pretty much covered it with 50′s B-movie Chick.
I’m pretty sure I’ve got a new definition of what Hell must be like now.
May 25, 2011 at 6:57 pm
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May 26, 2011 at 7:29 am
i detest red heart, I own a yarn store, that sells QUALITY yarn…so sue me
May 26, 2011 at 2:28 am
Yeah, mine too. Ick.
May 25, 2011 at 5:31 pm
As a knitter/crocheter, I’m actually bothered that she didn’t bother to weave in all her ends. Sloppy.
May 25, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Thank you! I’m glad I’n not the only knit-picky (see what I did there?) fat-ugly-jealous-loser who noticed that. Could I be bitter because I can’t crochet anything that is not rectangular? Noooooo.
May 25, 2011 at 5:32 pm
“Honey, what’s for dinner?”
“Yarn soup. Yarn salad. Rosted rack of yarn. Baked yarn with yarn sauce.”
“And for dessert?”
“What the fuck do you think is for dessert!”
“I’m going out.”
May 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Yarn, yarn, yarn, yarn, sausage, eggs, and yarn.
May 25, 2011 at 7:01 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 7:05 pm
That friends and strangers, is a sampler I would find the money to pay for!
May 25, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Yarnitty yaaaarn! Yarnitty yarn!
May 25, 2011 at 5:32 pm
The sink and toilet skeeve me out. I can only imagine how mildewy it smells. Yuck.
May 25, 2011 at 5:40 pm
said in the article that they were left alone. Even crazy has its limits.
May 25, 2011 at 5:54 pm
However, it also said she did the leftovers in the fridge.
May 25, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Chances are that food ain’t getting eaten anytime soon.
May 25, 2011 at 6:36 pm
3rd favorite word: skeeve. (Fannywaffle and douche-nugget were #1 and #2.)
May 25, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Great. Now I’m itchy!
May 25, 2011 at 5:35 pm
At least it’s not a homemade sweater. Mo Rocker learned the hard way not to complain about homemade sweaters on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.”
May 25, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Mo Rocca.
May 25, 2011 at 5:56 pm
I don’t know why but “Mo Rocker” is currently sending me into a fit of hysterics.
May 25, 2011 at 5:57 pm
That’s it, I am TOTALLY going to suggest that as a name for my band.
May 25, 2011 at 7:54 pm
KatP, there’s a band in the Morocco area of Epcot named “MoRockin’.” Just thought you might like to know.
May 25, 2011 at 7:55 pm
And Mariah Carey named her son Moroccan, “In the style of Mo Rocca,” she’s been quoted as saying. (No, I made that up, but she did name the kid Moroccan.)
May 25, 2011 at 5:35 pm
Holy Moly that’s a lot of yarn in the barn-and they say artists can be eccentric and obsessive…I wonder if they have a Crocheters Anonymous about yet because I thought the purpose was to make warm wearable things or something. I gotta say I really like colorful yarn insanity better than dead things, though.Thank you & Bravo!
May 25, 2011 at 5:51 pm
“A lot of yarn in the barn” sounds like a really dirty euphemism, but I can’t think what it would mean.
May 25, 2011 at 6:21 pm
yea it does! “Hey look at her! Now SHE’S got yarn in the barn!”
May 25, 2011 at 8:58 pm
High QUALITY yarn!
May 25, 2011 at 7:05 pm
The phrase “a lot of yarn in the barn” refers to a sexually promiscuous female who is attracted to men with small genitalia and/ or impotency issues. Liza Minelli and Star Jones are the most culturally recognizable “yarn farmers”.
May 25, 2011 at 8:22 pm
now that I think of it because I often type speak without thinking first–I think it could also refer to those who don’t shave or at least trim their “areas,” but this would be a more literal interpretation.
May 25, 2011 at 8:58 pm
I think Liza’s husbands had a different compatibility issue.
May 25, 2011 at 7:16 pm
Peacebird, when my boyfriend asks what I want for the next gift-giving occasion, I’m just going to send him to your store and pick out anything. Beautiful pieces!
