Eat your veggies!

Over the last couple of weeks I have been busily knitting five chillis, one aubergine/eggplant, one courgette/zucchini, one tomato, one leek, one carrot and one sweetcorn. A few eyebrows have been raised, let me tell you! But it was all  for a good cause. . . part 2 of the Nutrition and Physical Activity (NPA) Programme yarnification.

Promoting healthy eating is a key part of the NPA strategy, so what better than to decorate their surroundings with a selection of knitted veggies?! Here's the NPA "Healthy As" website and their feature on fresh foods. . .

Oh, and while I was there I added another bike rack cosy, so at least the bike rack would be warm even if I wasn't! Today another wintry cold snap began and that bitterly cold wind fresh from Antarctica was going right through me!

Before my hands froze to the metal I added a couple of fence hearts too ♥♥



I finished off my afternoon of yarnification with a trip over to the main entrance of the hospital, and sewed another bike rack cosy on there too. . . the one in the front:



Hopefully these yarnifications will bring a few smiles to peoples' faces. . .

Knitted tree hug

The Accomplice has been very busy lately! Bit by bit she has been knitting a Tree Hug! It's a cosy for one of the trees beside the main entrance of the hospital. I haven't knitted any of this - it is all solely the Accomplice's work, but I have been helping to sew it on, and very good it looks too. 

The funny thing is that the Accomplice (who initially said she would knit or crochet for the cause but would NEVER be bold enough to sew any of the yarnifications in place) has now completely got over her shyness and thinks nothing of attaching knit graffiti in broad daylight beside one of the busiest areas of the hospital! We even roped in the visiting physio student to help sew on the latest part of the cosy this week! Bet she never thought Knit Graffiti would be part of her clinical placement in Nelson!

Nutrition and Physical Activity Dept, by special request - part 1

Last month I got a request to add a little yarnification to the "Nutrition and Physical Activity" part of the Public Health department at the hospital. I have quite a major plan in mind, but here is part 1 (the simplest!) Hope you like it so far, "Greenman and Booboo" ;-)

Fence post cosy

Bike rack cosies with fence post cosy behind

 The bike rack cosies look so short that I might well add some extra length to them at a later stage. I knitted the ribbed one in the foreground, and my Wifie (aka Partner-in-Craft) knitted the stripy multi-textured one in the background. The Accomplice knitted the rainbow fence post cosy, so this was really a team effort.

Talking of the Accomplice, when I drove past the front entrance of the hospital I spotted that the she had been bold enough to sew a cosy onto one of the trees, which she thought looked a bit cold in this wintry weather. Last Sunday we had snow in this area for the first time in many years. . . the tree certainly looks warmer now!!

Yarnificationz in the media

Hospital bike racks yarnification - 11.6.11

Recently I found out (thanks to a comment on my blog) that Knitapotamus/Yarnificationz had been mentioned in the local District Health Board's  "Healthy As" June newsletter. One of the articles in the newsletter is entitled "Knitapotamus Strikes Again!" I was so excited. . . this is  the first and only time (as far as I know) that any of my Yarnificationz have been noticed by the "media". Wooohooooooo!

In their comment, the writers "Greenman and Booboo" also requested that I might try to brighten up their little corner of the hospital grounds a bit too. . . Let's just say I am working on it! I have no idea who Greenman and Booboo are and it took me quite a bit of detective work to actually work out which newsletter they were referring to, but it was a real thrill to have my first bit of "media coverage".

With the "Dress Nelson" campaign, Nelson is putting on a big effort to get lots of knit graffiti in place for the Rugby World Cup 2011 which is being hosted in New Zealand. Being such a rugby-mad nation it's a huge deal here, and Nelson is hosting three matches and four teams (Italy, USA, Australia and Russia). The Nelson City Council has a webpage with all the relevant information. I am not a fan of rugby (or any sport unless a loved one is playing in the game!) but I am very interested in the knit graffiti aspect, so plan to get involved with that. You can read more about it here and here. If you live locally and want to help out "Dress Nelson" with donations of yarn, needles or knitting, the email address for more info is knitnelson (at) gmail (dot) com

Arohanui CHCH

Last weekend we did a flying visit to Christchurch (CHCH). Drove down one day and back the next, with a stop in Amberley overnight. I really wanted to leave some yarnification to brighten the place up a bit, but was not organised ahead of time. So, on the way down there when I wasn't driving I was knitting! A red acrylic square of stocking stitch, really rather boring but my plan was to embroider something on it. While we were in Amberley I finished knitting the square and embroidered a heart with CHCH in it.  Even attached a Yarnificationz label so anyone who finds it can check back here at the blog if they are interested.

