Zen Cat Pottery Plus

Yarn Artists Rejoice!

April 6, 2018

Fun 'N Fiber Ceramics and Handmade Jewelry


So, my pottery has been selling like gangbusters locally at Fuller Lodge Art Center Gallery Shop, so I've been busy, busy, busy making pottery and neglecting this blog, which is in its infancy, and my Etsy shop.

Today, I listed several new yarn bowls in my Etsy shop so I thought it would be a great time to post about using yarn bowls.

Yarn bowls are a great way to keep your yarn and project organized while you are working on it.  Larger yarn bowls can hold 2+ colors at once!

Whether you knit, crochet or do some other art form that requires pulling long strands of yarn at a time, a yarn bowl is likely what you need.  A yarn bowl:
1)  Keeps your yarn balls from rolling all over the floor while you are knitting or crocheting.
2)  Keeps your fiber project and tools (needles, hooks, etc.) all in one place while you are not working on your project.
3)  Keeps your cat from chasing your yarn balls all over the room, thereby creating a whole lotta extra work for you!
4)  Makes you smile while you "work"!

Yarn bowls are easy to use.  Simply put your ball (or balls) of yarn in the bowl and pul the yarn through the slit/groove or hole.  To keep multiple colors from tangling, put each color through a different hole.  Place the bowl nearby (on the floor, on a table, on a footstool, etc.), rotate it slightly, so that the yarn forms and angle at the slit/hole, and you're ready to roll.  (YOU are ready to roll, but your yarn will not!)

There are many types of yarn bowls out there, but why not choose a handmade yarn bowl?  Each is a unique creation and physical manifestation of an artist's imagination!  Plus, you are supporting an artist maker (rather than a big box store).  And every time you buy handmade, the maker does a happy dance (literally)!

Here are 3 yarn bowls you can find in my shop today:

Blue Birds Yarn Bowl (above)

This bowl is done with a sgraffito (pronounced: skräˈfētō) technique.  I plan to devote a future blog post to this technique, but briefly, sgraffito is a form of decoration made by scratching through the surface to reveal a lower layer of contrasting color.  This cheerful bowl features 5 pretty blue birds chirping away under a swirly sky.  I do most of my sgraffito free-hand, so every piece will be different!

 Octopus Yarn Bowl (Above)

This bowl was fluted at the top right off the wheel.  When it was dry, I hand painted the octopus and fish, using a "water color" technique for the background, so it looks like water.  This whimsical octopus is knitting away in his under-the-sea grotto!

Mermaid Yarn Bowl (Above)

This yarn bowl combines several surface decoration techniques.  While the bowl is still "wet", I shape the mermaid by hand and attach her and the shells to the outside.  The seaweed is then painted on and outlined with a modified sgraffito technique.  When dry, I painted the mermaid and shells.  The same watercolor technique was used for the watery background as was used on the octopus bowl above.

A Yarn Bowl by any other Name....

I hope you check out my yarn bowls here.  And if you don't see anything you like, just ask!  I love to do special orders.

But, if you want to search for other hand made yarn bowls, here are some other names you might find them under:  knitting bowl, crochet bowl, yarn pot, yarn storage 

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