May 25, 2011 at 8:15 pm
aw, shucks & thanks! Mention regretsy for discounts ’cause even though I’m new here, I love all you bitches! Hahaha
May 25, 2011 at 5:36 pm
this is terrifying.
May 25, 2011 at 5:36 pm
I just fucking love living in NYC.
♥ ♥ ♥
This is why I came here! This is the epicenter of all that is creatively insane, and insanely creative.
I’ve seen plenty of guerrilla knitting and crochet in town. My favorite was a knit-covered bike rack in Chelsea. I’ve also seen trees and bikes covered with crochet in both Mahnattan and Brooklyn.
May 25, 2011 at 6:01 pm
A crocheted labor of love: Artist Robyn Strong knits a water tower cozy for a SoHo building – New York Daily News http://bit.ly/m2ZwJi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pmu5Xj60Kk
May 25, 2011 at 10:18 pm
Am I the only one who thinks the water tower looks like a pencil?
May 25, 2011 at 10:32 pm
The bit.ly link doesn’t work for me, but from the YouTube page:
“Artist Robyn Love creates a water tower cozy out of yarn to promote educational charity, D&AD’s pencil award. Robyn and six volunteers used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick to create this giant cozy in the shape of a pencil.”
May 25, 2011 at 11:16 pm
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-12-13/local/17911883_1_crochet-water-tower-pencil
Yup, it’s a big, soft, water-filled pencil.
May 25, 2011 at 6:25 pm
There’s some cool yarn bombing outside the Lion Brand Studio on 18th between 5th and 6th. They have good window displays—last year was a perfect one of NYC, including little yellow taxis and King Kong climbing a crocheted Empire State Building.
May 25, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Right now it’s an astronaut on the moon with some lovely hanging planets. I stop in there when I lose control when I am in the neighborhood.
May 25, 2011 at 11:18 pm
The strike tags totally failed. Even after they showed up in preview. WTF! Ah well….
May 26, 2011 at 8:18 am
Thanks! I’ll check it out. Do you subscribe to their e-mail? They usually have a yarn-of-the-month that’s 15% off, and there are always free patterns. It’s so much nicer to go in the store, however. They let you pet the yarn. Within reason.
May 25, 2011 at 6:37 pm
There was a good spate of guerrilla knitting in Dublin, too. Postboxes and lampposts and statues. It was great.
I absolutely LOVE this installation! Totally rocking the jealous tag, because I wish I’d thought of it first. And that I could crochet.
May 25, 2011 at 7:12 pm
Messie Bessie, crazy cool superchick in the toon The Mighty Bee, crocheted her whole town. Everything got really wet then stinky and there was a an intervention.
May 26, 2011 at 11:51 am
I think I saw one of her bikes on a recent trip to Brooklyn!
May 25, 2011 at 5:37 pm
I love this. Absolutely, totally, freaking love this. I hope she gets rich enough to buy amazingly good yarn to do her next apartment.
Er. I just had a terrible thought. What if she had lots of money and still bought acrylic camo yarn?
Oh. No!
May 25, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Well, Red Heart Super Saver is the cheapest way to amass a lot of yarn…..not that I ever use it!
May 25, 2011 at 6:27 pm
I like their yarns…and it is SO exciting to look at the giant skein of yarn and think about what I’m going to make. And when I order a lot of it and open the carton to see all their plump swirly ends staring up at me, I get so happy. And don’t get me started on Wool-Ease or any of the specialty yarns, like ribbons and, oh, I have to sit down. I’m too light-headed.
May 25, 2011 at 7:50 pm
“I’m too light-headed.”
That’ll be the Yarn Fumes. It’s a known thing.
May 25, 2011 at 6:23 pm
I doubt she’d bother with good-quality yarn. To create this much work means she’s working quickly with a larger-than-necessary hook and apparently with cheap yarn. They make some good-quality acrylic yarns these days (Simply Soft, anyone?) and I began working with acrylic yarn like this in the 1970s, when the only other option was expensive wool.
I fuss over details and HATE gaps in crocheting–lacy, airy openings, however, are lovely.