The next day we continued down to CHCH, met up with a ravelry friend (awesome to meet her at last!) and did what we were there to do. On the way out of CHCH I suddenly remembered I had not put up my yarnification, so we stopped at the next likely spot we saw and much to the bemusement of my own family and passing drivers, I scurried out of the car and spent a hasty few minutes sewing "Arohanui CHCH" in place. If you live locally and want to find it, it's on Normans Road, just beside the intersection with Papanui Road. It looks quite good against the liquefaction grey, I think. . .

Hopefully this tiny bit of yarnification will make a few people smile and remind them that the rest of us are still thinking of them down in quakey-shakey CHCH. Talking of which, recently I was contacted by someone from NZ Kidz Mag and we are talking about the possibility of organising a yarnification blitz on CHCH over the next few months. . . so watch this space for more news, and if you would like to get involved please let me know. Only very basic knitting/crochet skills necessary and contributions welcome from far and near :)

International Yarn-Bombing Day. . . Part 3: Heart Fence.

Before the sun came up and we headed back home, we made a quick detour to the tennis courts to add a few fence hearts. . .

 Then it was stealthily back home for us, before the sun rose and the village came to life :)

International Yarn-Bombing Day. . . Part 2: Scarfies Sculpture.

For the second part of the IYBD yarnificationz, my lovely Wifie agreed to get up with me before sunrise today so we could put up our yarnifications under cover of darkness! She had also done half the knitting for this installation, but this was her first go at putting any yarnifications in place. . . Here she is in action, attaching one of the two scarfs she knitted:

And here I am, attaching a cable tie to help keep one of the scarfs in place, using my brand new head-torch to help me see what I was doing.

Here's the finished Scarfies Sculpture yarnification. . .

P.S. Here are the links to part 1  and part 3 of our International Yarn-Bombing Day extravaganza!

International Yarn Bombing Day - part 1: Hospital bike rack cosies

Bike rack cosies outside hospital's main entrance

International Yarn-Bombing Day isn't until Saturday 11th June, but I won't be back at work till next Monday, so attached the two bike rack cosies this afternoon. I knitted the fluoro yellow and pink one and my Accomplice made the much more subtle blue one with a touch of pink. The Accomplice made it quite clear she was not going to have anything to do with attaching them though, that was all down to me!

At 4 pm, having finished my day's work, I spent half an hour attaching the cosies in place, right under the telephone operators' window, very close to the Hospital's main entrance. I crouched down in amongst the bikes that were there when I started, and no-one batted an eyelid apart from the two cyclists who eventually came to ride their bikes away, and the elderly "Courtesy Shuttle" driver who seemed to think I was having difficulty undoing my bike lock!! It will be interesting to see how long the cosies stay there… The cyclists wanted to know if I was planning to cover all four bike racks in knitting. I told them that if these two cosies stay in place a while I will certainly consider it! One of the cyclists reckoned that people will be fighting to get their bike leaning up against a cosy bike rack rather than the regular kind (but he was probably just humouring me!) The other cyclist informed me that this kind of thing is all the rage these days, and we had quite a conversation about knit graffiti vs regular graffiti, and why a person might do such a thing.

There will be an International Yarn-Bombing Day part 2 and maybe even part 3 coming soon, so stay tuned ;-)

Plans for International Yarn-Bombing Day 2011

Have you got any?! Yarny plans, that is. . .

It's just over a week away - Saturday 11th June. International Yarn Bombing Day (I.Y.B.D.) even has its own blog: here, and the best news it is doesn't involve any actual bombing (terrorists need not apply!) - it just refers to brightening up the urban (or rural!) landscape with a few warm fuzzies!

You don't need to be a great crocheter or knitter or weaver - anyone who can get their hands on some yarn can take part and help brighten up their local area. Don't believe me? Well, is there a chain-link fence anywhere in your area? There are certainly a few around here! For a really simple yarnification, all you need is a chain-link fence and a few meters of yarn (plus a big-eyed needle like a bodkin if you have one). Armed with those supplies, you could create something like this:

Hearts on the hospital fence

You just get the yarn doubled or tripled and wind it around two diagonal squares a few times, until the space is filled up, then wind it around again on the other side of the heart, et voilà! Takes 5 minutes at the most. One heart or a hundred - they are sure to give someone a smile!

If you are a beginner knitter or crocheter you could make a square or rectangle and sew it onto a handrail or drainpipe as a cosy, a bit like this (but without the words!)

Handrail cosy

If you can knit, weave or crochet a scarf, you could tie it round the neck of a local statue, and if you can knit i-cord, you could make a car aerial cosy and add it to someone's car in a local car park:

Rainbow aerial cosy

If you are a "black belt yarny" then you can just let your imagination run wild! Just have a look at some of the blog links down the right side-bar here to see some amazing ideas other people have come up with. . . 

