The John Deere Knitting Machine

Remember when knitting was something grandma did and not something you spotted vigesimal-somethings doing in trendy SOHO cafes? Fine, we can roll, but it's still a girl-thing right, boys? Well, not when you combine some big ol' John Deere excavators and a pair of 20-foot aluminum knitting needles to create an American flag larger than a Texas pick'em up truck. Dave Cole (artist, possible Oedipal complex sufferer) is no stranger to the knit and purl having already spun a baby blanket from porcelain for tots requiring protection from temperatures above the melting point of steel. His flag will unfurl in time for the 4th (of July you Redcoats) at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art — MASS MoCA, dig?

[Dignan17 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I'm wondering how real this is, or if it's just a hoax... I mean, even the guy's site doesn't actually show basic photos of this in action, and those two pictures, which have to be models, are interspersed with cropped photos of the heavy equipment, and some guy carrying poles that could be for something else entirely.

I'm skeptical. If it turns out to be true, I can't imagine why he'd go to so much trouble to not show us the real thing.

Check out his site:
http://theknittingmachine.com/

[gadgets.fosfor.se @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

That's the strangest thing I've seen in quite a while! Hehehe.

[Jazzay @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

um... is it just my out-of-it-ness at the moment or are those most definitly toys?

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

They're both models, where's the real thing?

[Man @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

From what I heard is that he is looking for funding that is not sponsorship, to build the fence and knit for several days.

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Either way, John Deere is yellow and green, CAT is yellow.

[BB @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

"Oedipal complex"?

Does this reviewer even know what it means? Or is it just a big long word designed to confuse and impress midwesterners?

Back to blog school for you.

[TZK @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Toys. Though, since I live in MASS, I will check it out. If I dont return forward my blog, mmk.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

it's very real. see the boston globe july 1st.

[Thomas Ricker @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

BB, don't be a hater -- check your Id at the door.

[Dennis Carr @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

You know, this looks like something that Gerry Anderson (remember Thunderbirds and Space: 1999? Knew you did!) put together.

[Crow @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Here's an article with pics of the real thing.

http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9049~2947425,00.html#

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

There will never be a flag big enough to compensate for Uncle Sam's tiny, flacid penis.