Okay guys, I'm kind of excited about this bunny I just made :) Haha, it's really nothing great, but it's so soft and cute... And I think I've finally found something to do with my ridiculous stash of yarn, since I rarely ever want to take the time (or sit still long enough!) to knit or crochet. When I learned to knit and crochet, it seemed like yarn came from EVERYWHERE. So-and-so's grandma is getting rid of yarn, so-and-so found a huge yarn stash at a yard sale for so cheap... And I ended up with puh-lenty of yarn :) And it's just been sitting there. Anyhoo, Sterling Publishing sent me this book:
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Adventures in Pompom Land" by Myko Diann Bocek. So freaking cute. Seriously. There are so many cute animals, a fox, a hedgehog, squirrel, birdies, a lamb! a kitty!etc. It was hard to pick a project, but I decided to make the bunny because Easter is soon, and I'd like to make some more decorations.
The only time I attempted a handmade pompom was when I saw a tutorial on how to make one on a fork. It was cool, but not very puffy...kind of sparse. This book shows you how to make BIG OLE fluffy, dense pompoms that you can then shape with scissors to create wee puffy creatures. I didn't need to buy any new tools, so that was wonderful. A big trick is using A LOT of yarn :) Which is why I am so stoked about the stash-busting possibilities of this craft. This bunny is about 5'' tall and used up about 1/2 skein of sport-weight acrylic yarn.
The techniques involve a little bit of needle felting for features like legs and tails, which wouldn't be super-efficient to make out of pompoms. And there is gluing, thank goodness. I'm all for shortcuts, and any glue is hidden in the finished product among all the fluff.
Now, when I initially flipped through the book and began to read some of the instructions, I got a little confused, but once you jump into the project, you can totally tell what they're talking about. There are pictures, and they help...but truly, I didn't get some of the ideas until I had the pompom in my hands.
All in all, I actually think I'm going to use this book to bust the heck out of my yarn stash and make things of yarn that are actually super cute. Things that I wouldn't be embarrassed gifting to somebody (unlike some of the knit monstrosities I've created in the past! Sometimes yarn can be so hideous when you do all the wrong things to it.)
Bottom line on
Adventures in Pompom Land: I like it, I'm gonna get some use out of it, and BOOM, a new fluffy skill! I recommend.