Whatever you do, put it in place for I.Y.B.D. on 11th June and don't forget to share your adventures! Post a comment on here to say what you have been doing, or "like" the I.Y.B.D. page on Facebook and add your photos. . . I've just been over there to check it out and see someone has just added some photos of chain-link fence hearts they put up at their son's school.

As for me, I have a few plans afoot, but not sure how many of them I will manage to get completed in  time! Watch this space ;-)

Hospital Helipad Yarnification

So, every work day I see the hospital helipad and warning sign, and every day I have thought it could do with a little brightening up. I've been busy the last couple of evenings working on a little something for the helipad, and today I put my latest yarnification in place. . .

A little crocheted red rescue helicopter with knitted i-cord rotor blades and skids, as a homage to the Summit Rescue Helicopter which frequents the helipad. I used the "Teeny toy helicopter" pattern by Meghan Brawley, which I downloaded from ravelry. 

 I also knitted a sign cosy using the Little Red Helicopter Chart by Sandra Jäger. Two helicopters - one on the back and one on the front of the sign. . .

Hope my latest yarnification doesn't break any Civil Aviation Authority rules?! In the small print of the sign it says that trespassers are liable for prosecution plus a penalty of 3 months prison or $2000 fine, but with any luck my little helicopters won't be seen as trespassers, and nor will I!
I'll let you know. . .

Poppies for Anzac Day

I made several poppies to decorate the RSA building grounds where the Anzac parade/service is held every year. I sewed on the poppies just as dusk was falling the night before Anzac Day. The poppies were still in place for the Anzac Parade at 10.45 am and I heard several people making positive comments about the knitted poppies :-) 

The first few photos were taken immediately after I had attached the poppies. The last five photos were taken on Anzac Day.

After the laying of wreaths and flowers

I used this pattern for most of the poppies and this one for the larger poppy attached to the flag pole. Both those links take you to the relevant pattern pages on ravelry. 

Anzac Day occurs on 25th April every year and is marked in New Zealand and Australia. It commemorates all those who lost their lives in war, and also honours returned servicemen and women. "ANZAC" is an acronym formed from the first letters of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which was the group soldiers were formed into in Egypt before landing at Gallipoli in April 1915. 

Anzac Day was first marked in 1916, and Anzac Day ceremonies are held all over New Zealand. For a little village like ours, we had a very good turn out and everyone was in good voice. As usual the "Last Post" brought me out in goosebumps. . . For the first time ever, Sonny Jim took part in the parade, with the rest of his Cub Scout group, and when the appropriate time came he solemnly laid his poppy on the memorial. As for me, I had already placed my poppies the night before. . .

Some of the crowd at the Anzac Day ceremony

Sonny Jim places his poppy


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

R.I.P. Rooty caterpillar

You might remember my very first attempt at yarnification, back in February. . . a young caterpillar called Rooty, whose prime purpose in life was as a Health and Safety officer in the hospital grounds, drawing attention to a tree root jutting out into the path.

Rooty caterpillar, freshly hatched

His secondary purpose was to bring smiles to the faces of all who walked his way. Various people told me that he did indeed make them smile, and happiness was mine. . .

Imagine my sadness when I walked along the "Caterpillar Path" to work yesterday morning to discover this sight. . .

Rooty had been taken from his tree root, but that was not all. I could have lived with that, with only a moderate amount of distress. However, in a seemingly pointless act of eco-vandalism, the tree root has been ripped out of the ground on both sides of the path and is now much more hazardous to clumsy or distracted pedestrians than it ever was, even pre-Rooty. Maybe Rooty himself could be described as eco-vandalism, but not in my opinion, obviously! No tree roots were harmed in the hatching of Rooty. . . they just got a bit of protection from the elements and stumbling feet.

Why? Why? That's what I keep wondering. Why would someone rip a tree root right out of the ground? I don't know. The exposed tree root is now approaching 2 metres long whereas it was previously only about 30 cm. In an attempt to give me something positive to focus on, one of my colleagues challenged me to knit a snake cosy for the 2 metre long tree root. I might just do that!

The chainlink fence hearts were also removed in the same strike - I found a bunch of red fluff on the ground nearby, but not so much as a scrap of lime green acrylic anywhere to be seen. Rooty seems to have just evaporated!

I guess I could say Rooty "had a good innings" - 2 months is not a short life for a caterpillar. He had become a bit droopy in later life, but at least he was still cheery!

R.I.P Rooty, you started a local yarny revolution!! Look at this beautiful flowery doorknob cosy, put in place at work by my Accomplice recently. . . if it hadn't been for Rooty, this flower would never have bloomed!!