Chronic Creatives and the Woollen Woods

Hello.......... A few months ago I started telling you about a yarn bombing project I've been involved in.  As many of you know I suffer from a Chronic Illness which can be very isolating so, when I joined a facebook group called  Chronic Creatives, for people with Chronic Health problems who love to craft and create it was a bit of a lifeline, a place where I have made so many amazing friends. 

 At the beginning of the year the Canopy Arts project offered us, our very own tree to decorate in the Woollen Woods at Sizergh Castle,

This post is the tale of that tree.

  We all set to work making yarny goodness to decorate our tree with, the theme we decided on was Nature and all the makes are made from 100% wool and natural materials

I made some Granny Birds using Jacquie over at 'Bunny Mummy's super cute pattern.
You can read more about my Little Birds 'here'

and some Ladybirds, which you can read about 'here'

I also made some Roses to add to the groups collective project a Flower garland that you can read about 'here'

Here it is all put together by the lovely Amy and ready to go off to the Woods.

Doesn't it look beautiful hung in the tree, and how cute are the little Robins

As this was a group project it was exciting to see what everyone had come up with, when the tree was decorated, I just love this Very Hungry Caterpillar

The flower garland wraps around the trunk and up into the branches past the hand felted Chronic Creatives sign where some of my Ladybugs are also hanging out,

Here are some of favourites I loves these cute little tree frogs, it makes me smile just to look at them

Higher up the trunk are flowers and Acorns and the wonderful nest of Blue Tits created by the talented lady who organised us all and put together the flower garland.

High up in the branches there is a gorgeous hand felted ivy looking so ethereal

Here's the tree all decorated, it amazes me that a group of people who would never have know each other but for the Internet and facebook, have created this by making yarny decorations mostly from there sick Beds and Sofas. 

So you see, the Internets not all bad in fact to the disabled and housebound it's a true lifeline.

Here's our tree all dressed up in it's Spring green.

The Woollen Woods are all way up in Cumbria, to far for me to travel to visit them, so a big thank you goes to Amy's parents who visited the woods and kindly took some pictures so we could all see what our tree looks like.

You can read more about the other trees and the Woollen Woods on 'The Canopy Arts' facebook page.

Creations on the tree made by Jenny (flower garland), Germaine (Ivy) Belinda (Robins and Sign) Amy (Flower garland, Blue tit's nest) Sarah (Frogs and Catterpilla) Mary (flower garland) makes by many other too, including my (Ladybirds, Birds and Roses)

Have a lovely weekend joining in with Nicole's KCCO

I'm still reading and enjoying Frenchmans Creek

Happy Crafting 

Clare xx

Yarn bombing at the Summerhouse.

Hello..... So the Woollen Woods at Sizergh Castle opens to the public this weekend and I just can't wait to see some pictures of the trees. Sadly I live to far away to go and visit but before I posted off  the woolly goodies, I decided to have a little practise to see what they looked like out in the Summerhouse garden.

I'm a member of a wonderful facebook group called 'Chronic Creatives' and we were offered a tree to decorate by the Canopy Arts Project,so we all set to work. As it's a online group we are yet to see what our work all looks like put together. The theme we decided on for our tree is Nature and I'm so looking forward to seeing what everyone has come up with.

So I've been making ladybirds

and little granny birds

who looks so sweet hanging on the orange blossom

by the Summerhouse so look high and low

as your sure to find someone.

Yarniness and Spring flower what's not to make you smile

Aww I just love these pompom Robins that the very talent Lindy Laine made

Lindy and I both hail from the same corner of the world so decide to post our makes off together, although she probably didn't realise I was going to have a practise run in the garden first.

She made this amazing hand felted sign too, so anyone off to the woods will easily be able to identify the Chronic Creatives tree.

This has been such a fun project to be involved with I've loved making the little ladybirds and Granny birds which you can read more about 'here' and 'here'

I also had a lot of fun yarn bombing the garden too !!

and as for the Roses I made for the woods 'here' 

well they went off in the post to the lovely Amy as part of our group project, for the woods

and just look at the wonderful garland she has made out of all the beautiful handcrafted flowers that were sent to her.

I'm soooooooooo looking forward to seeing a picture of our tree all decorated, even though most of us have never meet, we have formed a wonderful community of like minded creatives who just happen to suffer from a Chronic Illness. To tell you the truth on some days when I'm struggling with my ill health I don't know where I'd be without there support and friendship.

Well that about it for today. I hope you are having a great weekend.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

Ladybirds for the Woollen Woods

Hello........ so today I thought I would share with you these little ladybirds I've been making for the Woollen Woods.  I do love a ladybug.

As well as crocheting some ladybirds I decided to attempt to make a pompom one!! 

So exciting, mostly as I got to used this lovely bit of retro kit from my childhood, I used to love this 'pompom pets' kit, as you can tell as I still have it. Back in the 80's this was then ultimate in pompom making. Did anyone else have one?

Unfortunately the pompom maker I needed to follow the pattern in the kit was missing, so I decided to improvise and used the oval shape instead, not really having much of a clue if it would work.

