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

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. . .

LOVE, LIVE, LAUGH!

LOVE, LIVE, LAUGH! at the hospital.

Location: Nelson Hospital

Date: Sunday 20th February

I decided to move the "LOVE" caption up the handrail a bit, so it had room for a couple of  colleagues - LIVE and LAUGH! Hoping it will brighten up a few people's days. Planning another set for the handrail opposite - KNIT, NATTER, NURTURE. Some day I'll get round to it. . .

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

How a Knit Graffiti "artist" was born. . .

Once upon a time there was a lonely tree root which jutted across a footpath leading to the Nelson Hospital grounds. Before long, a knitter stumbled upon this tree root and the "Health and Safety Officer" lurking deep within her decided "Something must be done!"

First that knitter thought to spray the tree root with fluorescent paint. Next she contemplated tying luminous warning tape to the root. Finally, she decided to get out her knitting needles and crochet hook to accompany some of the ghastliest yarn she possessed in deepest, darkest stash, in order to knit and crochet the root some recognition!!

Using two strands of yarn held together, that knitter knit a big floppy caterpillar body to wrap around the tree root. Then summoning all her long-neglected crochet skills she crocheted all around a tennis ball and lastly embroidered on some eyes and and a nose plus a big happy smile to make a goofy caterpillar head, complete with knitted antennae! The next weekend, in blazing Nelson sunshine and temps in the late 20s she deftly sewed the emerging caterpillar into place around the offending tree root and thus a Knit Graffiti artist was born.

That knitter was me, and this is the caterpillar that started it all on 5th February 2011, when the caterpillar was stitched into place and the newly formed Knit Graffiti "artist" emerged from her cocoon, still wet behind the ears and unaccustomed to flexing her wings. . .

Seems kind of fitting that my first piece of knit graffiti was a caterpillar and there's a whole "emergence/life cycle/re-birth/new-from-old" vibe going on. But it wasn't planned that way, it was simply that the root seemed to be begging to become a caterpillar and what else could I do but oblige?!

Watch this space. . . I think I'm hooked!!

PS Comments most welcome :)