Why Ganon?

Why did I name my son Ganon?  No, it wasn't a drug-induced whim in the hospital, it was a carefully thought out process that I had planned even before my pregnancy.  I began playing The Legend of Zelda on the NES when I was a toddler.  Playing Nintendo with my grandmother is one of my earliest, and happiest, memories.  I can proudly say that I have owned every Nintendo console (and handheld) and played every Zelda game since.  Zelda has been a constant in my life.  It was there, no matter what else changed.  At each major transition point in my life, a new Zelda game was released.  Coincidence, I know, but it still helped strengthen the emotional bond I formed with this childhood 'friend'.  It feels strange to speak in such a way about a video game, but it's true, Zelda has gotten me through all the tough times. 

So I knew that I wanted to name my children after The Legend of Zelda.  But why Ganon?  Well, the three recurring characters are Link, Zelda, and Ganon.  Link is the legendary hero, the chosen one, the knight.  He steps up to every challenge, defeats every foe, and emerges unscathed.  Zelda is the princess.  She is ever vigilant, ever patient, and kicks some ass when needed (Sheik, anyone?).  But Ganon... Ganon is the king.  He is ambitious, persistent, cunning.  Though he is never the victor, he is never truly defeated.  No matter where the game takes you... when you reach the end, there he is.  Ganon.  Always Ganon.  He even has a TV Trope saying as much.  Aside from all that... I think we all know that Ganon is the most badass.

I have always known I wanted 3 children - two boys and a girl (along with every little girl's dream of twins).  So I also knew that I wanted to use all 3 major character names from Zelda.  There's always the fact that Ganon is the oldest of the 3, and that he is separate from the other two.  (Part of me is still holding out for that dream of twins!)  The Triforce of Power (Ganon's piece) is also the top of the completed Triforce.  So there it was, obvious in my mind: My eldest son would be named Ganon.

My choice was reaffirmed when he arrived, with an olive complexion, a full head of red hair, gold flecks in his eyes (once they lightened from the black they were at birth), and a hairline that nearly reached his eyebrows.  Any doubts were irradicated and I was only left to hope that he would grow to love his name as much as I do. :)

Lon-Lon Milk

I wanted to create some Lon-Lon milk bottle labels for baby Ganon's bottles... so I did.  I couldn't decide if I wanted them to be more like the N64 in-game bottles, or redesigned, or in Hylian or English... so I did all three.  That's the best part about being indecisive; you can have it all!

In-game style:

Stylized:



Extra backs (to wrap around larger bottles):



Here are all the files as PDFs
http://www.mediafire.com/file/t33b9a6ppn743w5/lonlon.zip

Zelda and all related concepts and designs are copyright Nintendo, pattern copyright Ganon's Mom, feel free to share with credit, do not sell this pattern.

Sheikah Scarf

As you may have guessed, I have an inordinate love for the Zelda series of video games.  The Legend of Zelda was the second video game I ever played (after Mario Bros.).  I love the pseudo-fantasy storylines, and the classic theme of rescuing a princess.  When I was a small child, I also loved the fact that all of the characters in the manual art had hair in front of their ears - I had the same but didn't know anyone else who did.

At this point, I would normally put a spoiler alert, but if you haven't played through Ocarina of Time yet, you have no right to complain about things being spoiled.

As a teenager, I was impressed and empowered by the "damsel in distress" Zelda dressing as Sheik and helping in the fight against Ganondorf.  My favorite color being blue, I also liked Sheik's costume.  Now, I would never wear a tabard or mask (outside of costumes, of course), but I would wear a scarf!  So I designed the Sheikah Scarf:


This scarf is long enough to be wrapped around the head/face several times, and still fall to the low chest, shown here folded.

Gauge is not important for this project.  The final scarf will measure approximately 8 inches wide.  If you want a wider scarf, cast on additional stitches and work them in the center part of the scarf.

Using size 10 needles and white worsted weight yarn,
Cast on 35 stitches

Row 1: Knit across.
Row 2: Slip one stitch purlwise, then purl to the end of the row.
Row 3: Slip one stitch, then knit to the end of the row.
Row 4: Slip one stitch, then knit to the end of the row.
Row 5: Slip one stitch, knit 1, purl 1, knit to the last 3 stitches, purl 1, knit 2
Row 6: Slip one stitch purlwise, purl 1, knit 1, purl to the last 3 stitches, knit 1, purl 2
Row 7: Sl, K1, P1, K to last 3 sts, P1, K2
Row 8: Sl/P, P1, K1, P to last 3 sts, K1, P2

repeat rows 7 and 8 until scarf measures 6 feet.
repeat row 7.

Row 9: Sl, K across
Row 10: Sl, K across
Row 11: Sl/P, P across
Row 12: Sl, K across
Bind off.

Use duplicate stitch to embroider the following chart to one or both ends of the scarf:
The chart should be centered, and the bottom of the chart should end approximately 2" from the end of the scarf.

Zelda and all related concepts and designs are copyright Nintendo, pattern copyright Ganon's Mom, feel free to share with credit, do not sell this pattern.