A Walk in the Woollen Woods (part 2)

Following on from my post A Walk in the Woollen Woods (part 1) this is the second part called unsurprisingly A Walk in the Woollen Woods (part 2)! If you haven't the faintest idea what's going on, and to the uniniated this could look like a woodland where some very odd genetic mutations have occurred, you can get up to speed by reading part 1; the link is at the bottom of this post.

Here's my next five picks for my favourite pieces in the Woollen Woods exhibition at Acorn Bank.

Sixth pick:
Dickens Owl - has the most brilliant look of surprise on her face; like that feeling you get driving down the motorway when you suddenly realise you've driven past three junctions and have no recollection of 50 miles of your journey. In her case the surprise is more like 'there I was enjoying life in that lovely warm stash box dreaming of being a lovely jumper and now here I am perched in a wood... how the Dickens did that happen!' (hence the name).

Seventh pick:
Red Squirrel - top marks for thinking outside the box or should that be inside the jumper? This fantastically quirky creation is sewn together from a recycled woolly jumper and has a strangely misshapen appearance that just adds to its charm. I think it looks a bit like there's a real squirrel inside a fine-knit jumper trying to find the neck hole (no I don't know where that image came from perhaps a traumatic childhood memory from learning to dress myself?).

Eighth pick;
Blackbird nest - this one seemed to be a favourite of children visiting when I was there; maybe because it's been positioned at just the perfect see-it-on-tiptoes height for children old enough to know what it is. I recognise this particular pleasure/achievement, as being of short stature myself, I get the same sense in the supermarket when I can just see, recognise and reach the coffee cake I
desire on the top shelf "look mummy/Dayve I've found a nest/cake".

Ninth pick:
Red apples - everything up to now has been rather cute and cuddly and this one's different. I chose this as it was both unexpected and yet perfectly suited to its location (as Acorn Bank holds a great apple day event every year). Where better then to hang a group of very real looking apples from a tree? I'm particularly looking forward to seeing this one later in the year when the trees are in leaf... I wonder if next time I see them some will have bites out of them?

Tenth pick:
Stoat/weasel - I missed this first time around as it's been placed high in the trees and it's a lovely piece. I'm sorry Vivienne if I haven't got it's identity right...although as I recall it should be straight forward since 'a weasel is weasily recognised and a stoat is stoatally different'.

Now that I've resorted to bad jokes (at least it's an eco-joke ie on a natural theme and recycled) it's clearly time to stop. Do please go and see for yourself though - I could easily have picked dozens more as there was that lovely black bat, and that amazing bracket fungus and those lovely butterflies, wonderful bees......

Wondering about my Walk in the Woollen Woods part1? here's the first part...

 Find out more about Acorn Bank | Find out more about The Woollen Woods project


When I'm not walking in woods taking cute photos, I'm making textile art or blogging about it; here's my gallery; or follow me on Twitter for knitting and textile art news.


all photos | Lindy Doran;
Individual makers (as credited on Canopy's Facebook gallery)
Dickens owl:Yarn Tan Tetheras
Red Squirrel:Heather Seddon
Blackbird nest: Joy Davis
Apple tree: Jana Wagner
Stoat/Weasel: Vivienne Netherwood

A walk in the Woollen Woods (part 1)

Change the words of the song from 'love is in the air' to 'fun is in the air' and you get a sense of what it's like to take a walk right now in the Woolly Woods at the National Trust's Acorn Bank near Penrith.

The contributors board shows people from all over the UK and further afield took part.

Excited yells of 'look mummy look' from kids, mixed with the adults' more restrained 'aahh', 'ooh' and pointing is what you get when you line a woodland trail with wonderful woolly creatures - cute, cuddly, colourful, quaint and queer. There's something for everyone, up on the branches, dangling from strings, wrapped round trunks and sitting on roots, all making a lovely woodland walk even more enjoyable. And when you've had your fill outside there's a great tea room - how good does it get!

I've picked my top ten but it was a very hard choice and when I go back and see them again in a new season with leaves on the trees I'm sure I'll make a different selection!

So this is my first five (the second five will be in my next blog). The ones I've picked got on the list for different reasons but one thing they and every piece had in common was the sense of having been made by people who were enjoying themselves!

First pick:
The three owls - the six eyes looking down is very compelling, I think I might have been hypnotised! .... pick us, pick us, pick us.

 Second pick:
The Wallace & Gromit style birds (there were two but couldn't get them both in and show detail) - they're very Creature Comforts, in fact I think I overheard the conversation (in a brummy accent) talking about a recent trip to sunny climes, 'oi looved oibeeetha'.

Third pick:
The mouse and mushrooms - together who could resist? especially the little hands, aahh (there see I'm at it now).