As fast as she had to work to create all this, it’s obviously a big investment in her time and she most likely enjoys crocheting as much as I do. We just have different tastes.
May 25, 2011 at 5:39 pm
And here I am still stripping paint off a window.
fuck
my
life
May 25, 2011 at 6:02 pm
See, now, you should start stripping in front of a window to spice things up a bit. Wait, let me get my binoculars first…
May 25, 2011 at 5:39 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 6:35 pm
I love it when people tell artists to get a life instead of doing art. What do YOU do for a living?
May 26, 2011 at 2:34 am
All “art” isn’t created equal. I wouldn’t tell her to get a life, but some taste would be nice.
May 25, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Disagree. Moderation in all things – INCLUDING moderation.
May 25, 2011 at 7:06 pm
And yet, she’s got an exhibition coming up, and had an article written about her in New York magazine. She may not have a life, but apparently, she’s been successful at it.
May 26, 2011 at 2:35 am
Novelty factor. It’s still pretty ugly.
May 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm
The thing is, it’s not particularly good crochet work so it ruins the effect.
May 25, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Amen. Looks like she used fat yarn and triple-triple crochets to make the most acreage for the least effort. Not to mention the itchiness {shudder} of all that godawful cheap-ass acrylic.
I have to respect her dedication, but I definitely question her taste.
May 25, 2011 at 6:45 pm
I don’t think comfortable surroundings was her objective. You think she actually utiliazes this space??
May 25, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Thank you. It’s not the project I’m critical of (well, I am, but that’s not the point), it’s the poorly executed work–the same stitch done with a too-large-for-the-yarn hook and it’s not attractive.
I began crocheting when I was 12 and made a granny square vest out of acrylic yarn (it was the 1970s). As I did more work, the quality of my work and my standards for my work both rose and I began working in thinner yarn and then thread. When the topic comes up and I mentio I crochet, I alway say, “I work in thread, you know–lace, doilies, snowflakes, etc.” I usually get a blank look, but it’s a way of saying, “Yes, I crochet and I’m very good at it, if I may say so myself, but I don’t waste my time on those shitty items that make crocheting look really cheap and low-quality.” It’s my way of saying that without getting a weird look from someone.
Crocheting can be much quicker than knitting (which I do, but not nearly as well), and that lends itself to a cheap look.
May 25, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I actually prefer to knit because I can’t get my crochet to drape as well as knit, or even to lay flat, and that gives it the cheapo, Amateur Hour look. But I always take a look at thread and think to myself, maybe if I crochet with that, it’ll look better.
May 25, 2011 at 6:39 pm
You’re right about the crochet not draping as well as knitting. Even using finer baby-weight yarn in a lacy pattern doesn’t attain the same drape. I learned to knit the same time I learned to crochet. I found knitting too slow and I wasn’t seeing results as quickly (so, I would crochet quickly with cheap yarn and, in many cases, the stuff looked like Amateur Hour Hooking). As time went by, I started using thinner yarn and then thread and fell in love with how fine my stitches could be. I picked up knitting a few years ago (thanks to Debbie Stoller’s “Stitch ‘n Bitch”) and really enjoy it.
Good luck with crocheting with thread! Splurge on some DMC and everything will have a lovely sheen and more of a drape!
May 25, 2011 at 7:18 pm
Thanks (and we’re the fat ugly jealous losers)!
May 25, 2011 at 7:47 pm
Fat, Ugly, Jealous Losers–FOR THE WIN!
May 26, 2011 at 2:37 am
Crochet is much stiffer than knit, being made up of knots. And whoever said this work is done in triple-stitches with a too-big hook and looks cheap and not well done is 100% right – yuck. Quirky idea or not, it looks crappy.
May 26, 2011 at 7:33 am
use a bigger hook and it will drape better
May 25, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I used to do that lovely fine crochet, too, Mugsy Doodle, but it got to be too much for my aging eyes. But I recently found a doily I’d given my grandmother tucked in the drawer of her bedside table, and I did do pretty damn good work if I do say so myself.
These days I knit. Socks on size zero needles are as fine as I get. That seems small, but it’s still about three times the diameter of some of those tiny steel hooks!
