Hyperbolic Baby Toy Set

You may have seen some hyperbolic crochet here before. I thought it was about time that I jumped right into the action myself! Here is my new pattern, a Hyperbolic Baby Toy Set. Each toy is great for digging your fingers into. In fact, I gave the samples plus some other hyperbolic toys to my friend Brenda so that her fidgety high school students could play with them. She has reported back that they love them :) So maybe they aren't just for babies? You can find the pattern on both Ravelry and Craftsy.

Book Review: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina

The Good
This book was a gift from my awesome friend Sooz. Love the cover! This book is a gorgeous intersection of math, art, nature, history, and crochet. It is really informative and fascinating. There are many pictures littered throughout the book. Math enthusiasts will especially enjoy the detailed explanations of advanced concepts and their real world presence/applications. I knew that hyperbolic crochet was present in lettuce and sea life, but there my knowledge ended. I'm so glad I now have this book to reference with its many examples. If you're looking for a wonderfully nerdy crochet read you've found it in this book.

The Bad
Because it is a bit elevated in its language and subject matter, the book and the projects may not be accessible to everyone. Hyperbolic crochet is fairly simple in practice. In fact, it's a great beginner's project! The way the projects are presented in this book is very unlike most standard written crochet patterns. It may have been helpful to include a few simple written patterns for those overwhelmed by the math.

The Verdict
On a scale of yes to no, this book is a yes.

Friday Focus: Gabriele Meyer

Hello, friends! Friday has arrived once again and Friday Focus is back in full swing. Today's feature shines a light on a very special crocheter. Gabriele Meyer is a senior lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison...and she's also a crochet artist! Remember when I briefly mentioned hyperbolic crochet? Gabriele uses the hyperbolic qualities of crochet to create stunning works of fine art. Let's learn more about her!

Who taught you to crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I learned it at age 7 in elementary school. First project: a potholder.

What inspired you to create crochet art?
My Ph.D. advisor's (David Henderson) wife Daina Taimina crochets hyperbolic surfaces, which I saw on a visit to Ithaca, NY. My contribution to the area was to discover that by crocheting around shaped line, you can make the surface curve in three dimensional space.

Crochet Favorites
Red Heart, it's cheap and there are many colors. I like heavy silver metal crochet hooks. They don't break with heavy use. I crochet quite firmly. 

What are you working on right now? 
I crochet around a spiraling wire, which I took out of a children's crawl tube. It's an experiment. Other than that, I work on lino prints of shells. Things rotate with me. I also paint gouaches. 

A few finished objects...
The large white lamp shade started out as a flat disk, then I started the hyperbolic crochet around the perimeter. Attaching it to the ceiling at about 10-15 cm below low energy bulbs has worked well for me. The lamp doesn't get hot. I have had it like that now since January. 

The wavy red algae is new. I made it over the summer. I just like it to be big, wavy and red! Ideally it should float horizontally in the air.

The blue triangle algae, really is a triangle, one side in a darker shade of blue, the other one lighter.

Truly incredible. My favorite is the blue piece, as it reminds me of swirling ocean waves. How delightful that we can capture the beauty of math and nature in crochet! You can see more of Gabriele Meyer's work here. Very inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful crochet with us today, Gabriele!

Under the Sea

The ocean rocks. It's just incredible. The wonder and awe that the ocean inspires in me comes close to the awe I feel when faced with the universe. The immensity of the ocean calms and humbles me. I care very much about the health of the ocean and its vast numbers of marvelous creatures and you should too. This post is going to be written in honor of those delightful, spooky, diverse deeps.

First up on the ocean pattern agenda is this darling little lobster. What a great scrap project! It worked up quickly with great results. Maybe he'll be first lobster in the nativity play this year.
 

                           

I am very pleased to report that the happy little guy now lives on my husband's desk at work.

Next up is this fabulous octopus pattern. There are so many octopus patterns out there because octopi are very trendy at the moment. I have always loved octopuses (both plurals are acceptable!) for their intelligence, curiosity, and general impressiveness. To be honest I'm not really a fan of the many octopus patterns that are overly comical or what I like to call 'squidgy', like if you were to squeeze them they would squeak. When I found this pattern I was thrilled that it was both straightforward and realistic. Maybe I love it a little too much...I made five of them and I'm likely to make more! It translates so well between multiple yarn types and sizes. In case you're wondering, and I know you are, their names in order of appearance are Mondo, Dawn, Dusk, Ingrid, and Henry.

Another amazing ocean-themed crochet project is hyperbolic crochet. Grounded in math and science, this form of art is unique to the structure of crochet as opposed to knitting. I think it would be a perfect learning opportunity for kids because it demonstrates the order and structure present in nature in a very tactile way. I haven't yet worked up my own hyperbolic crochet. When I do I hope to donate it to the Crochet Coral Reef. If you haven't yet checked out this project, I highly encourage you to do so! What a wonderful way to use crochet to inspire and educate others.

I see many more ocean related crochet projects in my future. Wouldn't it be cool to crochet a big wave and hang it on the wall with various creatures all over it? If you have some favorite nautical or oceanic crochet patterns, drop in on the comments! We'd love to hear about them.