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Meet Agata Oleksiak (aka OLEK), a “New York-based Polish artist” who’s the world’s first crochet street artist. Her works have been seen all over New York and London, and she’s bringing a bit of crocheted color to the world with her psychedelic yarn works and twisted gimp-esque crocheted bodysuits.
Head to the link to see some of her awesome guerilla artworks, from a crocheted car to the Wall Street Bull and some seriously twisted yarn covered rooms in-between. Olek seems hell bent on making the world a warmer place, one bright pink skein at a time.
Link –via DesignTAXI
He’s so cuddly you might just be tempted to let your kids play with him, until they actually see the movie and suddenly start refusing to go to bed and having nightmares every day.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m terrible at gardening. That’s why these crochet succulent gardens seem like such a great option. If you know someone who wants a garden but kills plants at an record-breaking rate, these might make a great Valentine’s Day gift.
Yesterday, I posted Anthony Bordain’s great Krampus Carol and now for those of you who want a terrifying reminder of the evil Christmas character inside your own home, you can always look to this great doll from Shove Mink of Croshame. While the link doesn’t have any directions to make your own, the pictures can still provide you with a good starting point if you’re already a skilled crocheter.
Link Via Laughing Squid
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If you like taxidermy artwork, but hate the idea of real dead animals being used for their creation, then you’ll love the wonderful crochet taxidermy animals of artist Shauna Richardson. Of course, if your favorite aspect of taxidermy is the dead animals, then you probably won’t be a fan.
These crochet TIE Fighters were created for the Stitch Wars Strikes Back show in Florida. What other space ships should be used for chrochet?
I hate to admit it, but I’m on a bit of a geek kick still so you’ll have to excuse my extensive Star Wars posts today. That being said, how awesome is this great Salacious Crumb crochet plush? He was created by Allison of Crafty is Cool for the Bird and Bear Gallery’s Stitch Wars Strikes Back show that starts in August.
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It’s never to early to start training your kids in geekdom. That’s why I highly endorse these adorably geeky baby beanies made by Etsy seller Fancy Purls.
Link via Laughing Squid
If you’ve always wanted to play angry birds in real life, just get a sling shot and then crochet some birds and pigs like Flickr user deadcraft did.
I love this! DeviantART member MasterPlanner made a rainbow scarf, complete with a detachable Pop Tart Cat! You can buy one for $75 plus shipping- if there are any left. Link -via The Daily What
Neatoramanaut Senor Mysterioso (featured previously) did something neat that you would never have thought of in a million years. He crocheted an entire gun store! The pistols in the display case, the ammo boxes, the weapons hanging on the walls -all made of yarn! This was his Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis project. See details in his Flickr set for the installation. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user SenorMysterioso)
This video explains how those cute little amigurumi figures are made -by magic!
This is not your grandmother’s doily, indeed! Portland, Oregon artist Jo Hamilton takes the art of crochet to another level by reproducing faces with yarn. She also does landscapes in crochet. Link -via Nag on the Lake
Another example of the winning combo of sci-fi geekdom and crochet in action! Behold the amigurumi Zoidberg(s) – the regular (red) one, and the Zoidberg from the parallel universe. Ohmigosh, they’re even holding the box.
New Craftster user Loefferst (I love finding new users!) came up with this design herself for an amigurumi Zoidberg from Futurama. She was also nice enough to share the pattern, so click through to see her post if you want to make your own. I’m in love with the teeny tiny felt clothes and accessories.
Link -via Mostly Nerdy Crochet
Sure, we all miss MST (MST3K – Mystery Science Theater 3000). But the show lives on forever in our hearts, on our DVD shelves, and through our geektastic arts & crafts.
Craftster user MageAkyla has created her very own chibi Tom Servo, and you can too, with her step-by-step walkthrough:
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They say that cacti are for people who can’t keep plants alive, but what do you do if your black thumbs kill even the hardiest cactus? Artist Shannon Gerard has the answer: crocheted cacti called Plants You Can’t Kill.
