sticks and stones

 I am not a knitter. Nor do I pretend to have any skill with a crochet hook. It is what it is and I have had friends gleefully chuckle at my ineptness yet that doesn’t stop me from buying yarn. I seem to lean towards grey and more grey and I have no idea why I continue to peruse the yarn aisle when I get the chance. Since I have a small mountain elevating in my very craft-cluttered living room I felt it was time to do something with all that happy (though not fancy) fiber. After sitting on our old sofa that is in desperate need of covering with my eyes darting from one pile to another I spied a small bundle of sticks (yup, sticks) which immediately made me get up to see if I had my beach rocks within sight.

Thinking back to making friendship bracelets and the happy calm that comes with knotting  knot after knot, I scooped up some yarn, sticks and stones, grabbed a pair of scissors, popped an episode of Wonderfalls on and began knotting and knotting and knotting some more.

Here is the wonder I came up with:

 You might be thinking this is simply a rock with yarn wrapped around it but you are wrong. It is a rock, yes and there is yarn, yes but the yarn is not simply wrapped, it is knotted and if you look closely you will see a tiny pattern running across the surface of my flat happy beach stone. Instead of simply wrapping, I whipped out the magic of the friendship bracelet knot. You can do this as well, it’s really easy, all you need is a palm-sized flat rock or larger. Grab a length of yarn and tie it around your stone and begin wrapping as you would a friendship bracelet, replacing the rock with the center thread.

 

 

 As you knot, always pull in the same direction to create that happy bumpy dance across the surface. Add another color if you like or, switch it up and knot around a twig or stick. To create more patterns, thread a large eyed needle with embroidery thread or yarn and weave it in and out across the surface of your yarn wrapped stone. Keep all untidy knots to the bottom or use shorter lengths of yarn and knot on new lengths and keep them visible for a folksy look. You can use your rocks as desk decorations or paperweights. Glue two or three atop each other for added oomph or simply use them as building blocks.

 So what are you waiting for? Toss on a sweater and a pair of comfy sneakers and hit some nature for a rock hunt, don’t forget the sticks!