May 25, 2011 at 7:46 pm
I’m so glad you found that doily…and that she keeps it so close to her.
I can’t work with a hook smaller than 12, and the last time I tried that was before I needed glasses. Now I’m not sure I could go smaller than a 10.
I know people who’ve stopped crocheting because of arthritis in their hands. I expect that eventually. My right hand always ached a bit the next morning after a lot of crocheting (it doesn’t help that I hold the hook tightly). I didn’t make the connection, but my mom did.
I’ve knitted some baby socks on size 3 needles and thin yarn, and am now attempting some on size 2 with thin sock yarn (that’s self-striping, which is doing nothing for my eyesight or sanity when I’m trying to count rows).
One day, I’ll attempt knitted lace on size 0s!
I haven’t attempted double-pointed needles (except to make myself crazy trying), but I bought some dpns and a kit to knit a snowman family. Too cute to resist!
May 25, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Knitting on DPNs reminds many people of playing cat’s-cradle with a porcupine. Do try the two-circular-needles method if you don’t like the DPNs.
May 25, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Thanks for the advice, Crease and Resist. I have circulars (I’ve used them for larger blanket squares). I know there’s a “magic circle” to create a tube with them, but I can’t figure it out. I have a few good knitting books that I’ll try.
I briefly joined a knitting group at work and the woman who ran it liked DPNs because “to people who don’t know how to knit, you look like you really know what you’re doing.” Of course, she did.
May 26, 2011 at 2:39 am
After I made a baby set in size one needles and my hands looked like a failed acupuncture experiment, I stopped working with needles smaller than a 4 heh. Ah well, I still make nice things.
May 26, 2011 at 5:31 pm
Mugsy, go on You Tube and look for how to videos on Magic Loop. It’s really easy once someone shows you how to do it.
May 25, 2011 at 5:42 pm
But but she missed covering the windows and paintings! Lazy!
May 25, 2011 at 5:43 pm
It’s the Yarn-pocalypse!
May 25, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Evil acrylic yarn will free itself from ugly afghans and roam the land creating turmoil for all of earth’s inhabitants. And it will happen on July 7 2012. Its in the Bible.
May 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm
In the Book of Unravelations.
May 25, 2011 at 6:42 pm
May 25, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Wow! I didn’t think I could be happier than with the “thumbs up to the 100th power” you gave me the other day, but I’m even more tickled!
blushes and giggles a little
Thank you, cmcneal!
(Just to be clear, and not to diminish the awesomeness of your thumbs-up, I don’t remember every response I get, but “to the 100th power” was just so cool that it stayed with me!)
May 25, 2011 at 6:14 pm
But what of the merino wool? What shall become of the yarn that is soft and comfortable?
May 25, 2011 at 7:20 pm
The merino will clothe all the ¿lucky? folks who go to heaven — or at least the angels. I suspect a lot of the so-called saved are the biggest users of crappy acrylic, so they don’t deserve the good merino!
May 25, 2011 at 7:27 pm
The Sheep of God shall rise up and reclaim the wool.
(Yeah, yeah. I think it’s Lambs of God, isn’t it? Mugsy Doodle,please check the book…)
May 25, 2011 at 7:58 pm
If there’s a LOT (see what I did there?) of work involved, I guess we could use…
OK, I have to interrupt myself, because this is going to be so groan-worthy that I’m going to post, shut down, and go home before I get all the thumbs down.
Seriously, you shouldn’t go any further. This is really, really bad. I can pun with the best of them, but even this is embarassing.
Still with me? OK, I warned you.
…The Book of Job.
See? That was a long walk to the well and I came back with an empty bucket.
Good night.
May 25, 2011 at 5:46 pm
At least it will all be useful in case another Ice Age comes around.
May 25, 2011 at 5:46 pm
I wish it was wool. I’d have too much fun washing it all on hot and felting the heck out of it. Miniature dollhouse apartment anyone?
May 25, 2011 at 5:50 pm
I saw this a few weeks ago and thought: “I should send that to Regretsy, they’d get a kick out of it over there!” And then I remembered that I was lazy and thought: “Eh, somebody else will do it.”
