a conversation between two friends separated by one state, sharing the same passion for the art of knitwear.

knitorious is an archive for knitwear designers, knitwear students, knitwear lovers and even the knitwear curious.

8.31.2011

dog-headed pouched one

Thylacinus cynocephalus, Greek for "dog-headed pouched one"
was the largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times

Native to continental Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea, thylacine is thought to
have become extinct in the 20th century (1936). In Australia, intensive hunting
encouraged by bounties is generally blamed for its extinction, but other contributory
factors may have been disease, the introduction of dogs, and human encroachment
into its habitat. Also, the animals limited diet would have made it more vulnerable to
extinction.

This strange marsupial carnivore was thought to kill sheep, and with
sheep farming as the backbone of the Australian economy, the government set
up a bounty scheme to exterminate the species. A new study reported in the Journal
of Zoology revealed that the marsupial's jaws were too weak to snare a
struggling adult sheep.

"We scanned the skull and then used the same software on it that you would
use in engineering, to investigate the stresses on man-made structures, such as
bridges and aircraft wings," explained Dr Wroe of the University of New South Wales.

"If a large carnivore - like a big cat for example - wants to take down a big prey
item, it has to clamp down on its throat and suffocate it," said Dr Wroe,
"A thylacine wouldn't have been capable of this."

"They would need to hunt a lot of small animals to survive," explained land
researcher Marie Attard also from UNSW in Sydney.

"So just small disturbances to the ecosystem - such as those resulting from
the way European settlers altered the land - would have reduced their odds
of survival."

"It was given a really poor reputation in its day - accused of being a vicious, wasteful
sheep killer," said Attard.


By the end of the 19th century, Tasmania was the last refuge for a few
remaining animals.





Footage of Ben, the last living thylacine in Hobart Zoo, 1928
#3 out of 5 silent films documented in Hobart Zoo, Australia

more from the sea

new necklace I've been working out--
6 strands in mixed media all coming to central points on
front (metal fixture) and back (6 strand clasp holder)

still need to hide those ends, otherwise, real happy with this one!

the most inspiring photos I've seen in a bit

















"Color film did not exist in 1909, but chemist-turned-photojournalist
Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) had pioneered a
revolutionary method to document pre-Revolution Russian Empire and its
multicultural surroundings. Using color-filtered plates of glass, he captured
a red, a blue and a green channel of each of rivers, railroads, villages, churches
of olde. Even more fascinatingly, we can look 100 years back in time on the
faces of real peasants, factory workers, noblemen, soldiers, sailors and botanists.
Peek into the past with these amazing scenes from 1909 through 1912,
courtesy of the Library of Congress." -- Marina Galperina

8.29.2011

WIND!












gave this wet-felted collar new life.
added blanket-stitch edging around the neckline in light blue thread,
re-needle felted the whole piece over a bunch of times to fill weak spots and
add a bit of thickness to it. Also felted in a spell of silk-wool given to me by
my friend Natalya last time I had a few folks over for dinner. The whole chunk
of this hair looks like a lock from a unicorns mane, its really, really brilliant
in light and ultra soft. finally added that snap at the center too!

these winds are bringing me some positive energy...
real productive few days hanging round the house with the threat
of a hurricane moving through NYC. lots of excitement, but things by
me never got too serious. a whole lot of beautiful winds and mists though
inspiring work inside.

--more things to come!

8.28.2011

post-storm sky








a few phone pics of the sky after the storm taken from my
back window & a few around Queens as folks started to come
out to investigate around the park.

8.25.2011

the world turns

Now that the temp. has been cooling down a bit lately,
and time has almost come for the Fall season to swing around again,
of course, I've been day dreaming about this Comme Des Garcons collection from
2009. -- One of my favorites, & since I've seen it, I feel subconsciously I gather pieces
that fit into this "look" each year. & now I feel I'm close to ready to
layer to this magnitude... still can't wait to hit the thrift stores for new Fall
pieces though :)














& there we have it. Btw, you may have noticed the blog is taking a bit of a
vacation from the usual back & forth knit-focused stuff between Dani & I.
Busy is the time now-a-days, but I'm sure we'll get back into it when the
new season dawns. Anyhow, the direction has turned into my thoughts & things
that inspire me daily, & in my head relate always back to knitwear & craft.
So, hope ya don't mind too much ;)