"Yen for Yarn" Unravels Childhood Memory

by Elmer Prather, guest blogger

My latest puzzle is a 275-piece titled A Yen For Yarn by the talented artists at Cobble Hill Puzzles. Before I spend the time putting a puzzle together, I must have a connection to it. My connection to this puzzle is my interest in making items from yarn.

I usually put 1000-piece puzzles together but when I saw this 275-piece puzzle, I fell in love with it. I was impressed with the display of the distinct colors of yarn and how the spools of yarn were positioned in the puzzle picture. I imagined how it would look hanging on my wall so I decided to put it together. When I finished putting it together and hung it on my wall I was impressed with how great it looked.

As I put this puzzle together, I did some research on yarn and determined that yarn is a long, continuous strand of interlocking fibers usually made from natural or synthetic fibers like wool, cotton, silk, acrylic, or polyester. It comes in different weights and thicknesses, from thin to thick. They can be put into four groups: thread, floss, knitting yarn and rope. Yarn can be used to make, among other things, decorative embroidery, accessories, home décor, toys, and potholders. Yarn comes in a wide range of hues, from bright and bold to soft and subtle. This enables artists and crafters to select the ideal yarn for their project and mix and match colors to create a unique result, creating a wide range of items.

When I first saw this puzzle, I had flash backs of when I was about eight years old and found that my mother had purchased a large box of yarn from an antique store in the small town in which I grew up. I was amazed at the assorted colors of yarn I found in that box.

My mother raised seven children and I was the second in birth order so when I was eight years old, she was raising five of her seven children. She was a busy mother and wife but she found time to teach me how to make potholders from some of the yarn she had purchased. I thought I was some kind of artist when I started making potholders. To say the least, I was proud of myself at that young age, being able to make beautiful potholders as gifts for my mother.

Yen for Yarn, Easy Handling 275 Piece by Cobble Hill Creations