May 25, 2011 at 5:53 pm
I am loving this! That said, it looks like a bad trip.
May 25, 2011 at 5:55 pm
I think this is awesome, really. Thanks April for showing us this; I would never have seen it otherwise. I love it. It would have taken SUCH a long time, it’s interesting & funny, obviously she doesn’t take herself too seriously & that’s always a good sign whether you’re an artist or a “crafter”.
My only complaint, like AntB, is the icky camo yarn.
May 25, 2011 at 5:57 pm
I have nothing clever to say. I love it. I’m amazed. I’m baffled. Wow. Just wow.
Oh, and it’s perfect for towel day.
May 25, 2011 at 5:57 pm
And I thought bubble-wrapping the principal’s office in high school as a senior-class prank was bad…
May 25, 2011 at 6:00 pm
At least you don’t have to worry about sitting on a cold toilet seat.
May 25, 2011 at 6:01 pm
This concept seemed so awesomesauce in Hitchhikers Guide, now not so much.
May 25, 2011 at 6:05 pm
I am so showing this to my knitting/crocheting crazy friend and tell her she is a total slacker. Then I am going to pay for a professional bodyguard to protect me from her husband
May 25, 2011 at 6:05 pm
OMG I’m in crocheter’s heaven! I freaking love this. Though I’m more than a little creeped out by the crocheted living crash test dummy.
May 25, 2011 at 6:14 pm
Totally off topic but I saw a commercial (for Netflix) today where the term “Waa Laa” was used. I shit you not. I’m scared.
May 25, 2011 at 7:01 pm
Did they spell it like that?
May 26, 2011 at 4:15 am
It was spoken like that.
May 25, 2011 at 6:17 pm
Inquiring minds want to know who they’re talking to on the phone! Pressing kidnapping charges? Ordering more medication?
May 25, 2011 at 6:44 pm
So weird. I immediately went to a hostage-scenario when I saw that picture too.
May 25, 2011 at 6:17 pm
This is not serious artwork. If it was, there would be spare rolls of toilet paper sitting on the top of the toilet tank, snug in their crocheted cozies. Even better if they had dollar store Barbies sticking out of the tops.
May 25, 2011 at 6:56 pm
My family never did that (leave out a roll of toilet paper AND dress it up was an alien concept), but I could appreciate it…and I toy with the idea of doing one, just for the kitsch factor. That or large-hole plastic canvas tissue holders (large holes to make it look really cheap and tawdry).
May 25, 2011 at 10:55 pm
My grandma’s friend used to make doll toppers for the toilet paper and those plastic cone air fresheners. They all had Scarlett O’hara style dresses so the skirts covered the roll or cone and the creepy doll would stare at you while you peed. I had forgotten completelY about that until now
May 26, 2011 at 8:26 am
I had a great aunt (and yes, she was also awesome) who crocheted me a poodle that fit over a bar of Ivory soap. I think she used a plastic stick so the head stayed erect. Over the years, the stick broke, but I can fix it…and yes, I’ve had it for close to 45 years.
Did your grandma’s friend also make dresses for the bottles of dish detergeant? I’ve seen them in pattern books and think, “But they’ll get gooey with the drips!” Frankly, I don’t need to outfit my household supplies.
Oh, and dresses with heads attached to go over the vacuum cleaner? I mean, really, is the decor so lacking that a person has to leave the machine out of the closet so you can make it look like a person? Odd.
May 25, 2011 at 6:25 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Release the kitties!!
May 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Sneak out at night in a black catsuit and pull some threads.
May 25, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Pull a few threads, invite some cats to pick up the slack, and then watch the cats as they scamper in different directions, creating their own artwork.
Bring a camera. You’ll make a fortune on Etsy.
May 25, 2011 at 6:25 pm
This is balls to the wall awesome. Rock on crochet goddess.
