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. . .

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!!

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 :)

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 ;-)

St Valentine's Day yarnification

The Knit Graffiti bug struck again at Nelson Hospital - this time to celebrate St Valentine's day. . .

LOVE on a handrail!

Valentine Hearts sitting on the car park fence