Like my other crochet projects, Plants You Can’t Kill are attractive on the surface while also speaking to our human insecurities. These pretty little cacti, aloe plants, flowering pots, ferns and other botanicals look darling on the windowsill but are particularly resonant with those of us who can’t keep the real thing alive.
After dozens of failed attempts at indoor gardening, I just decided to crochet plants my own damn self.
How do you like them avocados?
Link – via thank you, ok
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Stay warm and scare children on the slopes with this crocheted Cthulhu ski hat from Etsy seller CraftyPA! There is an opening for your mouth under the tentacles. Available in red, too! Link -via Buzzfeed
Street artist Agata Olek covered the Charging Bull sculpture in Manhattan with a pink and purple crocheted skin! But why?
“I wanted to make it for all those people who couldn’t make it to their families and for those people who don’t have coats and don’t have any money.”
Olek is originally from Poland, but when she couldn’t make it home to see her family, she thought of all the others who might be spending this holiday far from their loved ones.
The crocheted Charging Bull is her Christmas gift to NYC, she says, and a tribute to the sculptor of the bull, Arturo Di Modica, who placed the bull on Wall Street just before Christmas of 1989.
The sweater only lasted a couple of hours- long enough to get its picture taken before Bowling Green park employees removed it. Link -via Laughing Squid
Polish-born artist, Olek, loves watching movies and making art; creating these crochet works allows her to do both at the same time. This is definitely not your granny’s crocheted doilies and toilet paper roll covers. Olek turns the traditional craft into something edgy by covering everyday objects with crochet, transforming them into installation pieces. She explains her work this way:
The movies I watch while crocheting influence my work, and my work dictates the films I select. I crochet everything that enters my space. Sometimes it’s a text message, a medical report, found objects. There is the unraveling, the ephemeral part of my work that never lets me forget about the limited life of the art object and art concept. What do I intend to reveal? You have to pull the end of the yarn and unravel the story behind the crochet.
Link - Via It’s Nice That
Howie Woo, whose whimsical crochet creations have been featured on Neatorama previously, was inspired to create this crocheted scene by a sad, strange news item from 2001. Shirley Stockdale of Cape Coral, Florida got her arm caught in a sofa bed and could not reach the telephone. She died two days later. Woo was haunted by the disturbing story, and crocheted Ms. Stockdale’s last moment before the accident. Link -via Everlasting Blort
Neatoramanaut Nikki of Pig Corner is both an avid gamer and a talented crafster. She combined the two by making fantastic video game-inspired sackboys.
Her website is full of nifty crocheted characters, but I particularly like this one above of Kratos from God of War. Best of all, her website has tutorials if you want to make your own: Link – Thanks Nikki!
This crocheted bicycle cozy was recently spotted in New York City’s Lower East Side.
via Make | Photo: Apothekemedia | Previously: Crocheted Car Cozy
Aren’t these adorable! Etsy seller CraftyisCool is selling the patterns so that you can crochet Pee-Wee Herman and his friend Chairy. Contact her if you would like to buy the dolls themselves. Link -via Sofa Pizza
Neatoramanaut SenorMysterioso liked the creature the Alot a lot! He even made one of his own, for a competition among a knitting group called Knit Knack. See the winner and the other runner-up in this post. You can see more of this alot at SenorMysterioso’s Flickr stream. Link
March is not only National Craft Month, but also National Crochet Month, so it’s only fitting that we feature ten of the weirdest and coolest crochet and knitting projects ever made. As this is, of course, all a matter opinion, feel free to share your favorites in the comments!
Coral reefs are some of the most beautiful underwater structures around. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t get to see these beauties in their natural habitats. Enter the world of crochet coral, a collective project by The Institute for Figuring. Crafters from around the world have added their interpretations of crochet reefs and the entire exhibit has travelled through museums across the U.S.
Image via Margaret Wertheim [Flickr]
It’s one thing to say your baby boy is a prince, it’s an entirely different matter to say he is the prince of the universe. Fortunately, with the adorable hat pattern from Itchy Stitchy, you can dress him like the prince of the cosmos from Katamari Damacy without looking like an egotistical jerk.
Image from the creator’s Flickr stream.
