
I got the eyes sewed onto my white, glow-in-the-dark fox two hours before church on Sunday. I'm not so sure it looks more like a fox than a bear with a funky tail, but the recipient seemed very pleased. I can always make her a unicorn next year... She's the only one in my class not turning eight this year; she turned seven today, so she'll be in my class again next year!

There are things I'd do differently if I had time to make this fox again. I'd make the ears wider, the face and snout more fox-shaped, and I might even make the limbs jointed. But there wasn't time to do a second prototype in time for gifting last Sunday.

I finally ran out of the first skein of glow-in-the-dark yarn while crafting the fox tail. So, one 114-yard skein is enough for a tiny snowflake and nearly three little amigurumi; two if one of the amigurumi is bigger and more complex than a snake. I have three more skeins (all of which I paid for myself) and four more kidlets to craft for later this year, so I felt confident to use up a bit of the yarn for a selfish and personal amigurumi - a replica origami crane such as the Zero Gravity Indicator on the Crew 10 flight to the International Space Station last weekend. I love cranes, and I didn't get to see the sandhills in Monte Vista again this year. But now I have my own. Thank you, Dennis, for the free pattern!

"This is a hand-crocheted origami crane. His name is 'Droog,' which is the Russian name for friend," said Crew 10 commander Anne McClain. "Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper. This is a nod to the unique and deep cultural traditions from which each of us come. While all from different parts of the world, we are brought together in this bold endeavor, and we represent all of humanity."

One of the Crew 10 astronauts, Nichole Ayers, is from Colorado, which makes this particular mission more poignant for me. I also absolutely love the reason the crew chose an origami crane as their ZGI. Three of the seven astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station are from Russia, three are from the US, and one is from Japan. In Japan, the paper crane is a symbol of peace, love, hope and healing. Man, does our country and our world ever need all of that every single day!

Who would have thought a space ship crew knew about amigurumi. :-) The ISS is currently circling over our place. We go out and follow the bright spot in the sky thinking of the men and women on board.
ReplyDeleteI have been studying Russian for about half a year now making slow progress. The word „Друг“ is one I’ve know from the beginning. There was also a space program called „“Мир“, which means peace.
All the best! Regula