Inspiration
For the Love of Pom Poms
When Kay, Ann, and I began planning Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide No. 3: Wild Yarns, it was fall 2016. I had recently returned from a trip to India, a country where bright colors and unabashed adornment abound. It is a place where embellishment extends far beyond textiles and jewelry, where even truck and taxi drivers decorate the rear and side-view mirrors of their vehicles with pompoms and tassels. I was fascinated with these adornments, and within a few weeks of my return, I had convinced Kay and Ann that we needed to include some in Wild Yarns.
Kay introduced me to Cassie Hull of Hull Heart, whose pompom, tassel, and weaving work she had been following on Instagram. I shared my mood board/color palette with Cassie along with some extra inspiration. I also checked in with Vilasinee Bunnag, owner of Loome, a new pompom- and tassel-making tool company I was seeing all over the place, and V sent us some Loome tools to play around with.
Here’s the original palette for Field Guide No. 3: Wild Yarns.
Here is some of the pompom/tassel inspiration I sent to Cassie.
Here is a photo of Cassie’s pompoms and tassels on the floor in my office, looking beautifully wild.
And here they are looking beautifully serene, in a photo taken by Sara Remington for Field Guide No. 3.
Finally, last weekend, nearly 9 months after my trip to India, I got out my Loome tool and let my long-swirling pompom urges flow.
I started out with a small bunch of wildly coiffed pompoms on a string.
At that point, I was nearly more seduced by the bits of woolly detritus than my pompoms.
I played around with the idea of hanging the pompoms from the backs of chairs on my porch.
And on the handle of a straw bag.
But I sort of always knew that what I wanted to do with them. I just hadn’t said it out loud: hang them above my garden door.
I don’t know if birds will pick at them or if they will shrivel up or fade from the rain or sun, but I do know that I want to add more pompoms to this scene—and maybe some tassels, too.
I want my wild yarns to blow and twirl in the wind, just like the ones on the trucks and taxis in India.
Now all you need is a “Horn OK Please” sign next to the pom poms. 🙂
Loved reading this! ❤️
Fabulous! I love your outdoor pompoms and now know what my garden has been lacking…
What is a loome tool and how did you use it. Love pom poms
Hang um high
There’s a link above to the Loome website which is chock full of videos and information on their marvelous little tool.
OH! I love all of these but most especially the tassels with the wrapped loops up top. Mmmmmmm, wonderful.
Last year I instituted the First Annual Post Christmas Dinner Craft in the hope that it would draw together all of the many ages of attendees and keep my husband from dozing off after the meal. We made pom pom snowmen (or just “parts”) and craft time was a hit. The guys proved to be the champion pom pom makers. Who knew?
That is a brilliant idea (I may steal it) but I bet the hubs still caught a few zzzz’s.
More about how to use and where to find the Loome tool, please.
Click the link in the article to the Loome website for all sorts of tutorials and info. It’s a fun site!
If you were a spinner, those bits of wooly detritis would make fabulous tweedy neps. Just sayin’
lalalalalalalalala [covers ears]
What a “happy making” post. Thank you for the early morning smiles
And that is SOME garden fence! You must live in deer country. The pom poms make such a nice touch!
The fence is to keep out deer and woodchucks mainly. I think we may have gone overboard with the height. The pompoms definitely help to make it cozier.
What great colors and ideas. Off to get my Pom Pom maker out!
Love the pom poms but I have a hard time making them. Just have to practice more.
I love this! I have a pompom maker, and although I don’t have a garden gate, I do have a deck railing!