This week was all about Yarndale, which meant my usual knitting projects were put to one side. Instead, I had a little panic moment when I realised I hadn’t actually finished my yarn bomb bollard cover for the North Yorkshire Yarn Trail and Yarndale entrance.
I began this project back in July, before I started these weekly stitches. It was a perfect companion piece for the summer months – easy to carry and great for those in-between moments.
I knitted rows while waiting at Leeds train station due to train cancellations,
waiting for meals to arrive
and just sitting in the sunshine. Those little pockets of knitting soothed the frustration of waiting and turned it into calm.
The frills were especially fun to knit – although they meant a lot of stitches to cast on!
I added them bit by bit: on train journeys,
and even while waiting for coffee. Because I wasn’t recording weekly stitches at the time, I didn’t capture photos of everything, but the next stage was the intarsia section with the sheep and the words.
Being local to Yarndale meant I could pop over and check that my cover actually fit the bollard (thankfully, it did – always a relief when the measurements add up!). Then, of course, life and other projects meant it got tucked away in a bag and forgotten… until this week.
On Tuesday I got it out the bag, realised it wasn’t finished (eek!), and set to work. I joined the crochet top to the knitted body, even taking it along to the hairdresser’s the next day to keep things moving.
And finally – it was done! Just in time for Yarndale weekend, ready to stand bright and colourful among the entrance bollards.
For me, the cover represents everything I love about this community: inclusivity, welcome, love and respect for the sheep that give us wool, and the joy of simple stitches in both knit and crochet.
It’s always amazing how these little projects carry our everyday moments – from summer sunshine to waiting rooms – and then come together in something that brings joy to many.