Fourth pick:
The little brown bat - other great bats were flying confidently and self-assured from strings (look at me, I'm a real bat) but this one really appealed because he was so understated, you felt he was a bit like a small child looks in a cute animal costume; and he looks like he's not sure if he could fly, with those legs maybe he'd walk instead!

Fifth pick:
The tree climbing hedgehog (is it a hedgehog?) with red scarf - this one stood out for her quirkiness; I assumed it was a hedgehog, but you may think differently eg. armadillo, sloth, expat haggis (we are quite close to the Scottish border here).

So that's my first five picked and the second five will be in A Walk in the Woollen Woods (Part 2) which will be my next blog. Apart from the contributors (great work folks), I'd say well done too to the people from Eden Arts and everyone else who helped, you clearly spent a lot of time putting all the exhibits into the trees, and someone had a head for heights too!, thanks guys.

I've only one thing left to say, go and visit for yourself - it's fun, it's woods, it's fresh air and exercise, it's woolly, how many more reasons do you need?!

Wondering abut my Walk in the Woods part 2?  here's the second part...

 Find out more about Acorn Bank | Find out more about The Woollen Woods project


When I'm not walking in woods taking cute photos, I'm making textile art or blogging about it; here's my gallery; or follow me on Twitter for knitting and textile art news.


all photos | Lindy Doran;
Individual makers (as credited on Canopy's Facebook gallery)
Three owls: Ruth Packham
Wallace & Gromit birds: Amanda Berry
Mouse and mushrooms: Amy Scroggie
Brown Bat: Caroline Bletsis
Tree-climbing Hedgehog: Arts Council Crafts Group, Manchester

A slight diversion (part 2)...

Last time I mentioned how I'd been led off the main road of my knitty 'to do' stuff in order to make a woolly creature for Eden Arts woolly woods exhibition. With a deadline only a week or so away it needed a quick set of pins!

better get started lots to do!

Anyway here's what I came up with, I'll build it up gradually to keep the suspense...Dayve's helped the drama with his moody lighting in the photos of little critter taking shape.

This is not the creature but in fact a knobbly/gnarly stick (knitted in a 2K 2P rib pattern in alternating blocks (the 'legs' are woollen ties so it can be secured to the tree 'out in the wilds'), it was rolled up into a cylinder and was about 18cm / 7 inches long.

Next a couple of needle-felted leaves (coloured wool tops needled onto a leaf shape I cut from pre-felt with a small bit of thread stitching for the veins of the leaves); then a small twig which was a crocheted chain, wrapped in wool and needle-felted to attach leaves to twig.

Next comes the rare green Woolly Caterpillar; a lovely varied random wool colour that perfectly matched the project meant a simple tube knitted on 4 double-pointed needles with the head made of 2 bobbles created separately and sewn onto one end; it was stuffed with wool tops so no artificial stuffing. French knots were added to give some bumby 'legs' underneath.

Finally it was assembled into a woolly creature fit to be seen by the public and with its own food source (the rare Woolly Caterpillar eats only felted leaves) so that it can be self-sustaining over the exhibition. He feels real to me now somehow (strange how you get emotionally attached to something that a week ago was just lengths of various woolly substances in a box!). Goodbye little fellow and good luck!

How he might look in the shady woods at Acorn bank!

Now where was I with that other picture I'm working on? Of course that's another story...

See my on-line gallery or follow me on Twitter @TAbyLD

A slight diversion...

You know how it is, you're tottering along with your 'to do' list and then something comes along and diverts you. That's what happened to me but luckily it was a fun diversion!

I'd got the website, and the blog, and the Facebook and the Twitter up and running (phew, wipe of brow from heavy-duty work) and was just browsing the Twitter stream as you do when news of the Eden Arts Woollen Woods exhibition due to go up at NT Acorn Bank jumped out at me. 'Your mission should you choose to accept it' is to create a woollen woodland creature to go into the exhibition in the woods at Acorn Bank near Penrith. Well, there's a challenge I couldn't resist.

So first I discussed the brief with my woollen woodland creature consultant ....

He needs the cushion to reach the keyboard...

...then having agreed the final design for the 'creature', work began; with a deadline of the 28th of this month (and limited time to spend) it needs to be something not too complex and something that can be packed into a small box or envelope....

At the risk of sounding like Rolf Harris - 'can you tell what it is yet?'

Not very promising at this stage I'll admit!

All will be revealed after it's been posted off, so watch this space!

Here's a couple of useful links to the exhibition info ...

Woollen Woods exhibition info

National Trust Acorn Bank

Until next time - enjoy your knitting!


visit my website gallery to see already completed projects:)