A project inspired by Conway's Game of LIfe and traditional Fair Isle knitting
John Conway invented the Game of Life rules in the late 1960s and the simple programme based on them became a craze among computing community in the 1970s. Some of the patterns which emerge from this programme are cyclical under repeated application of the rules (known as oscillators). Some of those oscillators reminded me of Fair Isle knitting when I first read about the Game of Life as a maths student in the early 1990s.
I drafted some hand knitting charts when I first had the idea but hand knits are not really my strenghth. I'd always loved machine knitting but the limitations of a punch card control system in domestic machines was frustrating. Most patterns didn't fit nicely into the forced 24 stitch repeat. Once I had my hacked machine in 2016 I started tinkering with the Game of Life ideas again but it wasn't until I had the chance to have some focused time that it all came together.
In 2021 I was awarded a Connected Innovators grant to pursue this idea from Creative Informatics, University of Edinburgh and Creative Ednburgh. The funding enabled me to upgrade my studio equipment, purchase authentic Shetalnd yarn and undertake a period of research. I studied the outputs of this algorithm to find suitable patterns and the use of colour and pattern in19th century Fair Isle knitting using the collection of the National Museum of Scotland. The first set of samples were exhibited in September 2022. I continue to work with these patterns in less traditional colour schemes.
John Conway invented the Game of Life rules in the late 1960s and the simple programme based on them became a craze among computing community in the 1970s. Some of the patterns which emerge from this programme are cyclical under repeated application of the rules (known as oscillators). Some of those oscillators reminded me of Fair Isle knitting when I first read about the Game of Life as a maths student in the early 1990s.
I drafted some hand knitting charts when I first had the idea but hand knits are not really my strenghth. I'd always loved machine knitting but the limitations of a punch card control system in domestic machines was frustrating. Most patterns didn't fit nicely into the forced 24 stitch repeat. Once I had my hacked machine in 2016 I started tinkering with the Game of Life ideas again but it wasn't until I had the chance to have some focused time that it all came together.
In 2021 I was awarded a Connected Innovators grant to pursue this idea from Creative Informatics, University of Edinburgh and Creative Ednburgh. The funding enabled me to upgrade my studio equipment, purchase authentic Shetalnd yarn and undertake a period of research. I studied the outputs of this algorithm to find suitable patterns and the use of colour and pattern in19th century Fair Isle knitting using the collection of the National Museum of Scotland. The first set of samples were exhibited in September 2022. I continue to work with these patterns in less traditional colour schemes.