May 25, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I love this! So bizarre. A whole website like Regretsy could be devoted to all the bizarre art installations out there. This one is actually pretty cool, but a lot of them are just dumb. Oh and I hope people are joking when they make comments that imply it’s a real house.. this is an installation in a gallery. Uh. Being captain obvious here…
May 25, 2011 at 6:40 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm
As usual I came for the snark but this is a very interesting and well-executed “installation”. I’m very quick to criticize, as I suppose most of all you are, but isn’t it cool that most of our comments on this particular item are more about wonder than simple snark?
May 25, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I think the title is particularly fine. It would take me several years to come up with a pun like that.
May 25, 2011 at 7:04 pm
“Soul is the part of you that sees a lap dance every time you close your eyes”.
Yeah, well I used to see lap dances right up to a minute ago. Now all I see is the sort of special hell reserved for Regretsy members.
Thanks for nothin’ Agata. I’d been on the wagon for two whole days.
May 25, 2011 at 7:11 pm
I first saw Olek a few months ago by way of this video: http://youtu.be/zT0HhNvDFRQ and I loved it, except for her choice of yarn.
She was recently quoted in the NYT denigrating other people who work in the same medium, so while the article raised her profile, it didn’t reflect well on her in some ways.
There’s a Facebook page for International Yarnbombing Day (June 11, 2011) for anyone who likes the idea of adorning public places with knitted or crocheted handwork.
May 25, 2011 at 7:32 pm
ah, well, let her go ahead and be snobby – I still think it’s interesting, amazing and amusing. And a hell of a lot better than that 10,000 poster de crap.
thanks for posting that video – it reminded me of an NPR story about crochet vandals covering statues (humor story).
And also, in the artsy village I live in, we have a group who crochets or otherwise makes covers for trees, lamps, benches….
May 25, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Really? Really? Can somebody ‘splain why?
May 25, 2011 at 9:42 pm
well, for those who perhaps haven’t seen “crochet vandals” work – here’s a sampling of the crocheted and other covers the group in my village does for trees, etc….
perhaps if you have a chance to see it, you won’t need to feel negatively about it….or maybe you’ll run screaming in terror from the room. Daggoned if I can figure out the thumbsdowners…
May 25, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Don’t fret over a few thumbs-downs. The Etsy Thumbsdowner Team cruises through here every night about this time, and Regretsians aren’t quite drunk enough yet to come in and counteract them.
At least that’s my theory.
May 26, 2011 at 8:30 am
It’s also called yarn bombing and it always makes me smile. Some of this work is really beautiful–I envy you being able to see this often. I haven’t seen much of it where I am in NYC, so it hasn’t become overkill. I imagine if it becomes a something-on-every-other-block thing, the creativeness will go away.
May 26, 2011 at 3:23 pm
photobucket bites… i have a pro account…
May 26, 2011 at 1:19 am
I hadn’t heard of her before reading the NY Times article, and what she had to say about other yarnbombers/guerrilla knitters/crocheters really pissed me off. Her sentiment was something like “Not everybody’s work should be shown in public”.. So she covers a bike in cheap yarn and that’s art, but if I do the same it’s just amateur crap? Get off yer high horse, lady…
May 26, 2011 at 2:49 am
Good, now I don’t feel bad mocking her shitty crochet.
Am I the only one who sees her stretching the fuck out of the produced pieces who wants to reach through the screen, grab her arm, and scream, “STOP FUCKING STRETCHING IT SO HARD!” ? It’s bad enough she’s got far too loose of a stitch with all her tripling and use of a too-big hook, but stretching it so hard to emphasize it is just yarn abuse. Even cheap acrylic doesn’t deserve that.
May 26, 2011 at 8:34 am
Wiping away a tear I never thought I’d live to see the day someone standing up on the side of cheap acrylic yarn! It practically defined knitting and crocheting in the 1970s. Sure brings back memories…and now that I think about it, I feel itchy.
I didn’t read the NYT article, but she is no one to speak about “art” being shown in public. She’s damned lucky to get an exhibition, so she should shut up and smile.
No, this is not good crocheting by any means.
