Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Coral Reef - first pieces

I'm certainly enjoying my new project, to crochet a coral reef!
Of course, I haven't finished much.  I suspect this will be months long or more, but certainly an ongoing project.
So far, I'm getting about 1 piece a day done, but that will slow down soon, as the little one gets over her cold, I'll have far less free time just sitting and watching TV. :)  Plus I have other sewing I'd like to do, and books to read!



So, here is what I have done so far.  The first piece, starting on the left, I used leftover variegated yarn, and used the basic hyperbolic plane (just going back and forth in a straight line, with steady increases).  It was just supposed to be a test piece, but I like it a lot.  It didn't photograph very well, but it has some interesting shapes.

On the far right is a small hyperbolic pseudosphere, meant to be a brain coral.  This is also a test piece, and I stopped as soon as I got a feeling for the weight of the yarn vs the stitch size.  I want to make one of these in coral pink, and make it BIG.
This is just chrocheting in the round using a steady increase in stitches.  This one is too tight for the yarn weight I think, as I increased 2 stitches in every stitch.  The next one I'll increase every other stitch instead.

I got to buy a couple of skeins of yarn yesterday, just for this project.  Since it was Presidents Day, I got some good buys on a pretty coral pink, and a nice teal.  I used a small amount of the coral pink to make a little sea anemone.  I already had the pink/white ruffly yarn on hand, just a bit left, and it made a super cute anemone top.

I'm getting most of the patterns here, at the Maine Reef site.  I want to try the Jellyfish and the manta ray eventually, too!

One of the best aspects of doing this is Liz's interest in marine life.  She really wants to help make this, and though she can't crochet (she tried, but the fine motor skills just aren't quite there yet), so she is making a paper background, crabs, sharks, etc to paste behind it or hang above it.  If nothing else, it will be a pretty little display for the house, as well as a fun art and learning project for Liz and me alike!

At least one other person is joining me from the PR site.  we are hoping to collaborate to make enough pieces to eventually donate an entire display to The Nature Conservancy.  Of course, this would be far in the future.  for now, we are just making pieces and having fun. :D  However, if anyone else is interested in joining and making some coral reef pieces and crocheting along, please do so!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Crochet, Math, and Marine Life

Isn't this amazing?

So I recently watched a marvelous TEDTalks called Crochet a Coral Reef and I was really inspired to participate. Creating a hyperbolic math model with crochet is very cool, and turning it into a lifelike coral reef display is even cooler!
I really want to start a local chapter, or some sort of group to create a display, though that might be too ambitious.  At least, I plan on making a display for our home.  I'm hoping once I get a small display started, I can post some fliers around schools to see if anyone else would like to participate.  I would really like to get the $250 to create a full display, so if my pieces turn out well, I may pitch it to the local Community College.

I started one today, and half a skein later, I am really amazed at how simple it is to make some of the basic coral shapes, and how beautiful it is!  Currently, I'm just using the yarn I had on hand, some green and brown variegated synthetic.  It makes a lovely basic coral!  Once I finish a piece or two, I will post pictures of what I'm doing.  In the meantime, check out what other people around the world have made!





Doesn't this make your fingers itch for a crochet hook and some yarn?