Firstly, Social Knitworking is an awesome name. Secondly, it’s the title of a really interesting project belonging to design graduate Hilary Grant and creative research organisation Distance Lab.
Amazingly, these smarty pants people have developed a computer programme that analyzes online text and detects conversational patterns (for example, frequently used phrases or sentiments) and outputs an abstract knitting pattern which is downloaded into a computer-controlled knitting machine. Find out more here. Social Knitworking turns key words and phrases from online social messages and translates them into different patterns that can become personal textile keepsakes for friends and family. I love the idea that ephemeral comments made on twitter or taken from email can be turned into colours and designs that create meaningful items of clothing – like wearing a secret diary and only you can understand the coded entries. The pattern generation concept involved means that ‘sentences’ could be woven into pretty much any accessory, dress, top or bag. We update our online status publicly on a daily basis so why not celebrate this by wearing your thoughts on your sleeve?
I’ve noticed a trend on Etsy lately towards filling every piece of unwanted glassware with moss, sticking a lid on it, and letting it grow. I for one, am a massive fan of this move and would love to have a shelf filled with charming vintage glass bottles and jars, each growing its own little garden. It’s not just crafty etsians who are at it either, there’s plenty of gorgeous and fairly high end options too. I love these hanging bubbles in Pigment. (via Oh Joy!)
There’s also quite a few kits on offer over at Etsy (See here, here and here!) and this all got me thinking… how much mess could it possibly create if 20 girls were to plant one of these each, whilst supping a few glasses of a nice wine… Surely not enough to rule it out of a future Finishing School! Perhaps I’ll start collecting glass containers now….
The more time I spend on Etsy, on reading blogs, and chatting to people about Finishing School, the more I realise there’s a massive community of crafters out there. The world is full of people making their own things to sell or to enjoy, as well as talking to each other, sharing ideas and basically making craft a pretty cool and enjoyable thing to do.
The great side effect of all this is that it makes it all the more accessible to recovering no-hopers like me. So, I hope you don’t mind me sharing this trailer, but I can’t wait to see this documentary HandmadeNation focused on the DIY crafts scene in America.
These 13 ladies are all photographers. They’re all from different corners of the US, but decided to embark on a trip together, to build relationships, find inspiration and support. As soon as I stumbled upon their blog from the trip I was smitten. Not only do I love the idea and the adventure, the photography is pretty damn spiffing too. Here are a few picks, visit their blog for more and the full story.
Firstly, Social Knitworking is an awesome name. Secondly, it’s the title of a really interesting project belonging to design graduate Hilary Grant and creative research organisation Distance Lab. 
Social Knitworking turns key words and phrases from online social messages and translates them into different patterns that can become personal textile keepsakes for friends and family. I love the idea that ephemeral comments made on twitter or taken from email can be turned into colours and designs that create meaningful items of clothing – like wearing a secret diary and only you can understand the coded entries. The pattern generation concept involved means that ‘sentences’ could be woven into pretty much any accessory, dress, top or bag. We update our online status publicly on a daily basis so why not celebrate this by wearing your thoughts on your sleeve?
All images ©Distance Lab.
