In a normal year The Math-Off is a best-of-three, knockout, event that takes place on The Aperiodical website for the whole of July. It usually involves 16 people. The aim is to present bits of fun, or stimulating, maths to entertain, puzzle, or provoke, not the kind of geometry or algebra you might have done …
Author: Pat Ashforth
Where did all the fish go?
This question has been asked so many times in the past couple of weeks. Our house is typical of houses in old mill towns. It is the end of a terrace of six, on a main road. It is less than a mile from the town centre but when this row of houses was built, …
Is this just fantasy?
This illusion has probably taken longer to create than any other. It is based on the iconic image from Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody video. In one way the charting was difficult because the faces are in deep shadow and trying to make them appear and disappear in illusion knitting was very challenging. On the other hand …
Rainbow Delusions
Illusion knitting – but not as we know it. When you look at illusion knitting from directly in front you only see narrow stripes. An image appears when you look from the side. These ‘Delusions’ are the complete opposite. The rainbow has become the symbol of 2020. It seemed perfect for experimenting with something new. …
Getting to grips with Zoom
Last week Steve wrote about the video made by Cottontown Chorus as a tribute to NHS and key workers. It raised over £1700, on the day, for Comic Relief and Children In Need. He wrote about it from his perspective. We have since been asked for more information about how the video was put together. …
The Big Lock-Down Math-Off
Today, Easter Saturday, April 11th, is the first day of The Big Lock-Down Math-Off. In the first match we are up against Andrew Stacey. It is basically Knitting v Superheroes. The voting for the first match ends at 9 am BST on Monday the 13th Don’t let maths put you off. Some days there may …
Rainbows Everywhere
There are rainbows in windows, and on buildings, all round the world at the moment so I went looking for all the rainbows we have ever made. I surprised myself when I realised how many we have. Some of them are not rainbow-shaped but they are rainbow colours. Scroll to the bottom to see what …
Don’t Panic
This was intended as a companion piece to Life, the Universe and Everything. Fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy will recognise the message from the front of ‘The Book’. It seems particularly appropriate in the current crisis. The lettering has been charted in two different ways. One is designed to be viewed from …
2020 – The First Quarter
The first three months of 2020 haven’t been quite what I expected – and this doesn’t have much to do with COVID-19. To set the scene I need to go back a few months. If you have ever read anything about us you will already know that we spend much of our time designing, knitting, …
Confusing bell gauges
A year ago I blogged about the knitting needle gauges I have in my collection that are shaped like bells. This week I was asked a question about why a size 9 hole in an old UK gauge looks as though it measures 5 or 6 mm when all the gauge conversion charts say size …