Ferrari: The Ultimate in Knitting Projects
No matter how ambitious your knitting projects get, you probably can't match Lauren Porter's Ferrari!
We already know how knitting projects can change the charity world. But did you ever think they'd rock the automotive or fine arts industries -- and all in a single blow?
Enter Lauren Porter and one of the most fascinating knitting projects I've ever seen. Porter, a university student majoring in sculpture, is also an avid knitter, and she'd always been interested in the place where craft intersects art. That's why she decided that her final university project should be a life-sized knitted Ferrari.
Enough Yarn To Reach from Here to Timbuktu
How exactly does one make a life-sized knitted Ferrari? By executing the mother of all knitting projects, of course. It took Lauren Porter ten months and twelve miles of yarn to craft her masterpiece, which features a metal "skeleton" beneath a series of carefully knitted squares.
Porter called in the troops, and her friends and family helped her knit almost 250 red squares over the course of the year. She then assembled them around her metal frame, creating the life-sized knit Ferrari. It even has a hand-embroidered tag to mark it as the distinctive vehicle.
And the Practical Application is...?
Well, in general terms the Ferrari is about as practical as most wild knitting projects -- that is to say, it isn't. But in another sense, it accomplishes quite a lot. It brings knitting into the mainstream art world. Porter's choice of the Ferrari makes a bold statement about today's knitter: not only grandmas in rocking chairs knit these days. Knitters are all ages, vibrant men and women who enjoy the craft.
And in Porter's eyes, the Ferrari accomplished quite a lot. She's received international recognition for the work, including a compliment from some of the men who create Ferrari's furnishings. She's had her work featured in a wide variety of magazines. And she's received commissions to work on other knitting projects -- most notably a life-sized Christmas tree complete with presents.
It's Confirmed: Knitting Rules!
You're probably never going to knit a life-sized car, but Lauren Porter should inspire you nonetheless. After all, no matter how crazy your latest knitting projects might be, they can't rival twelve miles of yarn wrapped around a Ferrari!