So with high levels of excitement I wound the yarn as per the pattern book and started to snip away to make my pompom.........

As you can see using the wrong maker meant that the spots didn't really work out, but never mind I had a plan, so after trimming up the pompom.

I cut out some spots from so old black corduroy

and glue them in place.

Then I crocheted a chain, knotted at each end for the antenna and after a stitching in place and a bit more pompom shaping.

Ta-Dah

I had a mama ladybird 

 I crocheted a little family of ladybirds to go with the Mama one, using Lucy's super cute ladybird pattern from over at 'Attic 24'

Ta-Dah

Here they all are enjoying the sunshine in the Summerhouse garden before being posted off to the 

'Woollen Woods' not long now till the exhibition starts at Sizergh Castle in Cumbria.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

Granny Birds for the Woollen Woods

Hello............. So lately I've been making some yarny goodness to send off to the 'Woollen Woods' Canopy Arts project in Cumbria, which will be on display at the National Trust property 'Sizergh Castle' from the 12th April. Not long now.

So the theme for the 'Chronic Creatives' tree is nature so I decided I wanted to make some little birds to send off to the wood, and after a little look around online I found the perfect little birds over on Jacquie's wonderful blog Bunny Mummy.

So I followed the fab tutorial and made this little fellow, adding a chain to the top to hang him up. I used all natural materials as it's going into the woods, a  mix of different Wools plus I even used some little wooden beads for the eyes.

Then I cut out a little wing from some wool felt and stitched it in place.

and Ta-Dah 

my first little birdie was complete.

Although he is incredibly sweet he is also quite tiny so for the next two birds I decided to add a extra round of crochet, firstly making a Mama bird

and then the Papa bird. (who is secretly my favourite ssh don't tell the others!!)

Ta-Dah

My little Granny Bird family all ready to be posted off to the woods.

Just before I go, I wanted to apologise as I'm a bit behind with my blog reading at the moment, I'm going to try and get around to you all, but I'm struggling a bit with the antivirals and the side effects.  Here's hoping that means they are working.  Most of the time it's just no fun having ME/Lyme Disease.

Happy Crafting 

Clare xx

Lately

Lately I've been resting up trying to recover and as I been pottering about there have been lots of wonderful things I have noticed, so I've been saving up the pictures for a post. 

As lately the birds have been singing so loudly out in the garden a sure sign of Spring

and there are pots of lovely Springtime starting to bloom.

and Frogspawn in the pond, they have been singing up a storm of a night time.

Lately I've been trying lots of new treatments for my ME/Lyme a stricter pacing program which I'm struggling to stick with, as life has a tendency of getting in the way. The shop needs to be done, or appointments are scheduled but I'm trying my best.  

I've started new supplements and continued with the old ones as well as herbal medicine.  I've been having my B12 shots for a couple of weeks now and this coming week I'm due to start the dreaded antivirals. Which my GP thinks will make me very sick indeed oh joy!! In fact she has only given me a weeks worth as she thinks it's unlikely I'll make it passed day three. Oh dear

I've also been wearing a heart rate monitor watch lately (part of the pacing) with the aim being to keep my heart rate under 97 beats a minute. It's not going to well so far for as soon as I stand it jumps up pasted 110 beats a minute and goes even higher when I actually move. For me a slow walk to the bathroom is like doing a exercise class.

But lately there has also been some Bunny Chocolate, as I had to come off my anti inflammatory diet for some blood tests, the plan is to restart again this week. As I was feeling a bit better cutting out gluten dairy and yeast

Lately little granny birds

and ladybirds have been appearing at the Summerhouse ready to go off to the Woollen Woods

The tutorial for the cute Granny Birds is from Bunny Mummy's  fab blog 'here' and the Ladybirds are from Attic 24

Lately there are so many blooms out in the Summerhouse garden

and I've been doing a mindfulness meditation each day. I went on a meditation course a few years ago and was pleased to see meditation listed as one of the treatments recommended by the ME Specialist I saw a few weeks ago.

The picture is from the chill out part of the lounge we went to at the O2. I just love the lighting  I found it really relaxing to look at.  So I just had to take a picture I did get a few odd looks though !!

 I just felt like saying I'm a blogger it's what we do !!

Lately I started reading Bella Pollen Hunting Unicorns, getting a bit of a head start on Aprils book, I've still got one more story to read from My Beatrix Potters Treasured Tales for March but so far I've enjoying both books very much.

Lately there have been good post days

How amazing is this hook. It the second part of the giveaway I won on  Jacquie's blog. I just love it the little white dots even have glitter in them, sadly the camera didn't pick that up

So with this fab new hook I think I going to order some pattern specific yarn (something I rarely do) and make something from this months issue.

Lately I've been doing a bit of gardening too, with a lot of help from 'P' doing all the lifting and shifting and me sat planting the Polyanthus it took me a couple of weeks but the Summerhouse window boxes are finally planted up.

I really miss being well enough to garden, and so much needs doing but we'll get there I guess.

So that's what's been going on round here for the last few weeks. Wishing you all a wonderful week.
Linking up with Chrssie's and Marrianes crochet along.

Clare xx