Yarnstorm the Fifteenth: Tree of Tintenfisch

Berlin Book Launch continued: What’s a graffiti knitting book launch celebration without a swarm of skybound squid (or Tintenfisch as squid are called in Germany)?

The German edition of Knit the City’s shiny new book featured a squid celebrity on the front cover. Witness Plarchie the handknitted stitched squid lounging in the lap of his pal and the father of modern biology Charles Darwin! So a squid celebration seemed rather appropriate as part of the book launch day.

Plarchie and Chuck D on the cover of the German book

And who better to celebrate with than the knitters of the city of Berlin? We sent out a crafty cry to the sneaky stitchers of the city and asked them to join us in a yarnstorm on the banks of Berlin’s River Spree, featuring all manner of ten-tentacled terror. Plarchie came with us, being the only piece of knitted graffiti we have never been able to get rid of. He follows us where ever we venture.

We sent the pattern for the Finger-fighting Stitched Squid, featured at the back of the Knit the City: Maschenhaft Seltsames book, to sneaky stitchers across the city. They arrived on the day clutching handfuls of glorious handmade molluscs and huge handmade hero smiles:

A lovely load of Berlin knitters

We broke out the fishing line and spent a little time in the freezing cold persuading the stitched squid to be suspended…

Tidy piles of handmade Tintensfisch

First up his Royal Squidness himself, Plarchie, took his place at the riverside. He found four arty (and rather bare) friends immediately and wrapped them in a little tentacled tenderness.

"Hello, New Friend One!" on the banks of the Spree

Plarchie attempts to save the dignity of New Friend Two

Plarchie gets friendly with New Friend Three

Plarchie and his new chums on the bank of the Spree

And then it was time to release the Berlin knitters’ tiny stitched squid…

A Spree-side Tree of Tintenfisch

Things to love about Berlin:

The next day, when the clouds had blown away and the sun shone, every single stitched squid was still there.

Still full of swinging squid

Happy handmade molluscs

Woolly squid in the Berlin wind

And they were still there at sunset too…

Sunset and swirling stitched squid

Perhaps they are still there now.

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The Tree of Tintenfisch was yarnstormed in the freezing cold sunshine on the River Spree on March 5 2011 by Deadly Knitshade, Shorn-a the Dead and Lady Loop. The tree was yarnstormed to celebrate our brand-new book Knit the City, Knit the City –Maschenhaft Seltsames being released in Germany.

A huge thank you to every single stitcher who arrived with stitched squid and smiles (both in our crowd travelling from the UK and those from Berlin). It was an honour to yarnstorm with you all. We hope our pics do your Tree of Tintenfisch justice. Lots of pics over on our Flickr of you all releasing your squid into the wild too.

Berlin City Knitters: MissMcNastie, ChemieEmma (see her squid on Ravelry here), TracyTriumph, DannyKay and others who didn’t leave their names.

Stay tuned for one last German yarnstorm, and this time it’s sausagey…