Knitting for gold: a Barnes store gets sporty with its knitting
Captions: 1.Possibly a knitted version of Dr Tim Brabants? 2. The full display in all its glory. All photos courtesy Christopher Blake
An Olympic themed window display has been delighting passers by at a haberdashery shop in Barnes, South West London with an imaginative array of knitted woollen athletes. Catherine Blake finds out more
The window display has been prepared for several weeks by a small group of local talented knitters who were each given a particular figure to create in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The backdrop of the display includes a map of the River Thames, and a selection of flags representing countries from all around the world competing in the London games.
In pride of place at the front of the display, Usain Bolt strikes his iconic lightning pose alongside Tour de France and Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins, who is pedalling a handcrafted racing bike and sporting a knitted yellow jersey.
On closer inspection the display also includes a canoeist, a beach volleyball athlete frolicking in the sand and a dressage rider proudly sitting atop her horse. You can also see an archer carefully taking aim at the bullseye with her arrow, a footballer celebrating his winning goal with a dramatic knee slide and a track and field athlete preparing to launch a discus.
The winning athletes are displayed on top of three podiums – in joint third place on the bronze podium a fencer thrusts his foil and a tennis player cheekily lifts her skirt! On the silver podium a weightlifter ‘clean and jerks’ his barbells above his head and a black belt judo athlete kicks the air in celebration. Taking winning position on the gold podium, an ecstatic gymnast strikes an elegant pose with her hoop.
The window has been a local talking point for many years. Past displays have included a variety of seasonal and topical themes including: Hallowe’en, Christmas and the Wimbledon tennis. The owners are constantly asked, “What will you do next?” To which they always reply: “You’ll have to wait and see!”
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