completed

#KnitBod 2016

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This piece was commissioned by Dr Liz Granger from The Young Scientist Centre at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, and funded by The Physiological Society.

Our brief was to respond creatively to the problem of having too few activities for younger children at The Young Scientist Centre. After a few sketches, we decided on how we could make an interactive body full of things to play with, to help engage young people and be a learning aid. It was an ambitious project, which we decided to share with some victims wonderful volunteers.

The most tedious part was probably knitting the small intestine, which was proper ‘plodding’ knitting and seemed to go on for weeks. We tried to share it around and I took my intestine out to several cafes and soft play areas during school holidays. The most exciting part was undoubtedly seeing the bodies completed.

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They even decided to drop into our ‘Woolly Thinking’ exhibition at Oxheys Mill Studios!

I was delighted to be involved in this project. All the volunteers, my family, and I learnt things about how our bodies work. If you want to knit your own body, sign up for the Happy Makes newsletter and you can download the patterns for your school or group – Free! Signup here.

*Caroline Finnigan is an artist with studios at Oxheys Mill Studios, Preston. She teaches knitting, crochet and other crafts, enjoys photographing things from strange angles and lives with dotty 2 cats.

Custard-y Hairpin Goodness

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I finished my hairpin shawl for the Hairpin-Along-Athon on Ravelry. I used Patons Misty in Custard, which is a lovely shade of yellow.

I thought it might be scratchy when I finished it, but after washing and blocking it, it’s actually very soft, fluffy, and smells slightly of coconut.

The most tedious part of this project was adding the edging, which sounded plain on paper but turned out ok in the end. The most nerve-racking was washing it ready to block. I’ve never blocked mohair before, and as it sat in the sink, looking like a drowned rat (albeit yellow), my heart sank. So many hours wasted! I was careful not to agitate the water too much, kept the temperature lukewarm, and just worked a little bit of hair conditioner through it with my fingers.

When I fished the drowned rat out, I squeezed it gently in a towel and allowed it to air dry on a bath towel. It’s much longer than I anticipated – about one and a quarter times my height, which is a little bit long, but it will make a good thick scarf, if I can wear it. It *is* yellow.

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Here it is, being elegantly modeled by my slightly overgrown hedge. The picture really doesn’t do it justice.

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