Tales of the unexpected

I'm wary of puns - well certainly very obvious ones, so I have not called today's post Yarns of the Unexpected.  On the other hand I am willing to admit plagiarism in the title I have chosen, although I might argue that the name of that brilliant series of television plays written by Roald Dahl has entered the lexicon and so is in common use.

Anyway back to woolly related stories.  I was waiting in the lobby of the peers entrance to the House of Lords yesterday (true!)  when a lady going through the usual security scanner remarked, as she placed her handbag on the conveyor leading to the x-ray machine, 'my knitting is in there'.  Several people grinned and she said 'well I have to have something to do while I'm waiting'  I wonder whether their Lordships might have been nervous of a member of the knitting proletariat in their midst?  Could she have been considering knitting this from a fabulous new book What Would Madame Defarge Knit?

(Photograph from the WWMDK website)

I'm only sorry I got swept up by my host and did not have a chance to ask her what she was making.  I too had my knitting in my bag but using wooden needles meant I didn't get found out!

I should just say I love knitting books that are not only instruction manuals but also a good read  These books have recently replaced novels as my bedtime reading, What Would Madame Defarge Knit is the latest.  The book also contains a pattern for Lysistrata's chiton from Brenda Dayne of Cast On, one of the tutors at the P3 knitting course I went on in October.

You hear about knitting from the most amazing sources these days.  On Monday night listening to the BBC science program Material World I heard about this

(photographs from their facebook page)

the periodic table knitted by some very clever women in New Zealand in honour of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry,  

Recently friends have been sending me links to pictures of rather more esoteric knitting projects.  Perhaps because of my interest in medicine and healthcare generally the ones that grab me most are knitted body parts, like this human heart 

(google images)

and this thing of beauty, knitted by a doctor to demonstrate the brain's anatomy to her patients

(google images)

There are so many knitters out there taking the craft beyond sweaters and socks (although they and afghans will remain my favourite knitty projects) their projects are wonderful to see.  What have others found?  Please do post links to things you have found in the comments.

xx

C

PS It was lovely to hear about your Christmas knitting projects after my last post.  Lots of different things and one thing in common - we are all rushing to finish