The LET Space

A month into the project and the LET space is looking wonderful now! At The moment the LET space is is the base for all of the drop in workshops and knitting circle sessions I am organising throught out the project. It is also a display space to showcase the creative and wonderful crocheted pieces the local community have been making by attending the workshops. 

At the moment the space has a washing line in which I have been hanging various pieces to over the past few weeks.  I have also been using various parts of the market stall structure to tie pieces on to and to group the different pieces together as a start for constructing the sculptures. 

I have had some wonderful comments back from the general public who have been admiring the work commenting on how nice it is to see the space transforming and growing week by week.

I thought I'd share a few images of how the space looks right now...

 

Crocheted pieces made by the community...

We've had a busy few weeks over at the LET Space in the market hall in Accrington, which you can see  here from this recent image of the LET work space...

Here are a few pictures of all the crocheted pieces the hard working participants have made..

The following pieces we're made at a Crochet sculpture workshop at The Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington on the 18th September. Many thanks to The Haworth Art Gallery for accommodating the workshop and for organising such a wonderful group of kids and adults to attend the session. 

 

Many thanks to the following people for contributing to the project so far:

• Angela Jarzembski
• Jan Carruthers
• Anne Waddington
• Elizabeth Nunns
• Bethany Tomlinson
• Samantha and Jemma Alldritt
• Hally Bambury
• Barbra Caddy
• Melinda J
• Marie Pattison
• Caroline Eccles
• Irene Henshaw
• Debroah and Phillipa Iddon

Knitting & Crochet Circle last weekend

Here are some images from last weekends Knitting Circle event at the LET space in Accrington Market Hall. Thanks to everyone who attended, didn't we all have a great day? :o)

There will be more photos this weekend, from the weekend events and from the workshop at the Haworth Art Gallery In Accrington, which will take place this Saturday (18th sept) 12.30 - 4, all welcome, and from all the other goings on at the LET space.

Amigurumi Elephant

I have been crocheting an elephant for the Animating Accy project this week and it's almost finished. I have decided to let Caroline from Huckleberry Films (the creators of Animating Accy) decide on what eyes it should have and tomorrow we will visit Duckworth's Wool Shop in Accrington to buy the finishing touches. I'll post some more pictures up over the weekend once the Elephant is all finished, but until then this is how it was made...

7 different pieces are made with aran yarn and a size 4mm hook...

All the pieces then get sewed into position ...

And here he is....

The nice thing about the Japanese crochet art 'Amigurumi' is that most of the pattern is made up of separate parts that are made from different sized crochet balls, keeping the patterns nice and simple to create whilst giving a really cute and 'cartoony' appearance.

I think I'll be making some more in the future... here are a few examples of other Amigurumi animals...

Knitting & Crochet Circle

This Saturday, 11th September,  ArtYarn would like to invite you to a public knitting and crochet event at Accrington Market Hall from 11am until 3pm, drop in any time and enjoy a knit and a natter. We will be in the LET space (small market stall) directly outside Habiknit wool shop.

• All are welcome, from experienced to beginners, or  come and refresh your skills. 

• All ages welcome

• Bring along your knitting or crochet project 

• Meet like other knitters and crocheters from the area

• Swap creative ideas

• Take part in 'Crocheting Accy' - A community Arts Project for Accrington

• The session is completely free and materials will be provided for all. 

ArtYarn will have a selection of free patterns for you to take away, books and magazines to browse, and ArtYarn will be on hand to teach you new techniques and would especially love to teach anyone who would like to learn knitting or crochet.


Details

Location: Peel Street, Town Centre, Accrington BB5 1HB (Click for Map)
Time: Anytime between 11am & 3pm
Cost: FREE
Age: All

Animating Accy...

One of the most wonderful aspects of this project is having the opportunity of collaborating on a project with Caroline and David who are the marvelous Huckleberry Films.
When they release their new animation 'Animating Accy' in mid October,  see how many knitted and crocheted features you can spot in the film.

They have also asked me to make this little fella especially for the film, please visit the blog again soon to see how the Amigurumi Elephant is coming along....

Click here for the crochet pattern

Floral Market Town...

Many of the crocheted pieces, and the majority of the crocheted sculptures will be inspired by the many floral hangings and stands dotted in and around Accrington. I've been snapping away this week to get some inspiration for the form of the sculptures ....

New crochet pieces

Here are a few new pieces of crochet, which have been made by myself and by a few ladies who have stopped by and had a go at crochet for them selves.

If you would like to have a go at crochet, or if you can already crochet and would like to contribute to the project, this week I will be Accrington Market Hall on the following days:

Thursday 9th Sept: 10 - 1

Friday 10th Sept: 10 - 1

Saturday 11th Sept: 10 - 4

Interesting sites ...

On Friday afternoon the lovely Caroline from Huckleberry Films gave me the grand tour of Accrington town centre. Being an Accrington girl herself, Caroline knew all the hotspots of the town and it was a really useful walk about for me as I now have a better idea of some spaces in the town where I can install the crochet sculptures, once they are build in early October.

I would like to place the sculptures in locations that correspond to John Flanagan's phase 1 project 'Mapping Accy', and also in keeping with the narrative of the  animation film of Accrington by Huckleberry Films.

I took a few photos of some interesting places around the town to be thinking about over the next few weeks, and I will be doing various pieces of research on each of these areas along side building the sculptures.

1) This hook for a hanging basket, outside Annie's Cafe in the Victorian Arcade, would be just perfect for a floral crocheted hanging - using the theme of Accrington named as a 'Floral Market Town'. 

Annie's Cafe has also been talked about lot's in the research carried out by Caroline and David for their animation piece. It seems like Annie's Cafe is right at the heart of a lot of the locals.

2) The Bee's Knees has been talked about lot's over the past few weeks. It is currently being renovated, and from what I have heard it has been a very popular watering hole for many a year. I'm currently digging deeper to find out more info about the Bees Knee's, so if you have any stories or memories please leave me a comment.

3) This is Accrington Library, and at the foot of the stairs sits this beautiful Owl statue...

I'm well informed that there will be an 'Owl' character in the Animation Accy film... so maybe this is a good location too for one of the sculptures.

4) And this spot is an unused ourdoor lamp at St James church. This could be an interesting, little hidden spot to place something rather beautiful. 

St James church is also one of the venues being talked about for a launch event later on in October when the projects come to an end.