Rainbow Bench

A while ago I made a rainbow. Some of it was crafted in a caravan on our summer holiday this year. It was done with laughing children at my feet and sunshine beating through the caravan door. Now that the weather is blustery and cold I found a bench that looked like it needed some summer.

Here's the place on google maps. A beautiful little village.....http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=barlaston&hl=en&ll=52.951792,-2.160873&spn=0.000103,0.076818&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.052763,39.331055&vpsrc=6&hnear=Barlaston,+Stoke-on-Trent,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=14&layer=c&cbll=52.951696,-2.160781&panoid=zn7xLUuz0KnE4q6iKOVN7A&cbp=12,202.05,,0,0

Its a memorial bench to a man called Donald Foulkes, altough the plaque is no longer there. He was quite a character and was well known whilst working on the Wedgwood factory just down the road. I thought he'd probably think it was nice to brighten up his bench.

Its so cold on that bench today. No, not cold.....blustery. The wind was really refreshing and the sun was beaming, just like on our family holiday. A great day for photographs........



The Rainbow is no more :0(
Sadly missed 10th February 2012.

Remembrance Day.....11/11/11

We couldn't let such a special day come and go without making a poppy or two. People from all over the world gathered together to remember loved ones lost and family members currently serving in the armed services. As a group we got out our red yarn and also began thinking about wars long past and those unfortunately continuing around the world. It certainly made me think about our forces at home and abroad. Whether or not you agree with the war going on at the moment or not, it's still about remembering those who fought for us in past wars and how our lives have changed as a result. For the better I may add :0)

From a basic poppy pattern found via a friends facebook page, I made a 'bouquet' of different sized poppies. For ease and for quickness I cheated and used black buttons as centres and green felt leaves. I was really pleased with the result.

 The tag was embroidered with the words, 'We shall remember them'

As people gathered around our local cenotaph and around the bench under the tree nearby, I felt proud that I had done my bit and honoured our war heroes. I felt proud that people were looking at the wreath, carefully sewn to the bench, smiling. I kept my distance but noted the approving glances from the elders in the community as well as the youngsters sitting by it. They touched it, puzzled over it and smiled about it. Job done :0)

Yarnsy also made this....

The tag reads...

'It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.'
Eleanor Roosevelt

I hope in some way we did our bit and contributed to paying our respects along with the rest of our country.

Yarnsy has been busy....

Yarnsy has joined the facebook group '21 days to yarnbomb' and my my has she been busy!
Everyday so far she's posted up a tantalizing picture on my personal facebook page. Some have even made me feel quite emotional, all of them have made me smile. She's made apples, bumblybees, love hearts, even a professor Snape! He was my personal fave. He sits on a road sign at 'Snape Hall Road, Baldwins Gate, Staffs.

Each of Yarnsy's projects have little cards attached to the This particular one is a JK Rowling quote from Harry Potter (obviously LOL), " It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

An apple sweetly hanging in a tree....

"Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. It's where all the fruit is" Shirley MacLaine.

A rainbow there for all to see........

"Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud", Mary Angelou

A Star shining down from skies above....

'No star is ever lost we once have seen, we always may be what we might have been.' Adelaide Anne Procter

A Dolly just sitting, sharing the love.......

'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world' Anne Frank

I'm sure that a lot of these projects have been stolen away already as they are all so beautiful! I can't wait to see what else Yarnsy does for the remaining days in November. I'm loving reading the quotes each day. Many are inspirational, as is her knitting and crochet. Keep up the good work Yarnsy. You're making lots of people smile :0)



If you'd like to get involved Facebook has lots of yarn bombing pages. One of which is '21 days to yarnbomb'. They have this to say....

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, but how about 21 days to make a habit. Why not join in the first annual 21 DAYS TO YARN BOMB event?

Many people around the world participated in this year's International Yarn Bombing Day event and now here's your chance to join in the next big yarn bombing date on the calendar.

For every single day between November 1st to November 21st 2011 you will n...eed to yarn bomb something in your town. It doesn't need to be big. Even the smallest flower attached to a bus stop seat can make a powerful statement and make someone's day. Or why not get together with your yarn bombing group and each add one yarn bomb per day to a space and by the end of the 21 days you'll have a massive project all done and ready to show off to the world. How about documenting the gradual increase in the yarn bombs to make up the large project by the end?

Don't forget to promote this event on your own facebook walls/pages/groups to get more people involved and build the evergrowing yarn bombing community.

This event has the intention of happening every year in November, worldwide.

This event is bought to you by Twilight Taggers, Yarn Corner and Dial A Yarn Bomb Group.
www.facebook.com/twilighttaggers
www.facebook.com/yarncorner
www.facebook.com/dialayarnbombgroup

New members always welcome to the Yarn Corner facebook group.

Media enquiries: Please email Bali at twilighttaggers@gmail.com.See more

 

 

If this is something you'd like to participate in, then by all means jump in. Tell them we sent you!

we're back at it again!

Well, it seems like forever since we wrote the last post. The summer holidays have been and gone. The warmer weather is fading and dark nights are creeping in. Good! Dark nights make me want to stay in, snuggled up on the sofa with a hook and some yarn.
We been tentatively doing some yarn bombing. Small things. Easy things to get us back into the swing of things. A small dolly with a small yet powerful message. A love heart with a love letter which has already been stolen away. The idea that someone stole away her heart makes me smile. A bumblybee hiding away for the winter. Maybe he'll be joined by some more bees to hibernate through the winter? We shall see.
We'll be adding images in the near future. Keep calling back. Tell your friends. Keep the smiles going. That's what its all about.

