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Friday, 29 March 2013

Monarch Metamorphosis Collection

What could be in this little calico cotton drawstring bag? A surprise!

Four hand-knitted items which I have been hinting at for a few weeks: a leaf and egg, a monarch caterpillar, a chrysallis, and finally the monarch butterfly. I think children would love them, but perhaps that is just the teacher in me. My son is especially interested in all aspects of nature. I love buying my own children anything that is handmade and educational.


 
I have had the idea of making a small educational toy set for a while. Although my Monarch Butterfly pattern has been fairly popular, it does take quite a bit of work. I wanted to make it available as a finished item to anyone who might find the knitting (and embroidery) a little bit intimidating.




I have only made two of these metamorphosis sets so far, and they will be for sale in my Etsy shop. I'm in the process trying to expand the knitted items section of my shop. But am really trying to keep the items unique and quirky. So most of the items are one-offs. Much more fun for me if I can make items that are individual. In fact this collection is the only one where I have two identical sets for sale.



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42 comments:

  1. Michelle29 March 2013 at 06:37

    Those are amazing -- I love the detail!

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  2. Michelle29 March 2013 at 07:55

    This is such a clever set!

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  3. Vivian29 March 2013 at 10:07

    I love this set. We have a huge monarch butterfly gathering place by the coast, I can just imagine the instructors can use something like this for when they talk to all the kids visitors.

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  4. Bridgit's Bell29 March 2013 at 12:15

    I love this too!

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  5. Kathryn Ray29 March 2013 at 14:10

    What a great idea!

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  6. Cathy Johnson29 March 2013 at 14:21

    What a wonderful collection! Your nature themed items always look fabulous.

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  7. Lexie29 March 2013 at 19:27

    So cute! What is your etsy store? I would like to watch for these to come available!

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  8. Minding My Own Stitches29 March 2013 at 19:31

    Great idea for a set! The photo of the caterpillar is awesome!

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  9. WonderWhyGal30 March 2013 at 03:31

    What a wonderful idea! Teachers should gobble this set up...or parents should buy a set for their favorite teachers.

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  10. creativejewishmom/sara31 March 2013 at 06:23

    wow, really fabulous! thanks so much for sharing on Craft Schooling Sunday!

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  11. Corrie B31 March 2013 at 06:59

    SO incredible!!

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  12. Stephen @ Soy of the North31 March 2013 at 10:20

    Very nice idea. Love the amount of detail you've put into the different pieces.

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  13. Jan31 March 2013 at 11:23

    This is a great idea, not only can it be used as an educational tool it is very pretty too.

    Jan x

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  14. Anonymous31 March 2013 at 12:41

    I think that this is wonderful and has great potential. Anything like this that can be handled is perfect for educational purposes. I think you could be making many more of these should you wish!!

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  15. Free Spirit Designs31 March 2013 at 13:40

    What a fantastic idea! I agree its lovely to get handmade educational toys for kids and they're never too young to start learning about the natural world. I could just see a set like this being treasured for generations its so beautifully made and full of character :) x

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  16. Patchwork Fairy31 March 2013 at 13:57

    These would be great for helping children overcome any fears about bugs or insects as they are so cute! I made myself spider earrings for the same purpose!

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  17. Unknown1 April 2013 at 02:35

    What a great idea, and beautifully made. I love the butterfly best, but, of course, that is the prettiest stage in nature.
    Celia

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  18. Wendy1 April 2013 at 02:42

    How gorgeous! My kids would have loved these when they were little (one of them in particular was really interested in insects).

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  19. Planet Penny1 April 2013 at 02:45

    So clever! I particularly love the caterpillar!

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  20. Louise@ElsieMayandBertha1 April 2013 at 03:46

    This is such a clever idea. You could have a whole collection like the victorians did, without having to stick pins in butterflies. Beautiful.

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  21. Anonymous1 April 2013 at 06:42

    Such a great educational toy set - brilliant idea. Hope they sell really well.

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  22. Martha1 April 2013 at 08:40

    Amazing knitting. I'm truly stunned by your knitting skills and how you translate nature into fabulous knits. x

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  23. stylesofcooking1 April 2013 at 15:04

    Wow! What an interesting concept to create for educational purposes and what skills you have for such detailed pieces

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  24. Pickle Lily1 April 2013 at 23:38

    These are amazing and so detailed! Much. much. much better than the plastic sets you pay a small a small fortune for. Have a happy Easter, Jo x

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  25. Christmas Pie Crafts2 April 2013 at 00:25

    How lovely! They are all sooooo nice - the butterfly is really gorgeous. Hope you have a good week.

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  26. Janice Gill2 April 2013 at 01:15

    These are lovely. They remind me of reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my children many times over. They would have loved these too :)


    Janice x

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  27. Jess2 April 2013 at 05:30

    Love these! What a fun and educational toy.

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  28. momto52 April 2013 at 08:17

    wow! those are amazing. such great work.

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  29. Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick2 April 2013 at 10:16

    Very cute work.........Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  30. Bev Newman2 April 2013 at 11:48

    What a brilliant idea - shame my nephew is now all grown up as he loved bugs when he was little and this set would have been perfect for him. The work you've put into them is amazing!

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  31. Diana of Diana Rambles2 April 2013 at 12:45

    Thanks is adorable! Thanks for sharing this at my Pin Me Linky Party. I hope you come visit & link again.

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  32. hands follow heart2 April 2013 at 13:12

    Hi, I'm visiting via Frontier Dreams. What a gorgeous set. I'm sure children will love it!
    Luciana

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  33. K2 April 2013 at 13:33

    Lovely. As usual. Amazing woman that you are.

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  34. sustainablemum2 April 2013 at 15:22

    That is such a lovely set. The one butterfly I have knit did not look as good as yours!

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  35. Maria from Cuddle Bug Kids3 April 2013 at 07:12

    Beautiful set! Great idea!!!

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  36. Unknown4 April 2013 at 03:14

    I love that set! My kids would adore it - they've both read (and re-read a million times!) the Hungry Caterpillar so they understand the transformation process and really love it. Brilliant idea :-) Simmi x

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  37. AllyB4 April 2013 at 16:38

    Your little projects are always inspirational. Beautiful stitches all.

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  38. Carrie5 April 2013 at 17:41

    Oh, beautiful!! I love them. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!

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  39. HillyT6 April 2013 at 00:20

    What a great idea, I think lots of children would love learning from these (but then I'm a teacher as well).

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  40. Amy8 April 2013 at 18:31

    They are just gorgeous! Love the details on them.

    Thanks so much for sharing over at And Sew We Craft Together x

    http://www.andsewwecraft.com/2013/04/and-sew-we-craft-together-linky-party-37/

    Amy x

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  41. HannahW9 April 2013 at 10:52

    This is gorgeous! Perfect for little ones to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Eco-Kids Tuesday! Hope to see you there again today!

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  42. Kathi25 June 2013 at 09:10

    These are so cute! Thank you for stopping to visit me at Oak Hill Homestead; I had to come check out your monarch items. :-)
    ~ Kathi

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