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The classified ad might read: "Sports car seeks permanent home, very good condition, one lady owner."
Oh, and another important point: "Made of wool."
After traveling the world for the past five years, British artist Lauren Porter is seeking a permanent home for her knitted red Ferrari sports car.


The arty auto sculpture is named "12 Miles of Yarn" because, well, it took that much wool to knit.

Porter told AOL News the inspiration for her work was the mix of macho high-tech sports car with delicate ladylike handcraft.


"The sculpture is more or less to scale and took about 10 months to build," said Porter, who shuns more traditional knitting projects such as scarves and socks.

"I involved family and friends knitting squares," she explained. "I made a frame out of metal poles which are welded together in sections. The whole piece is flat packable. Being a sculptor, this was the interesting part for me, designing and building the piece.

"The knitting is made up mostly of squares, around 250. I made paper patterns from the frame and knitted and crocheted the other shapes and details by eye. I have never followed a pattern and would be lost if I had to knit a pair of socks!"

"12 Miles of Yarn" has been exhibited in London, Paris and Amsterdam and at both car shows and fine-art galleries. The time has probably come, however, for this particular Ferrari to go up on the blocks.

"It has traveled around over the last five or so years [and] I am now ready to find it a permanent home," Porter said. "I would ideally like it to be on display and enjoyed by the public but am open to any ideas."

Knitting is a central theme in much of Porter's work. Her wool Ferrari was inspired by an earlier series titled "Home Comfort" that featured a knitted chair, woolen toilet and sink.

"I was originally inspired to knit the chair after working with an elderly lady who sat and knitted all day," Porter said.

"Developing that, the toilet and sink were a take on the decoration of covers in the home and the way in which people cover their spare toilet papers with knitted doilies with dolls in them."

What's next?

After a series of sculptures based on hunting trophies -- inspired by a trip across Canada -- Porter is working on a series of quilted British birds.
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