May 25, 2011 at 7:16 pm
well if josh isn’t in here posting this, I’ve just gotta do it… seems very fitting to this… I LOVE your stuff josh….(he’s one of our own)
May 25, 2011 at 7:18 pm
caption is ““Hey Grandma, how’s that sweater coming along?””
that’s from josh pincus is crying’s blog
May 25, 2011 at 7:19 pm
I’m buying tickets now. I hope they come in a crocheted cozy…
May 25, 2011 at 8:18 pm
I’m hoping for a reality tv show
May 26, 2011 at 8:35 am
Some suggested titles for a reality show:
“Extreme Crocheting”
“Secret Yarn Bombing”
“Granny Square Off”
May 25, 2011 at 8:02 pm
I remember when I went to visit my sister’s campus, there were all sorts of random crochet pieces on lamp posts, polls and even door handles. Whenever it rained they’d get wet and took forever to dry, so it was really gross to open the front door of her apartment, because you couldn’t do it without touching this sad, damp… door-handle-sweater? This post just reminded me of that.
May 25, 2011 at 8:14 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I think this is definitely art. Who cares if it’s not fine crochet? It’s a means to an end and I love it. It’s too bad this artist really denigrated other crochet artists who do this kind of thing but I don’t think that takes away from the effect.
May 25, 2011 at 8:39 pm
on second thought, making ordinary stuff overly colorful may be a way of making people stop and take notice of everyday things they normally just take for granted–a way of capturing the admittedly short attention span off the collective psyche as a means of setting the spirit of the imprisoned human imagination free…I know, I know, I probably sound LOOPY!
May 25, 2011 at 9:14 pm
this is weird, and I can’t like it, but it’s definitely interesting.
/totally useless comment
May 25, 2011 at 9:18 pm
I love you HK. I was just in NYC two days ago and my friend sent me to se this, bit it was closed Monday & Tuesday. I was so sad. I do 3D weavings and was excited to see 3D textiles in life, but this makes me feel better.
May 25, 2011 at 9:32 pm
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May 25, 2011 at 9:50 pm
The dude in the knitsuit freaks the ever living shit outta me!
May 25, 2011 at 10:32 pm
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I mean, I admire her dedication. This had to take a lot of time and effort.
But the ends sticking out everywhere and the super large stitch work and cheap looking yarn… I’m just not feeling it.
Not to mention I can just HEAR my Gramma asking why it’s so sloppily done. I can’t wait for winter to come ’round again so I can snuggle under one of her beautifully crotched afghans with a cup of hot tea and a good book. (I have a LOT of afghans from Gramma, since that’s how she passed time during the winters.)
May 26, 2011 at 2:52 am
My thoughts too. And my grandmother made lovely crochet afghans too. I knit mine and like knit better, but that’s what she did, and I appreciate it very much.
May 25, 2011 at 10:49 pm
This reminds me of back when I used to play The Sims 2. The textures that came with the game were about this pleasing and coordinated.
May 26, 2011 at 6:03 am
I was about to disagree, but then I remembered that all my pretty stuff was downloaded from Mod the Sims.
May 26, 2011 at 3:54 pm
Here’s a view of “guerilla knitting” in Sydney by knitter Denise Litchfield.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVvC037SuLQ&feature=related
Nice.
May 26, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Holy fucksticks is that ugly. Kudos to the dedication, and the idea, but my god, would it kill to at least have thought of a complimenting colour scheme??
May 26, 2011 at 8:40 pm
All knit-shitting aside (crochet-shitting didn’t roll off the tongue as well), I feel like this yarn would smell like a nursing home.
May 27, 2011 at 6:52 am
Haha! I felt a little bit like an old grandma when I made a cover for my toaster, but it actually turned out pretty cool. Looking at this, I don’t feel so bad now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24072169@N03/3883711565/in/photostream
May 27, 2011 at 7:10 am
WTF?!?! This is actually scary…….
August 13, 2011 at 11:14 pm
That ^^ was supposedly inspired by this >> http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SsFirNXrjjA/TJ4TwW6lhjI/AAAAAAAAAG0/x3Sf38M9AnI/s1600/cuar01_haring0811.jpeg
Can YOU spot the penis?