Volunteer to make blankets out of mini jerseys for Oxfam

Blankets using the jerseys made square

You may remember all the excitement about the Tour de France in Yorkshire earlier this year.  You may also remember knitting mini jerseys for the Knit a Bike Installation in York or for the Tour de Bunting displays across Harrogate district.  In fact Harrogate had over 23,000 mini jerseys knitted for their displays.  

 

Blankets which keep some of the jersey shape

Now they are working on turning the mini jerseys into blankets for Oxfam - and they need your help.  With about 5,000 jerseys still to stitch together they are after volunteers to come to their aid.  At the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate in November some of the blankets already made were on show (and baskets of the jerseys yet to be stitched together!)

So if you can get to Harrgate to collect some jerseys and can lend a hand stitching them together then please email Sue Wood at Harrogate Borough Council:

 sue.wood@harrogate.gov.uk

££££ Yarnbombing in York for Oxfam ££££

This is just a very short blogpost to say THANK YOU so much to everyone who got involved in our Yarnbombing in York event this summer in Rowntree Park.  The final figures are now in and we raised almost £1200 for Oxfam. Yay!!!

If you want to take a peek at a yarnbombed Rowntree Park and look at all the fab things everyone made at our event in July then click on the link below:

http://hippystitch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/york-yarnbombing-event-rowntree-park.html

Yarndale

Went to Yarndale - a celebration of crafting creativity - in Skipton.  Held at Skipton Auction Mart, it was a textile extravaganza rather like Woolfest in Cockermouth but slightly bigger and with yarnbombing.  It was a fantastic day out!

I arrived on the vintage bus shuttle from the station which was great fun and was decorated inside with pompom sheep and flowers.

Vintage Yarndale Bus

Once there all manner of fantastic vendors were displaying their wares and it was very hard to resist what was on offer.  I was entertained by the display of knitted Andalusian food...

...which as you can see included sardines skewered with a knitting needle - how apt! Was bowled over by the bunting...

...and enjoyed the yarnbombs especially the balls of wool and knitting needles - simple but effective!

Yarndale was also collecting yarn from all the creative visitors for the Skipton Oxfam shop who were going to transform it into lots of lovely stuff to raise money for Oxfam.  Promoted both in the Oxfam shop and at the event it was very successful. I think they'll be creating goodies for quite some time.  How great is that!

Yarndale & Oxfam working together!

I neglected to take photos of the vendors - too busy looking round but here are some of the stallholders who took my fancy...

Colourcraft - dyes, foils, angelina etc.
http://www.colourcraftltd.com

Eliza Conway - vintage bits & pieces and all sorts

Ingrid Wagner - big knitting & crochet
www.ingridwagner.com
 
Jackie Lunn - fabulous felt creations
http://www.jackielunntextiles.co.uk/ 

Namolio - lovely linen yarns
http://www.namolio.com/ 

Textile Garden - amazing buttons & braid
http://www.textilegarden.com/ 


There were, of course, absolutely loads of fantastic vendors and lots of amazing yarns.  You can find out more about them and Yarndale here:
http://yarndale.co.uk/

On Sale in Oxfam Now - "Yarnbombed in York" Goodies

This is just a short post to let you know that all those lovely "Yarnbombed in York for Oxfam" items are now on sale in Oxfam in Goodramgate, York.  You've still got time to bag a bargain or snatch a souvenir of that fun day in Rowntree Park back in July!  
 

Window Display at Oxfam, York

Yarnbombed Goodies

Butterfly Garlands

You may remember Stevie's Lace Tree - well, for Oxfam, it became Stevie's Lace Cushion (but note those tree buttons just as a reminder!)

Stevie's Lace Tree

Stevie's Lace Tree becomes a cushion!

Tree Button

So go on - dash on down, support a really worthwhile charity and get a little souvenir of community crafting.  You know you want to!

Yarnbombed in York for Oxfam - Available for Sale - August 2013

Pterodactyls not yet extinct!

Bee, ladybird & bluebird

Bowl of fruit & vases of flowers

Well - most of the yarnbombing treasure has been sorted and transported to Oxfam in Goodramgate.  We have already sold some items and raised over £100 to get things started.  We hope the remaining treasure will bring Oxfam some much needed income to go towards funding their important & fantastic work!  It has the potential to bring in over £1000 for Oxfam but only if you go along and buy it.  Even if you just want a pompom as a souvenir of the event - it all adds up.

Check out what's going their way .... 
 

Awesome "alliums"

Unique Umbrella

Beautiful bird houses

Humpty, Owl & Rabbit - all looking of a new home!

Nice mice!

Cushions, throws & picnic rug

Bunting - many & varied

Fabulous Flower Garlands

Beautiful Butterfly Garlands

Perfect Pompoms

Tie on flowers

Basket of birds

Vase of flowers, pot plant, basket of fruit & veg, taselled tie back 

Knitted Hairclips

Knitted Brooches

You remember that amazing curtain on the Dovecot - well here it is returned to it's original form - 4 blankets! 
 

