Japanese recycling

2018 - Chi the turtle, NZ fantail, Plasmo the elasmosaurus, Starry Sky Dolphin, and Amulet bags

Chi the turtle - next generation from Isadora

Created for a lovely teacher friend who works very hard, helping children who need that boost in life.  Her young daughter renamed it Myrtle and sleeps with it every night.

Piwakawaka (NZ fantail) - for Kohanga friends

Recorded the pattern exactly - like everything else - a work in progress!  Created for a Kohanga friend.  

Plasmo for Lucan. 

He is an Elasmosaurus (water dinosaur) which really once lived on Earth as nearly complete skeletons have been found. I like this dinosaur because it was the perfect size that in an imaginary world a child could have it for a friend and ride on its back. Elasmo was a kind of plesiosaurus with a super long neck for catching fish.  Made with lots of love. 

              

Starry Sky - for a newborn (and named by a 2 year old)

For a baby of Shane's work friend.  

See the smile?

Knitted crystal amulet bags - to wear round necks

Because crystal's don't like metal wire around them!  To hold the vibration near, when life becomes dear...

Isadora - Knitted Sea Turtle (for Fynn).

Design as it came to life, from scale to finish.

Side project from October 5 (scale) and finished just before Christmas so over 2 months.  She became so alive, like a Jim Henson creature, that I took a little while to let go and mail her!  But rather a child to enjoy her than me.

Step 1 - one scale at a time

Create 1 scale, idea to sew all the turtle scales together.  I studied images of sea turtle shells, it was all about the shell to start.

Step 2 - redesign to knit shell as one piece (using superior planning)

However, the result was a mess, with the different wools I chose not pulling perfectly together, so I started again.  I drew up a plan to knit it all in one piece, basing my knitting graph paper on the dimensions of one scale I had knitted, creating the most natural shell based upon a real sea turtle's shell pattern (on the computer using a graphics program).  The scales and the graph lines were kept separate in Photoshop - leaving me the possibility to scale down the shells size for later (baby) turtles!

It was beautiful, after all the work was done in planning, just to follow it and have the shell turn out perfectly.  Very fun to knit.

Sewing the rim scales to the main.

Step 3 - quilting shell

I quilted the shell, with some quilt batting inside - but it did take away a little from the beauty of the design to have it look again sewn together - but was the right choice for this creation.  (Later with smaller ones choosing not to...) 

Step 4 - knitting turtle

Making the turtle, headfirst.  My first go did not have the top and bottom separated, no open mouth, but it looked just like a nipple - so redid it with top and bottom parts.  I left large "buttonholes" for the fins to start from, picked up stitches round these gaps and knitted each fin.  Though turtle was knitted by eye, had to record stitches for fins exactly and then repeat for second appendage as repeating exact symmetry by eye impossible.

Step 5 - shaping and personality 

Not looking great - due to no eyelid - shaping etc!  Personality later to be added with sewing overtop using same wool.

Step 6 - putting shell onto turtle 

Final design decision - how to attach shell to the turtle?  My friend Diane suggested this solution, where it can be removed (like a jumper) and a hook at either side of the tail fastens it on when she wears her shell - for cleaning reasons (and fascination of children and for play).

Breaking Up with Plastic!

I love this video.

A few projects I haven't shared - 2016

There are quite a few knitting projects I haven't posted.   Some labours that helped keep me sane, on the train - commuting to and from work long hours in the city.

Pink dolphins, rainbow horses...  for various rainbow people I know.

I will be knitting at a less rapid rate now - for a good reason.  Not needed as much - so that is good.  I am doing what I am meant to do now - again.

Have a few precious patterns to share at some point as well - designs.


Rainbow horse - for Sariah (Canada)

This too quite a few iterations before I got the design right.  I remember walking through the train station with trailing rainbow wool...listening to podcasts from my brother.

My sister-in-law termed this an "alicorn", as in all.  She has both wings and a horn - made from a shell found on a NZ beach.

Blue dog and blue hat for Elizabeth and Emma (Canada)

Made out of same stretchy blue yarn as the dog, knitted the toque first (to be warm and comfy). So the blue dog that came later matched.

Rainbow dolphin for Mel (NZ)

Interesting - the thing about dolphins.

Love the shape - the first dolphins I knitted were small ones for my daughter.  Then larger ones for her and her friend (orcas, they are actually dolphins).  Then for the first time I used a beautiful rainbow wool for a special person at work named Mel.

Pink dolphin for Phoebe (NZ)

Then the dolphin rampage began.  I was creaing making the perfect pink dolphin for a lovely friend I worked with's daughter.  Still knitting the dolphin from the tail up.  I wanted a really bright pink.  I gave this lovely pink dolphin to my little longtime pal Phoebe.

Fluoro pink dolphin for Charlotte (Christchurch, NZ)

I knitted the dolphin a huge circle of water as well, the first time I graphed out a circle.  I was covered in the huge circle blanket on the bus!  The first photo is taken at a coffee shop with Shane.  We are feeling strain from me always being absent at work at this time.

Purple dophin for Hannah (South Africa)

For Shane's close friend's daughter Hannah, a few special girl.

Night Star dolphin for Hanool (NZ)

The final iteration I made of a dolphin was for a close colleague's newly born son, Hanool.  This was a design I really worked on, and realised how much better it was to knit it from the nose, and ending at the tail.  The shaping is easier - and the tail could be made more realistically at it is a wide shape with delicate swerves, not a double leaf sort of shape.  The fins are made by leaving large buttonholes (knitting back and forth to create a gap), later I pick up stitches and knit the fin.  I recorded my design as I created it.  Interestingly, I can often feel intuitively some things about a person when I make them something as I am connecting my energy to theirs.  I felt this child would be full of laughter.

The Story Teepee (Christmas 2016)

Then in a moment where I helped my recovery from burnout by creating a "story teepee" intended for storytelling to children, storming around neighbourhood cutting down bamboo poles (although I did not feel well).  Attaching together a huge semicircle in an empty community hall.   Borrowing a sewing machine to sew a teepee (a gift from a friend).  Figuring out the crazy shenanigan of making the calculated top fit.  Dyeing it with the kids,  some of their friends, Shane.  It did get used for a coupleof stories, but mostly was a necessary act - rather than a useful teepee to be used in future.

Note:  In the end as it got smaller I realised it's far easier to throw over and sew cloth onto the poles - like the First Nations people in Canada did with their skins...  And was a bit too tender a matter to talk about until now.