Art and technology meet in Stargazing: A Knitted Tapestry
October 17, 2018 11:49 PM Subscribe
Australian software engineer Sarah Spencer hacked a 1980s knitting machine to create a massive star map.
Spencer used "a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino compatible board, Python and a PHP/MySQL web interface" to transform the Brother KM950i knitting machine. Her "Knitting Network Printer" receives an image over a networked computer, and reproduces the pixels in knitted yarn form; using star data from publicly-available maps, she programmed the machine to create Stargazing: A Knitted Tapestry. The fiber star chart, measuring roughly 9' x 15', weighing 33 pounds, and consisting of seven sewn-together panels, features constellations from the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the sun, the moon, the Milky Way, and the planets. Stars are depicted "according to their real-life brightness."
ScienceAlert.com has an embedded video of Spencer's presentation at Electromagnetic Field Camp 2018, and shows the machine in action.
Spencer used "a Raspberry Pi, an Arduino compatible board, Python and a PHP/MySQL web interface" to transform the Brother KM950i knitting machine. Her "Knitting Network Printer" receives an image over a networked computer, and reproduces the pixels in knitted yarn form; using star data from publicly-available maps, she programmed the machine to create Stargazing: A Knitted Tapestry. The fiber star chart, measuring roughly 9' x 15', weighing 33 pounds, and consisting of seven sewn-together panels, features constellations from the Northern and Southern hemispheres, the sun, the moon, the Milky Way, and the planets. Stars are depicted "according to their real-life brightness."
ScienceAlert.com has an embedded video of Spencer's presentation at Electromagnetic Field Camp 2018, and shows the machine in action.
Also, see Sarah's "The Knitting Printer" talk at LCA2018 and shop Heart of Pluto on Etsy
posted by nickzoic at 3:34 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by nickzoic at 3:34 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Super cool project! Also, that thing is huge! Was expecting beach towel-sized, not freakin' wall-sized. It looks awesome!
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:33 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:33 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
It pleases me when obsolete-ish technology gets a new lease of life, and knitters are way up there with the solutions. I recently helped someone convert knitting machine pattern card data so they could cut new ones on a stencil/laser cutter from SVG files.
posted by scruss at 5:43 AM on October 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scruss at 5:43 AM on October 18, 2018 [3 favorites]
I believe that women scientists/politicians/economists/artists/athletes are our future. Treat them well and let them lead the way.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:38 AM on October 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:38 AM on October 18, 2018 [7 favorites]
That's an amazing thing. Pretty sure Dr Bored for Science would want a similar machine if we had the room...
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 6:52 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 6:52 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wow! Faith in humanity restored for at least an hour!
posted by triage_lazarus at 7:04 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by triage_lazarus at 7:04 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I shared this post on Mastodon, and phooky replied and shared this cool site: https://knityak.com/
posted by terrapin at 8:44 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by terrapin at 8:44 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does anyone know what astronomy catalog data she used? Secretly hoping it’s one of the ones I work on! Sloan Digital Sky Survey for example. On mobile right now but I’ll do a bit more digging soon!
posted by capnsue at 8:49 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by capnsue at 8:49 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
Also reminded me of the Sheldon tapestry, which I was lucky enough to see in 2016.
posted by terrapin at 8:53 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by terrapin at 8:53 AM on October 18, 2018 [2 favorites]
That Etsy store... seriously considering a cellular automata scarf even though it never gets below 60 here...
posted by q*ben at 9:21 AM on October 18, 2018
posted by q*ben at 9:21 AM on October 18, 2018
Does anyone know what astronomy catalog data she used?
According to this tweet, it's based on Every Starry Night.
posted by zamboni at 9:27 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
According to this tweet, it's based on Every Starry Night.
posted by zamboni at 9:27 AM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
This is AMAZING.
posted by lucy.jakobs at 11:03 AM on October 18, 2018
posted by lucy.jakobs at 11:03 AM on October 18, 2018
This is gorgeous and as a knitter I really want to get up close with it. She should also consider releasing the pattern on ravelry, there are doubtless other knitters who would want to make it, or make sections of it.
posted by bile and syntax at 3:43 PM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bile and syntax at 3:43 PM on October 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Spencer collaborates with her husband, John; more about their projects on their Heart of Pluto site, with pictures of the projects on Instagram.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:56 PM on October 18, 2018
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:56 PM on October 18, 2018
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posted by glasseyes at 1:22 AM on October 18, 2018 [6 favorites]