Mystery of the squash-buckling yarn bombers
Have you seen the amazing crocheted pumpkin display at the Harbour Village? The hand-made artwork appeared this week, and in true yarn bombing style, the creators are keeping their identities a secret. But of course everyone wants to know who made these wonderful pieces. Have they done this elsewhere? Will there be any more?
The work has been much admired by passers-by, and those who work at the Harbour Village. Comments on social media praised the work and hoped there may even be a Christmas themed display in the future.
📷 Yarn bombers have hit Amble’s Harbour Village with a beautiful swathe of pumpkins and autumn leaves
The Ambler spoke to one of the artists, who we will call ‘K’.
K explained that she was fairly new to the art of crochet, having taken up the hobby only a few years ago, while on a camping trip to North Yorkshire.
K said, “We went on a wander round Whitby charity shops and came across a huge Reader’s Digest Book of Crochet for about 99p. Neither my friend or I had ever tried crochet before, so after a quick trip to ‘Yorkshire Trading’ for a crochet hook and a random ball of wool we returned to the field and sat in the sun determined to crack this mysterious craft.
“After about four hours of mysterious chanting “Chain 1..2..3..4.. 2nd chain through, round, through, round, pull through 2, round pull through 2” we ended up with…. An almost recognisable, if wobbly, strip of crochet!”
K was obviously now on a roll.
“The first thing I made was a cover for my wine glass to stop the flies getting in my prosecco!”
📷 The pumpkin piece is the first by ‘K’ and ‘B’
K then busied herself making small gifts for friends and family. Fast forward to now…
“I thought I would make a couple of crochet pumpkins for my neighbour’s gorgeous children who love Halloween. Well, the first couple of pumpkins were ok, but not quite right. So I just kept going till I thought it looked good enough… by this time I had several, in various sizes to choose from.
“I had roped in my friend to do some too, so we had a collection of spare pumpkins with nothing to do with them. I sent another friend the picture of the pile of spares, and she said “are you planning to yarn bomb?”
“I’ve never yarn bombed before, but I’ve always loved to see, and admired the ones I have come across. So I did a sketch of an idea for a small Amble yarn bomb post box topper.
“Then we realised that Amble didn’t actually have a round post box to top! We quickly retired to Spurellis for tea and a brainstorming session of what to yarn bomb instead. And there we sat, and looked straight at the ‘wave’ at the top of the pods…
“It then took about three days to crochet more bits and pieces needed to extend our little post box topper idea (and a trip to Amble wool shop The Pin Cushion for extra supplies).
“So, very much a bit of an accidental first ever yarn bombing adventure for us both.”
📷 This piece is on Dougy’s bench, at the Little Shore where K often sits and enjoys a cup of tea.
K and B are delighted at the positive responses from the public and are considering planning a new creation. And in the meantime, if you’re around the Little Shore, you might see another piece on Dougy’s bench, where their next yarn bomb ideas could possibly take shape.
K explained why she chose Dougy’s bench. “I didn’t know Dougy, but weather permitting, I do an early morning walk, with cup of tea in hand. From my house to Dougy’s bench is the perfect distance for my tea to be optimum drinking temperature. So I sit on Dougy’s bench to drink my tea, then continue on my morning walk greeting the early walkers and the dogs along the pier as I go.
“So it’s a ‘thanks for the sits’ tribute… I feel he’s part of my day, part of my Amble family.”
Anna Williams