If you’re going to make adorable art out of crochet critters, why not take it a step further and make a stop motion music video out of a pair of amagami playing the ukulele and singing? Apparently these two cuties make up a music group known as U900.
Etsy seller Moons Creations always has some interesting bunnies in her shop, including cathulus and Olympic skiers, but perhaps her greatest creation is the Pinhead bunny seen in this blog post. While this one is already sold out, if you PM her, maybe she’ll custom make you your own.
Crochet is normally such a sweet and happy medium but the designs created by artist Patricia Waller (some pics mildly NSFW) are anything but. Her goretastic crocheted plushie collection includes a bunny killed with a pitchfork, Miss Piggy falling into a meat grinder and a unicorn that has driven its horn through a teddy bear. While the pieces are quite impressive, it’s probably best to avoid letting your kids see them –unless you’re into the whole traumatizing-your-kid-for-life thing.
Perhaps you like your gory crochet pieces to send a message to your enemies though. This knitted horse head pattern from the Anti-Craft is a vegan-friendly way to remind your enemies about the offer they can’t refuse.
Speaking of vegan-friendly dead things,. Artist Shauna Richardson is quite possibly the authority on crochet animals in the wild and has quite the collection of taxidermied crocheted beasts. Anyone who loves taxidermy but hates to see the poor little dead animals is certain to enjoy her creepy-cool gallery.
If you objected to dissecting frogs back in school, then this knitted frog dissection by Etsy seller craftyhedgehog might just be the ethical alternative you were dreaming of. It is also a great gift idea for anyone who overly enjoyed the frog dissection in school. If frogs aren’t your thing, she also makes rat dissections as well.
No article about crocheting and knitting would be complete without mentioning Anthea Chrome, the amazing artist who created all of the tiny clothing used in Coraline. While she’s best known for her work in the movie, her tiny sweaters are famous in their own right and have been a favorite of collectors and have been featured in museums.
One yarn movement that’s been sweeping the country and has even made its way on to the homepage of Neatorama this week is the idea of Knitting graffiti. It has taken place in Massachusetts, Houston, Finland, Ohio, British Columbia, Sweden, and New York –be sure to click on this link for Deputy Dog to see pictures of all of these places. Some of the artists, like those from the International Fiber Collaborative, have obtained permission first, while others are acting rogue in the dead of night.
The funniest part to me is that of all the articles I’ve seen, only one person seems to dislike the work. Mark Lukas, who has a winter home in Cape May, told the Press of Atlantic City that he found the tree cozies in his neighborhood hurt the charm and authenticity of the Victorian homes in the area, “I don’t think it’s appropriate. It’s a public space and people should not be able to go in and do what they want to do.” Am I the only one who thinks this guy is a total spoilsport?
Artist Shauna Richardson produces trophy animals by crochet! She has been commissioned to produce three giant crocheted lions to be displayed at the 2012 Olympic games in London. Link to interview. Link to artist’s site. -via Everlasting Blort
Got a Twilight Mom? Etsy seller meekssandygirl crocheted the perfect necklace for her: a Vampire Bite silk cashmere necklace.
Link | More unusual Christmas gift ideas by our very own Jill Harness over at Inventor Spot
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Deviant Art member =Sugarcoatidli3z crocheted this awesome Pikachu convertible ski mask because the weather was turning cold and she liked Pikachu. Now she’s made the pattern available to anyone who wants it! Link -via Everlasting Blort
I love this crochet Jägermeister bottle made by crafter Yummy Pancake. You can find more crochet goodness at PlushYou! where Kristin Rask of Schmancy posted an interview with the crocheter (a pharmaceutical project manager by day and uber crafter by night, mind you): Link – via Rue the Day and Craftzine
Photo: MJ, via WooWork‘s Flickr photostream
We’ve blogged about Howie Woo of WooWork before on Neatorama, but the genius goofball of crochet is back with this awesome Sat-Track Surveillance Watch (complete with Remote Bug):
The name is Woo. Howie Woo. As a dashing international spy, I enjoy good martinis, good suits, and good gadgets. My newest spy gadget is codenamed The Sat-Track Surveillance Watch
Excellent! Link – via Craftzine
