Skip to main content

The Desolation of Smaug in Yarn

JRR Tolkien probably never thought about the characters in the Hobbit worked up into yarny statues but, of course, you know someone would think of it.

Denise Salway from Penyfai, South Wales, UK decided to take on the task.  She admits most of the characters took only a day or two to knit, but Smaug, well it took over a month to get him done.

A picture, however, is worth a thousand words (especially mine about this topic).  So here you go:

The characters from The Desolation of Smaug by Denise Salway
There are things about this work that impress me:

  • The figures are standing on their own.  I don't know what Denise did to insure they are stable enough to support themselves.  In the past when I've knit figures I have to attach them to something to have them stand.
  • Look at the size of Smaug!  Denise stated Smaug took her over a month to complete and you can tell why that would be the case when you look at the detail she added.
  • The details, the embroidered facial features, custome specifics and weapons of choice are so well done.  And as you know, it is all in those details when you are trying to replicate something. 
Click on this link to see the knitted characters and some of their live counterparts in a side-by-side review.  The similarities are remarkable.

So to close, my hat's off to you, Denise Salway, you've shown all of us one more time that knitters are a wonderfully creative and skillful group of people.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time.  One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock.  So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep.  Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot.  And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms...
2 comments
Read more

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing.  I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away.  Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close.  Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening.  As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend.  Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration.  I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned ou...
1 comment
Read more

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting.  It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008.  (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.)  See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles.  And what about the yarn?  It is truly ex-bulky.  It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space.  Or h...
1 comment
Read more