Tag Archives: woollen woods

The Woollen Woods 2016

Posted on by Abi

queenofheartsEvery year a magical event takes place as part of Voluntary Arts Week – The Woollen Woods. Woodlands across the country become inhabited with all manner of knitted (or crocheted) creatures to the delight of thousands of visitors. It all started last year with seven woods (of which Derbyshire was one) and this year it grew even bigger. This was the second year I’d had the pleasure of joining in with the Derbyshire Woollen Woods held in Belper Parks Wood.  It was such a huge success that I felt compelled to share a few pics (and videos) for those who couldn’t manage to make it along.mouse

It took months of hard work by local crafters (and a few further afield) to make enough pieces to decorate the majority of Belper Woods but as you can hopefully see from these pics it was definitely worth it. The creations were displayed between 7-15th May this year and the response we received was absolutely wonderful. We even had some visitors travel quite a distance for a day out in our Woolly Wonderland!whiterabbitI believe there’s a special childlike joy that only magical woolly creatures can bring and with that in mind here’s a few of my favourite pieces (not made by me) and two mini video tours. bunny

If looking through this post has got you itching to get involved with the Derbyshire event then pop over to >Anne Clark Handmade and send Anne an email. owlAnne organised the Derbyshire Woollen Woods for both years and we’ve also yarn bombed several other events including local festivals, Christmas decorations, the hospital, museum and much more!

If you weren’t lucky enough to be able to visit a Woollen Woods this year then keep your eyes peeled on the >Voluntary Arts Week website for details of the event next year.snake

To see some pics of last years Woollen Woods check out my 2015 post.

snails

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The Woollen Woods in Derbyshire

Posted on by Abi

A month or so ago I wrote about the upcoming Woollen Woods project that I was taking part in. Knitters from near and far created woodland creatures to be hung in Belper Park Woods as part of the Here and There Art Trail taking place in the town. The event was a huge success and seemed to delight everyone who was able to visit.

For those who were too far away or otherwise couldn’t make it I thought I’d post up a few snapshots plus a wonderful video created by the chaps at Ablewild.owlswool

I forgot to take my camera so these were only taken on my phone but the animals were so fabulous that even a dodgy phone picture can’t spoil them! I think the pic above should be named ‘Owls in Love’.

squirrelswool

Red squirrels eating acorns, ‘real’ red squirrels are such a rare sight that it was lovely to see our native breed even if only in knitted form. This must be Mummy, Daddy and baby squirrel.

snailswool

These three snails look distinctly like they might be up to no good, perhaps they were gossiping about the other animals in the woods that day.

squirrelwool

This guy has obviously eaten all of the acorns and is now having a rest by some beautiful flowers.

bunnywool

There were even tree climbing bunnies, a sight you’ll only see in Derbyshire!! No doubt he was trying to get a better look at all the other chaps hiding in the trees.

I didn’t get a decent photo of everything (there was loads there!) and I was rather caught up hunting with my kids to find it all. The following video shows off a lot more but even this misses out some of the pieces, it just gives a wonderful feel of the whole event. My kids feature a lot in the video, my youngest took far more photos with his Grannie’s camera than I did. Hopefully the event will take place again next year and it is definitely worth a visit if you can.

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The Here And There Art Walk with Woollen Woods in Belper, Derbyshire.

Posted on by Abi

During the weekend 23rd – 25th May 2015 the Here and There Art Walk is due to take place in Belper Parks wood in Derbyshire. Artists of all kinds have been encouraged to join in with this event and artwork should be popping up amongst the trees for all to see. Rather than getting out my pen and paper I’m joining in with the yarn bomb inspired by the Woollen Woods event taking place countrywide. All manner of knitted woodland creatures will be taking up residence in the branches and it’s sure to be a welcome sight for any families, dog walkers or art trail visitors.

woollenwoodssquirrelUnfortunately my contribution is rather tiny at the moment. I’ve got no excuse really, I just keep forgetting to knit! In fact my knitting has been so slow to progress, that you might be forgiven thinking I was trying to break some kind of world record for the slowest growth of stitches! I have contributed a mouse so far (he’s quite small though) and I’ve been knitting a squirrel forever, so long in fact that I thought he was a fox until I double checked the pattern and realised I’d forgotten what I was making. At this rate I really should be knitting a snail!

If you want to get involved (and you’re faster than me) there’s still time to knit, crochet or otherwise combine textiles to be included in the woods. All you need to do is get in contact with the Yarn bombing organiser Anne Clark of Anne Clark Handmade and I’m sure she’d love to see your efforts.

If you don’t fancy getting involved with making any of the creatures then do pop along to see them all in situ, hopefully the weather will be good but the knitting should be at least partially protected from any rain under the leaves and branches.

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