I confessed a while ago that I had developed a new addiction... mandala making. It all started so innocently, with the creation of one colourful Mandala for Lucy's Yarndale display. That beautiful circle of twisted yarn, which I was so proud of, I sent on its way to join definitely hundreds and probably thousands of others at the Yarndale festival. I was gleeful when I saw it pop up onto the Pinterest board, safe and sound. Which left me mandala-less. So of course, I had to whizz up another one... or two... or three...
...oh, ok. Seven. I ended up making SEVEN!
It was a gradual thing. I tried one pattern, it let me onto another. I saw one or two on the Pinterest boards, which I had to try. I even had one pattern sent to me by someone who'd designed it just for Yarndale!
Today time came to pin, steam and then glue them all. Pin, pin, pin. Then pffffffft!
Gloop, gloop, gloop went the glue. I spent around 30 minutes gently dabbing the glue on these beauties. It was very theraputic. Didn't seem that long at all.
Then they were left to dry all afternoon, while Little R and I played in the sun. This evening they were ready for their photo shoot.
Perhaps you would care to be introduced? Very well.
Here is my Lucy-style Mandala, hooked up, as they all were, in the yarn I bought at last year's Yarndale Festival. I've enjoyed trying out different colour combinations as I've created these joyful wheels. Trying to steer myself away from rainbow order was challenging, but I managed it!
This is my Sunny Flower Mini Mandala a la Zooty Owl. To be honest, I found this pattern just didn't want to lie flat, so I had to fight and fight with it, and completely re-design the last three rounds. I think maybe it's my crochet tension, because I've seen lots of lovely flat lying versions on the Pinterest boards. It's a bit of a mystery to me.
This little Mandala is a bit of a hybrid. I tried Zooty Owl's Granny Mini-Mandala, but again had a floppy issue, whereby it was growing too big too fast. So again I had to fudge the end. I was quite pleased with the cute little picot points I created though! And I love looking at this once, because it's A: diddy and B: rainbow ordered!
This gorgeous little mandala is my Flower Potholder Mandala, the pattern for which, by Jennifer Martin, is on Ravelry. Lovely pattern. Lovely colours. And the spokes were only fiddly for the first two, then I worked out where to put my hands and the mandala to make it easier.
This funky little missus is my Little Spring Mandala from Made in K Town (at time of blogging, this link isn't working - but the link IS correct, the website just appears to be having difficulties. I'll leave the link their in the hopes the problems will resolve).
I discovered this pattern through my Mum, who has one on each of her bedside tables. In different yarns, obviously. I still have reservations about the banana yellow cotton yarn of the final round in amongst my lovely colours. It's not 100% right, and due to the lighting this evening its colour is even weirder than usual. But I do really love the clever greens round, which has two shades of green - clever, neh?
This flowery beauty is my Rosy's Yarndale Mandala, which Rosy was kind enough to write up and send to me. I'd seen her delectable Mandala on the Pinterest board and wanted to have a go myself. Through the wonder of Pinterest we were able to make contact and within days I was sitting on my sofa, hooking up her pattern. Mine is not so beautiful as hers, as I didn't want to do a direct imitation, so I restrained from doing rainbow order colours. Worked up beautifully though, and I love how big and flouncy the final round is. Do contact her through the Pinterest pin or me if you fancy trying this lovely pattern.
And last, but absolutely not least, is this, my probably-most-favouritist-Mandala. When I saw THIS one on Pinterest, made by Henriette (Jet) in the Netherlands I loved it, and immediately started fantasising about how it amazing it would look in rainbow colours. Jet was kind enough to point me in the direction of the tutorial on The Crochet Case. To my surprise, I hooked it up without a single tear, curse or tantrum, at my Mum's that afternoon after our Colchester Zoo trip, and finished the outer rounds, which I designed myself, in the car en route home.
I was enjoying the delicious dance of colour so much I felt compelled to take photos of each stage... and then put them into a collage! Enjoy the, as Laura would call it, yarn porn!
*Content sigh*
I have very much enjoying my Mandala-making journey (thus far... who can say for sure that this is the end?!) and have had somewhere in mind throughout, that I can display this wool-based artwork...
Yes, it's a wall in our house, but WHERE?
On the wall going up the stairs. Is there a special name for that wall? It's not in a room, or in the hall, or in the landing. Which wall is it?
Whatever it's called, I'm enjoying seeing them peeping at me as I walk down the hallway to the kitchen. And I'm loving seeing double in the mirror!
Hurray for Mandalas! Hurray for Lucy and Yarndale for bringing us together to celebrate them, and hurray for Pinterest and Ravelry for enabling us to share all these marvellous patterns.