Knitters joined forces during the lockdown to create a special birthday tribute to the Tyne and Wear Metro.
The Knitters, from North Tyneside, collected their needles and yarn to create a colorful 12-foot subway car, piece by piece to celebrate the network’s 40th anniversary.
Over 30 volunteers worked on each piece before it was carefully sewn by artist Kelly Sheridan.
The creation of the Knit and Natter Group is on display at the Art Gallery at Tynemouth Tube Station.
Sarah Sutton, Community Development Worker for Whitley Bay Big Local, said: “I knew our knitters would love this challenge. They love to use their skills to support local efforts. “
The knitters, who met on Zoom during the lockdown, were determined to make the project a success after being approached by Nexus.
But as they faced a huge challenge, they enlisted the help of Barbara Lowe – a knitting expert and owner of the Ring-a-Rosie wool and craft store in Whitley Bay – to create the pattern. , order the yarn and ship the packages to the knitters.
Over 30 collected packs to take home to create one of the many panels. These would come together to create the Knitted Metro, with its iconic colors over the years.
Artist Kelly came to put the project together by joining all the panels and creating the lettering as part of Whitley Bay Big Local’s Creative Civic Change project.
Wendy Helps, another Whitley Bay artist working with the Creative Civic Change project was drafted to install the underground and additional adornments in the station for the launch.
Kelly said, “One of the great things about this project is the community effort that has gone into it. Each panel is slightly different, showing the individuality of each knitter.
(Image: Tyne and Wear Metro)
Some contributors knitted, crocheted or French knitted yards and yards of black piping which became the rubber seals around doors and windows.
“It has been a great effort to bring local people together creatively during the lockdown.”
And Nexus said the finished job was a wonderful tribute to Metro’s 40th anniversary. It was one of the few anniversary events to come to fruition due to the lockdown.
Director of Customer Services Huw Lewis said, “This is a fantastic community project that celebrates Metro’s 40th anniversary in a really fun and creative way.
“Metro is part of the daily life of the communities it serves, so it’s great to see a local group come together to showcase their talents, despite all the challenges of the lockdown.
“This stems from an idea from one of our stakeholder relations officers who heard about Knit and Natter and thought it would be great if the group could work together to knit a train.
“Our iconic metro train was so carefully recreated in wool by a group of knitters who had to rely on meeting each other on Zoom calls during the pandemic. My congratulations go to everyone involved in producing such a beautiful tribute to Metro’s proud heritage.
“It is fitting that we were able to display the finished knitting in the gallery at Tynemouth station so that people could see it for themselves as they walk through it.”