mØmmacat's blog

I just submitted my first challenge for Round two of Nerd Wars. Yay. kinda. Yeah, this was not my best work. Well the knitting part was fine, I mean how could I mess up knitting balls. The hanging and the balancing part that involved math was another story. Balls & balancing? what is she talking about?

The Big Damn Knitted Solar System:

I included Pluto. so there.

This project was a labor of love for both the tournament and for my son. The month of March in his Kindergarten class is for the Solar System. When we were discussing the solar system on March 1st, my son said so matter of factually, “You can knit a solar system, mommy.” Melts my heart, that little guy. I love how he’s just a giant sponge right now. Everything is an adventure and he has such a thirst for knowledge. I have to admit, I even learned a bit about the planets and their relationship to the sun (which one goes where). The boy helped me remember all the names and even came to the yarn store with me and helped pick out a few yarns for the planets.

I knitted a pink angora “Planet ‘K’” for the little one (and apparently for my friend Idyllicchick). I think I will hang it on our Solar System when it comes back from school (no need to confuse the kids now). I also knitted the moon, but it wouldn’t balance out, so it is now orbiting Planet K waiting until the rest of the Solar System visits Kindergarten and then returns.

I tried to use a good mix of yarn fibers and colors. Some of my own handspun and some from a friend of mine, (Haldespun). Cottons and wools. I even used some acrylic and polyester (please don’t shoot me fiber gods). I tried my hand at dyeing (again), this time not such great results. I know what I did wrong, but the color still came out well enough (you can see it in the peachy Mars planet). I know there will be actual dyeing in my future though….it was fun.

Here is a closer shot of the planets before they were hanged:

Starting from top then Left to right:
Sun
Jupiter, Saturn (who later got a way cooler ring), Mars, Earth and moon
Neptune, Uranus, Pluto, Venus, Mercury

I am not as pleased with the final results as I have been on some of my other projects. But the Boy loves it and has asked me every day if its time to take it to school yet. That he is proud of me and my work, makes me happy.