Yarn along - Well seated

Knittin and reading. My favourite things to complete a perfect day. So I am joining Ginny on Wednesdays for Yarn Along to share my passions with you. Come and join in if you like!

I guess I don't have to explain to you very much about what I am reading at the moment, right? Or are any of you not in love with Soulemamas blog and have not heared about the new beautiful magazine Taproot? It arrived today and I am so very exhited. Even though, or maybe especially because we live in a big city with just a balcony to maintain, I love it all. And it does wake longings in me, for more nature around me, more roots....

The other item in that picture, the one that looks a lot like a felted sombrero, is my attempt to make a seat cushion for this old wooden stool that I found at the street some month back. The top of that stool has seen lots of stuff (not getting into details...) even before it reached us. There are some kids drawings on it for example.

I have wanted to make a cushion for that stool since the day I found it. It has never been a priority though... Until I found an article on felted strings in one of my mums "Landlust" magazines (yes, she has a whole pile if them and I looked through all of them and took pictures of all the ideas I liked). First you have to crochet some strings (chain stitch) out of feltable yarn, then felt them in the washing machine. Here are some of the ideas from the magazin for you: (I guess acctually that is not exactly legal, is it?)

Anyway, I once tried to knit the seat cushion from "More last minute knitted gifts" and failed at that. Very strange knitting that is, knitting in a circle...

Now I gave that crochet hook a try, just chain stitches, so no hurt feelings here and used up all my felting yarn stash and my mums handspun skeins. It didn't turn out to be enough in the end though and I'll have to get some more strings to finish the cushion but I am getting there. 

This is how the felted strings looked like after they went into the machine.

Then I started sewing the strings together, round after round, after round, after round, you get the idea...

Somehow the thing ended up a little more tight than I had intended so it looked more like a bowl or a sombrero. I put all my hope into blocking or rather some extra felting and pressing with a hot iron.  

Which turned out to be a good idea.

  

So for now, at least the cushion is flat. As I said, a little small though. I want to attache one more string as soon as I can and add some strings at the sides too so I can fix it to the stool because Aaron love to take off that cushion, I don't think he likes it...

Oh and btw, there is some more reading to come as I found some great books at the flea market last sunday. I just have to show you, I got a little maniac at that market...

The sheep with the cake is celebrating her birthday and gets some great presents from her friends. In the end she presents everyone with a knitted gift made from her own wool, so beautiful. I love children books!

Some great fabric founds were also made (or rather clothes and sheets I bought just for the fabric). I have all these sewing projects in my mind, I just can't decide where to start...

But, for now: Happy Yarning!