The ‘Woolinale’ International Yarn Bombing Festival…

Two weeks ago I flew out to Cologne in Germany for the very first ‘Woolinale’ International Yarn Bombing Festival which I was invited to take part in. 🥰🧶 https://www.woolinale.de

An international yarnbombing festival where over 60 artists from all over the world contributed a piece of knitted or crocheted art. It was truly inspiring to be a part of it and so many of the artists also flew into Cologne to be at the festival in person. It was quite something! 😃

Elke Hahn, Heike Unger and David Wasser are the three organisers who brought this festival to life and made it happen. Enormous thanks must go to them… without their vision and enthusiasm this wonderful occasion would simply never have happened! 🥰

There were even yarn bombed people at the festival! 😃 These are the brilliant Arachnes Faden who brought a huge smile to everyone’s faces as they made appearances around the festival throughout the weekend!

In this blog post I’ll share my experience of the weekend and share some of the artworks I saw from the festival. I’ll mention the artists whenever possible but please do look at the full list of all the artists who participated here: www.woolinale.de/ARTISTS

I went along with my husband and two of my teenage big children in tow… it’s always really special when I can share my crochet adventures with them. It was very soon after loosing our sweet little Salty🐾😢 and we had contemplated cancelling the trip but we’re glad we went ahead because it was a good distraction. Crochet yet again showed itself as a healer… ❤️‍🩹

The festival coincided with the h+h Cologne international trade fair – one of the world’s largest trade fairs for textile handicrafts and hobbies. https://www.hh-cologne.com

So there was plenty for me to see! 😍

Arriving in Cologne we went straight to the festival from the airport… it’s always nice to be greeted by crochet! And as we approached the huge exhibition centre, yarn bombs appeared…

There was a Community Peace Wall at the entrance which was created with contributions from members of the public from all over the world…

Inside the exhibition centre on the lower floor the art pieces were all arranged with the feel of an international art gallery. They were really beautifully displayed with many pieces also mounted onto railings brought in from outside which gave it that street art, yarn bombing vibe!

I felt it was a perfect way to display the wide range of art pieces…

This one below by Minna Lehtonnen Vihiriä was one of my favourites… I absolutely adore it! 😍 I found the colours used and the image created through crochet simply mesmerising…

It wasn’t long before I came across mine…

‘A Coastal Chorus’

From the sea to the beach and the sky up above, this is a celebration of a day by the coast…

I’ll share more about the details in my own piece in a separate blog post soon. For now it was simply a lovely moment to be reunited!

I had sent it ahead in the post a month or so before because I wasn’t able to arrive any earlier to help get it up on display. There were a few worrying weeks for me as my piece got stuck in customs but thankfully it got through eventually, just in time. A team of volunteers worked really hard to organise the many pieces sent in and get them up on display. There are so many people behind the scenes to be grateful for to bring these events to us.

My piece was beautifully presented next to another landscape piece created by Otulanie Włóczką Mol and Wool – a group from Poland. Their Woolinale artwork is called “Lublin Landscape with the Magician” and is meant to pay homage to artists and landmarks of their region.

I thought they made such a nice pair next to each other!

And here are just some of the other wonderful pieces of incredible yarn art I saw. I love them all so much… there was such creativity, skill and talent on display!

And this one by Alisha from Little Nugget Workshop was amazing! It was cleverly 3D with the palm tree coming out of the piece. There were so many gorgeously textured stitches and yarns used to create a stunning beach scene complete with messages in a bottle!

We went back to our hotel to check in and managed to see a little of Cologne en route…

…before returning to the exhibition centre early evening for a gathering of all the artists!

It was so nice to meet people in person face to face and be able to chat about each other’s work and inspirations. Google Translate on our phones helped a lot but just being together and sharing appreciation transcends any language barriers! 😃

An amazing piece by Prudence Mapstone called ‘50 Years of Flower Power’ provided a perfect backdrop for photos and gatherings throughout the weekend. Just look at how much work has gone into this…

The next morning was a wet one but we managed to do a Parkrun…

Rowan is an outdoor enthusiast and when he heard that Cologne had a Parkrun he was keen to come along. You can always walk at these wonderful Saturday morning gatherings (its not only running!) and they are always so welcoming and friendly. It was a brilliant way to kickstart our day and get to see another part of the beautiful city!

We then had the most wonderful golden moment meeting Amanda Bloom from Cosy Life Boxes for a coffee. We both knew that the other was in town so we just had to arrange a meet up. How lovely it was to catch up and chat…

Amanda and I go back quite some years as she used to own the fabulous Little Box of Crochet which was such a big part of my crochet journey in the beginning. We had lots to talk about and it was simply perfect…

We then headed back to the exhibition centre walking across the River Rhine over the famous Hohenzollern Bridge…

There were some talks going on back at the festival and it was nice to see one of my photos pop up on the screen in the background…😄

It was good to get more opportunities to mingle and spend time with the other artists…

There are the yarnbombed people again! 😁Minna Lehtonnen Vihiriä with Arachnes Faden

Arachnes Faden also created this wonderful piece…

There was a competition running during the festival to choose a winning yarnbomb – how to even begin choosing just one winner from all the wonderful creations is a challenge. But the winner was announced and it actually really was an obvious winner…

‘Housing First’

by Elena Biancardi

A crocheted and knitted piece called ‘Housing First’ which was thought provoking and powerful created by Elena Biancardi from Switzerland.

It was absolutely brilliant – it was a piece that stopped you in your tracks and made you really look and think about the tiny details. Seeing a homeless person under blankets with a dear little dog at their side. Crochet art that isn’t just about being pretty but a very powerful message too… 🙌😍

We went round the festival again and enjoyed some of the more interactive pieces…

We made sure to go around the h+h trade fair. King Cole had a stand there and it was great to catch up with the team and see some of my work on display!

When I crocheted my original ‘Postcards with Love’ blanket I never imagined that we’d be reunited in Cologne!! 😃

It was also great to meet other crochet designers who were there for the trade show…

Susy from Knot so Square

And Juf Sas from Haken met Juf Sas

Before heading back to the hotel I said farewell to my yarnbomb. All the pieces will be auctioned off with proceeds going to the International Red Cross. That’s such a good thing…

What an amazing event! 😄

So much to see, so many wonderful people to meet and so many conversations to enjoy!

The following day we made time for some sightseeing before flying home. I’ll leave you with some photos of a very beautiful city…

Happy Crocheting Everyone! 😍