Silverdale this evening....

Just had a note from a friend to say she's been busy again.
She said,

"Sewed together all the odd squares and shapes I've practised my crochet on, appliqued (roughly!) "Silverdale" onto it and sewed it onto the bench at the entrance to the village, by the mining memorial. When I was taking photos afterwards, a man driving past did a double-take and gave me a thumbs up :D"

We loving the fact that a random guy gave the thumbs up. Making people smile even before we've left the scene of the crime! Winner.
Here it is in all its glory. Enjoy!

and here's the close up....

fame at last?

This afternoon I happened to be visiting the in-laws. Mum mentioned she'd read about a local yarnbomb in the free paper 'the sentinel advertiser' on Thursday. Cue mum digging through the recycling bin so I could have a read. I couldn't quite believe it but it was a little article about us! The lizard and chain had been spotted. They'd obviously used the Qr code we leave on our bombs and got to this blog through it. It's nice to know they work. Hopefully the sentinel will be keeping an eye out for more stuff? Maybe a photo soon? We'd have to be anonymous in it though. Don't want to go blowing our cover now! Balaclavas anyone? Here's the article in all its glory.......

Fredbear on holiday....

Spring hill in Nailsworth has a smiley happy phonebox thanks to Fredbear. She was on a little break and couldn't resist doing a little tag out of our 'area' LOL
Looks great doesn't it?

A hospital tag for International Yarn Bombing Day!

Who'd have thought a sunflower on a hospital sign would ever happen?! Even at the end of her shift it was still there. Maybe it'll make people smile on the way to Xray? We hope so!

International Yarn Bombing Day

Two of us (and a small army of hubby and kids!) had a great time in Hanley, Stoke on Trent, today. We parked at the bottom end of town and began our stealth mode ascent into town. Beginning at the Potteries Museum was a good tactic. We thought that a bench needed a special touch right outside. Maybe weary travellers coming to veiw the Staffordshire Hoard could have a little rest and a smile before entering the 'free' museum? A lizard now takes pride of place on the arm of the bench with a little tag at the other end for company.......

We made our way through the seated area at the back of the Bethseda Chapel. There stands a beautiful statue of mother and child. Yarnsy (one of our taggers) had a made a chain. This would be the perfect place for it. Maybe to signify the 'soft chains of motherhood' or 'the chains that bind all mothers together' or maybe just to make someone smile!

From there we did a little cream tag on some railings.....

and a couple of phone boxes....

 These phone boxes were not as difficult to finish. We had as much time as we wanted and plenty of cover. The glass on the phone booths had posters on that hid us really well.

The tree bands that we did were the most fun! In broad daylight with passers by puzzling, the sun shining and us laughing! I can't wait until we hit the road with a full tree cosy. We just need to find a good tree. Maybe you have one near you? Let us know....

 This one sits outside a coffe bar, near to MacDonalds. Right after we'd done it a guy stood looking at it whilst eating his sausage roll. That made US smile!

I'm hoping that this one will be adopted and looked after by the chaity shop we put it in front of. Who knows though? They might not even be there tomorrow!

My personal favourite of the day was this bobbly rectangle. We always buy a big issue from Dave who stands here. We made him laugh when he saw what we were up to. A passer buy commented on it before it was even stitched on. She said, 'What a great idea! Much nicer than the usual rubbish!' When I told her it was grafitti for ladies she laughed loudly and exclaimed,'Its about time we had something!!'

Another couple.......

One donated by a friend. A neat bunch of 3 flags.

A cute little band around a great lampost....

Small tags

We do lots of teeny tiny tags too. Much harder to spot, but there are lots of them around. Telephone boxes, bins, even your windscreen wipers aren't safe from our hooks and needles! Smaller tags are much easier to tie on. They can be carried around in a pocket and attached at the right place in seconds without arousing any suspicion.......

These bins are in a sad lonely place. Passers by hardly notice until they

drop in their dog poop bags! We can even make people smile when they're

doing a rubbish job!

Look out for small tags on your car too. Nowhere is safe ;0)

Westport lake

Today on an old delapidated bench there sprung a bit of colour. An unknown shooper was out feeding the ducks and saw an opportunity to make someone smile. Tomorrow it might be a conversation starter. Maybe someone will touch it, stroke it. Children may laugh about it, others may puzzle over it. It may be taken away. Who knows? For a moment though someone is smiling about it and so the mission is complete.

Longton looks beautiful today!

Whilst shopping in longton this morning I noticed this lovely bit of knitting. I'm not sure how long its been there as its not a part of the town that I usually walk through. My little girl spotted it first. She was super-excited! I had to take photos with her standing by it. This kind of tube knitting has been done in many places. It's nice to see it in my local area though. It made me smile :o)

Ring 'o' roses

Brightening up some railings with some cheerful flowers. Quick and easy to make, even easier to tie on when no-ones watching. Look out for more of these..... 

The bench at the Victorian garden

Here we are attaching some lovely yarn to a dreary bench...

Our first outing at Burslem park....

Our first 'proper' outing was in April, 2011. A park warden knew what we were upto but the general public had no idea. A few of us sat at the entrance to the childrens playarea and began to knit, crochet and chat while the kids played out in the spring sunshine.
Off we wandered around the park looking for places that would be good to brighten up. The Victorian garfen has some dreary benches so we attached a granny square, a fish and some coloured yarn. As we left a couple of ladies sat at the bench. They smiled at the nice addition, having no idea it was us that had put them there.
Our only goal is to make people smile.....