Diamonds are Forever

I decided for my next yarnbomb I wanted to do something topical, so with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee looming I went for a crown with 6 crocheted diamonds on it and the words 60 Years. Like So...

I also wanted to place it somewhere that tied in with the theme and remembered that our local park had a flowerbed near it's entrance with a plaque on it that reads "Queen's Drive" Perfect. 
Now just to find a way to get it high enough to prevent theft for a little longer....

This is where my Husband made his most amazing contribution to date-he lifted me on his shoulders so I could crochet it in place, what a Hero!
Worth it though, it's still there even though it has now gone a bit floppy.
I also saw signs of attempted theft but it's just out of arm's reach teehee.
I stayed up all night working on this (not a big deal, I a a total night-owl anyway) and on my way home from Lydia's at 5am we sneaked it up undetetected.

All this time Lydia and I were still formulating the plan for what would be our biggest yarnbomb yet, inspired by Shauna Richardson's patriotic triple lion sculpture.....

My First Yarnbomb

When I discovered Yarnbombing I was in the middle of making a coffee-cozy for my Etsy shop, inspired by the greenness of some yarn I had. This was mid May.  
It occurred to me that a coffee cup was about the same size as a lamp-post so I repurposed it...
Onto a lamp-post in an alley that runs behind our house, so i had the added bonus of being able to hear what people were saying about my work from behind a high brick wall :)

This definitely inspired me to do more as people were so pleasantly surprised-we heard lots of
'Oh Wow! Look at that!"   
Groups of people could be heard musing and debating over who would do all that hard work and then just sew it to a lamp-post in an alley and why?
Weird people who would rather make strangers smile than make money, that's who!
and, erm...to make you smile :)

Someone has even written underneath it "this is fred :)"
I think he lasted about a week before he was stolen, which was fine by me; I had read on other Yarnbombing blogs that they don't often last long. 
Some jobsworths actually remove them on behalf of their city councils and such because they are technically graffiti!  Boooooo

I actually wasn't upset at all about his disappearance-it had been such a confidence booster to hear nothing but positive comments on it-I had thought people might say it was stupid or not very good or whatever.
I was just a bit sad that I wouldn't be able to hear people's reactions to the next one!

Welcome to the diary of a YarnBomber

Hi Everybody and welcome

I have decided it's time to share my YarnBombing exploits and the creative processes behind them. 

It's ridiculously good fun to make silly things from yarn and then attach them to trees, lampposts, etc and I hope you feel inspired to 'terrorise' your own neighbourhood with lots of yarny goodness!

I strongly recommend engaging a partner-in-yarn if you can find one

Lydia is mine and it wouldn't be half as much fun without her-in fact I can't imagine how different this adventure would be without our joint crocheting sessions and stealth 'bombing' expeditions. So I wont

I also hgive HUGE thanks my husband for his supportive role-

Literally VERY supportive-he has even lifted me on his shoulders so i could reach to apply the jubilee yarnbomb!

I have to say this was the perfect year to be in the UK and subsequently discover Guerrilla Crochet, what with the Queen's Jubilee, Olympics/Paralympics, The End of the World.

So much opportunity to commemorate these momentous events with silliness/yarn. Just for the fun of it :)

It was actually the Olympics that really got me interested in Yarnbombing-after seeing 'Crochetdermist' Shauna Richardson's AMAZING Lions, which were created as part of the cultural olympiad I was hugely inspired to start crocheting artistic installations-albeit on a *slightly* smaller scale to start with

Here she is with them-what a SUPERSTAR! 

Shauna We salute you

I decided to get involved through the guerrilla section on the lionheart website:

http://www.lionheartproject.com/home/guerrilla/

And an obsession was born. Well, rather my obsession evolved hahaha.

You see, I am already way gone with my crocheting obsession. 

As if it wasn't time-consuming enough having a billion ideas a day for things I could crochet, people say things to me like:

"if you crochet me a bikini in flesh colour with big nips on it I promise I will wear it next time we have a hot-tub party"

How am I supposed to resist a challenge like that?!

But anyway-I intend for this blog to be mostly about YarnBombing with other crocheting tips, free patterns and inspiration thrown in.

Oh yes and probably some Chickens (maybe Goats too).

Here's a link to my Etsy Shop which is full of unique crocheted items, 

all designed and lovingly handcrafted by me

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BerthasBizarreBazaar

You can follow me on twitter  @mrsberploudest- I always tweet my yarnbombs

you can also see mine and Lydia's first olympic yarnbomb on the lionheart website above,

we are in the process of creating another one right now which will also be posted there once we have installed it