Yarn Therapy

Hello all, and thank you for your positive and encouraging comments on my last post. It does feel good to be blogging again.

 I've been quite busy on yarn-related projects recently, mainly as a result of having been laid low for several weeks with flu and a respiratory infection. After the initial phase of being stuck in bed wore off, I had some time off work which I spent sitting around coughing a great deal and generally wondering if the lurgy would ever go, with my ever-constant companion my little furry friend Clover.

 I decided that this was a good opportunity to stave off boredom by keeping my hands busy, and managed to complete several little yarny projects. First was this dark blue mandala mat for my table. I've made lots in pastelly colours, but felt in need of an autumnal one to complement the rich shades of seasonal flowers like these and remind me of the deep blue sky which comes at dusk at this time of year.

Then I finished this little crocheted wall-hanging - a bit of an experiment really, based on the colours on Porthmeor Beach in St Ives, our holiday destination this summer. I think I caught the colours well, even if the crochet is slightly wonky.

I've loved having my new yarn bowl which I bought from ThrownInStone. It arrived in time for my birthday and I've been using it each time I knit a few more rows on my yellow woollen scarf which I began last year. Isn't the bowl a thing of beauty?

Next up were these little cotton pumpkins, courtesy of Attic 24 and Planet June. As soon as I clapped eyes on them I had to make some, and as I already had oddments of cotton yarn in all the right colours, there was no stopping me.

I enjoyed giving the pumpkins their own photoshoot. Now that I've typed that sentence it sounds weird, but I know you know what I mean, don't you, dear readers?

On a roll now, and starting to feel a bit better, I wrapped up very warmly and headed out into the garden to pick a few twigs, and did something that I've toyed with doing for a while - some twig weaving. I've seen lots of twig or branch-weaving on Pinterest and fancied having a go, but something has always stopped me. What are they for? What do you do with them when you've made them? This time, though, I ignored such thoughts and got to work. I used wool to keep a natural feel, and really enjoyed a freestyle approach to weaving. They now stand in a stoneware pot on our shelves, and I may well be tempted to make some more. 

As William Morris said, "Have nothing in your house which you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful". They're not useful, but to me they are beautiful.

Finally I crocheted this little poppy in cotton for Remembrance Sunday from Kandipandi's pattern. I gave it a felt leaf and finished it in time to wear it.

I've taken out these two crocheted pots for use in my shed too. I made them both a year or two ago, and like their earthy and jewel-like colours. They're just right for keeping odds and ends in - I think I put some conkers in this woolly brown, orange and green one.

This little very fluffy pot was made from recycled sari fabric and is very tactile.

Well, I'm feeling better now, and the cough is almost gone, definitely helped along by all that yarny creativity.

I'll leave you with this gorgeous perennial wallflower which I planted back in April, and has been blooming ever since. Aren't these rich, velevty colours just gorgeous?

See you soon x