Making a Statement

I've been seeing these around lately, and I'm quite fascinated by them. These crochet necklaces aren't for the faint of heart. They're bold, funky, and as unique as the person wearing them.

And they're getting media attention too! Take a look at this article.

I've decided to share some of my favorite designs I've come across.

Here we go!


I like this one because it's classy and simple. Something you could wear with a formal gown. Although if I were to do it, I might add just a little more shape to the necklace, perhaps a bead or to to keep the movement going.
I love people who are able to freeform crochet. There's a whole movement out there of freeform and what you can do with this. I the choice of color is elegant, and I like how it doesn't have symmetry.
Ok, I'm such a sucker for bright colors and flowers. But don't worry, I'm a sucker for other things too! Still, I'm happy that the fashion right now with crochet is bright colors and dynamic designs. I like the use of beads in this necklace, lack of symmetry again, and that sassy spiral on the left side. Click on the picture. The woman who makes these has some seriously sweet designs.
This picture is a bit grainy, but still, it's a great necklace. What I like here is the way it fastens, and the merging of a traditional necklace and a more modern crochet.


Another example to get your creative juices going. I like the use of yellow and red- really, that red and yellow flower is what makes this design for me. Otherwise, all of the flowers are circles, which invokes a bubble idea. Nice, but at the same time not too original.

What do you think? I love just surfing the web for crochet ideas. Do you have any favorites? Let me know.

A story

I first became aware of it when I came to Stockholm to study for a semester. My adventures about that can be found here. I was walking in Gammla Stan in Stockholm when I happened to notice... a streetsign had a scarf wrapped around it. There was a website attached to the odd, brightly colored piece of knitting, and I copied it down, curious what it was about.

It was only after I noticed the pieces in other places that I actually remembered to check it out.

That's how I found out about Masquerade, an urban twist on both Graffiti and knitting (or sticka in Swedish.)

From there I discovered Knitta, another site that documents the beginning of a fun, lighthearted way to take knitting and crochet and make a statement of it.

I have to say, in Stockholm, in the winter, when it is almost always cold and dark? These little pieces of art, so unexpected, brighten my day.

As the Knitta website explains the movement:

Knitta began in August 2005, when the soon-to-be-Knittas were discussing their frustration over unfinished knitting projects: half-knitted sweaters and balls of yarn gathering dust. That afternoon, they knit their first door handle. Then it dawned on them… a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born! Today, Knitta is a group of ladies of all ages, nationalities, and… gender.

So go take a look at the websites and let me know what you think.

Garnfiti

Garnfiti is my own attempt to make yarn into an art form. The word comes from Garn, the Swedish word for yarn, and Graffiti- an urban art movement that can range from the beautiful to the obscene. I'm mostly a crochetifile, who sometimes delves into the mysterious world of knitting, and the unique and quirky world of afghan crochet. It's a place to post about patterns I've come across, things in the yarn world, and other thoughts I have on art.