World Wide Knit – Community Arts Project
On World Wide Knit in Public Day on Saturday June 10, the Artists’ Society of Phillip Island Textile Artists unveiled the image to be used in a community arts project to celebrate the 150th anniversary of settlement of Phillip Island next year. The project involves piecing together small knitted squares to recreate the image which is taken from a postcard from the 1870s. It was sourced from memorabilia held by the Phillip Island Historical Society and depicts a group of people waiting for the steamer on the pier at Cowes.
The ASPI textile artists are calling on all knitters to get involved with the project. They will be happy to teach you if you don’t know how to knit but would like to learn. The final artwork will be a massive 5 metres by 2.5 metre wall hanging to be donated to the Bass Coast Shire Council. Each square is just 5cm x 5cm and an estimated 5,000 knitted squares need to be made. The Textile Artists are hoping enough local knitters will volunteer so that the mural can be completed by the end of this year.
A lot of stitching will be required early next year to construct the textile artwork – it is planned that this will be done in the first half of next year with the final piece ready be presented to the Council on Queens Birthday weekend 2018.
The ASPI Textile Artists will be holding periodic workshops and kits with some yarn and a leaflet explaining requirements are available for anyone wanting to become involved in this amazing community project.
Contact Barb Owen 0438-689-719, Shirley Collins 0410-584-025 or Marg Knight 0414-447-262.