Of all the animals of prey, man is the only sociable one.
Every one of us preys upon his neighbour, and yet we herd together.
The Beggar's Opera: John Gay

Friday 30 December 2011

Satirical knitting

Here at the Tavern, we preserve a childhood nostalgia for knitted social commentary thanks to The Clangers, Oliver Postgate's little woollen aliens learning from experience the dangers of unwise agricultural practices ('Sky-Moos') or industrial over-production ('Goods').

You could knit your own Clanger if you have the time and the skill - instructions here - but, as the BBC reports today, a French blogger has gone one better and produced a whole range of instantly recognisable public figures who appear on her charmingly witty satirical website, Delit Maille (loosely, 'Outlaw Knitting') - which by happy chance sounds a lot like Daily Mail.

If you have not already encountered this bizarre but utterly inspired phenomenon, the BBC has a memorable slide show of the best bits here.

5 comments:

  1. That knitting is not 'satirical', it is a work of outstanding genius.

    When I think of how I've slaved over drawings of these people to little effect and this woman just knits them*, they are all instantly recognisable and everything FFS, how does she do it?

    * I tried knitting this year, it is Hell.

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  2. Ah yes, MW: you kindly documented your attempt for posterity - please feel free to link (I tried but can't find it). Still, your blog already provides evidence of your talent at portraits - if you were a gifted knitter into the bargain, it might be too much to bear.

    Knitting is much more difficult than it looks - I never managed to acquire the skill, despite many hours of painstaking effort on the part of my primary school teacher (I'm sorry, Mrs Watson!). The final results were pretty much like yours.

    I agree that Delit Maille is a work of genius from conception to execution; vive la tricoteuse!

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  3. Found it at last! - MW on Knitting:

    http://markwadsworth.blogspot.com/2011/11/stick-to-knitting.html

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  4. thk you so much for kind words. It's too much, I'm sure I'm not a genious, it's proved : I'm knitting because I can't draw, or paint, or sculpt (all things genious do easily), but I take your compliments as a new year gift. And I love gifts ))
    (sorry for my poor English)

    happy new year from France

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  5. De rien, DM: c'est un vrai plaisir de faire la connaissance des personnages de votre blog.

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