From blankets to curtain to blankets!

Yarnbombing all packed up & ready to go!

So if any of this takes your fancy it should be on sale in Oxfam, Goodramgate, York in August.  Get down there with your spondulicks and grab a piece of something that was Yarnbombed in York for Oxfam.  There's still time to be part of it!

York Yarnbombing Event @ Rowntree Park Birthday Party - Saturday 13 July 2013

The sun was shining, the yarnbombing was fantastic, there were lots of people really enjoying it all - what could be better? So here's a quick journey round the exhibits.  It is by no means everything but I hope it gives you a flavour of the day.

Before you even got to the Yarnbombing area there were some treats on offer ...

Bunting at Rowntree Park Reading Cafe & what a view!

Lovely bunting

Didn't Rowntree Park Reading Cafe look great decked out in bunting.  Thanks to the Knitting Group that meets at the Cafe for that.  You can join them on a Wednesday from 2-4pm.

And wasn't that horse brilliant - all decked out by the UnFinished Objects Group that meets at the Golden Ball pub in Bishophill.  The UFO Group meets every second Tuesday of the month from 7.30pm and is open to everyone.  Further details from Sarah on 0789 909 2299.

UFO Group Yarnbombed Horse

He even came with his own picnic!

This chap was so popular that there were queues to get photos with him! And look at that wonderful tail! 

Then we enter through the Dovecot

Dovecot from the Cafe side

Pot Plants & Hedgehogs

Alliums?

Curtain, plant, mice & caged bird

Peeping out

Dovecot yarnbombed curtain

What an enormous curtain!  Thanks to Helen for all the work putting that together.  It will dismantle into 4 blankets! And did you spot Suzanne's fantastic tasselled, finger knitted tieback which was made at one of our workshops!

Next we move on to one of the pillars decorated with a beautiful felt flower garland by Sew Chatty. They meet at the Love to Eat Cafe in Dringhouses on Thursdays from 10am to 11.30am.  Contact Fiona on 01904 700599 if you fancy joining them.  They look like a friendly bunch.

Sew Chatty Felt Flower Garland

Felt Flower Detail

Sew Chatty at Love to Eat

 
Then there's the Craft Group that meet at Acomb Library on a Saturday from 10am to noon.  They put on quite a show.  We loved those flower poles as well as the benches (& pillars).  The Group came in force for the day, crafted and had a picnic - obviously a very sociable lot!

Colourful kite

Beautiful benches

Acomb Craft Group Crafting in the Park

There was also the picnic rug installation (the picnic rug was a small example of extreme knitting - extreme needles were available on the day to have a go!)  This display was a composite effort as the Fairfax Court Yarnbombers made the umbrella and crocheted cushions and Castaway Yarns customers knitted the items in and decorating the basket.  Other items were donated by members of the public.

Picnic Rug Installation

Lots of people had a go at extreme knitting (even Andy who made the needles!)

Even with baby!

Workshops were available to all ...

Everyone hard at play!

Lots of pompoms today!

Chaps can join in too!

But lets get back to the display.  Because we mustn't forget Mercury...

Mercury in pants

And yes, his bum does look big in these!

Cath, who made Mercury's pants, couldn't believe how big his bum was.  Excellent work Cath - getting those pants on was quite a feat!


Then there are the birds....

Deborah's Duck

How fab was Deborah's duck - did you see the zip wing!  I hope you didn't miss it nestling behind the pillar.

Bird house picture

Bird in flight

Owl by Sonia & Fiona

Fiona & Sonia's adorable owl garlands (detail)

Beautiful bird houses

Bunting ....

Colourful bunting

Butterfly bunting

Green bunting

More green bunting

Black & cream bunting

Judith's bunting

Helen's Bunting

Red Bunting

Jude's bunting from Saudi Arabia

1st Acomb Boys' Brigade Bunting

Other creatures ....

Deborah's dog was of great interest to other dogs as well as people!

Sarah's Humpty had several great falls!

Sarah's terrifying pterodactyl!

Bunny garland

Hedgehog family

Bee

Flowers ....

Vase of Flowers

Naomi's Flower Tree

Hattie's pompom flower

Tree Flowers

Benches ....

Blankets festoon the benches

Blankets, an owl and flower garland

Lace, rabbit garland & blankets

 And then there was more ....

Stevie's Lace Tree

Lace Detail

So I hope this has given you a flavour of the day - there was more and the display changed during the day as the hedgehogs wandered about, the mice scuttled around and things were added.  Sorry I can't put everyone's name to things but we loved it all.

A big thank you goes to the shops who donated all the materials, all the groups and members of the public who joined in, came to the workshops and made this happen.  And a big thank you to Deborah, Cath, Helen, Danielle, Naomi, Jenny and the park staff without which it may never have come together at all!  (On a completely personal note - I'd like to thank my friend, Jude, for her bunting which she brought all the way from Saudi Arabia to add to the display and thanks to Poppy for driving her over the Pennines on Saturday to put it up!) 

Next job - sorting it all out for Oxfam!  I'll be starting that tomorrow.