This year, I crocheted Christmas bells to celebrate the holidays. Happy new year to everyone! 🧶
Almost one year ago I started growing cotton plants at home. Probably due to the less suitable climate, only one bulb managed to grow. However, I was suprised to find a reasonable amount of cotton fluff and about 20 seeds in the bulb. I am excited to start the experiment again. 🌱🧶
It was time again to crochet Bifidobacterium for friends and family that had a baby. Normally, I use safety eyes to give a ‘face’ to the amigurumi, but I prefer not to use plastic. I used stitches with different colors and while the result is not perfect, it is an alternative. 🧶
The cotton plant leaves are almost completely withered away, but the last touches are being made to the cotton that is now bursting out of the big bulbs. 🌱
During the life of the flax (Linum usitatissimum) plants, they form flowers with a beautiful soft violet color. Later, green capsules form and the leaves start to yellow and shrivel. At the end, the seed containing capsules turn brown and you can actually hear the seeds rattle.
🌱
The cotton plant flowers are withering away to make space for the first bolls. Inside, the cotton fibers are formed from epidermal cells of the newly developed seeds. 🌱
After some time trying to grow cotton, it was time to do some crochet. I continued with the monster climbing chalk bag and finished the mouth of the monster. There is still some work to be done before the entire pouch is finished, but I think it is going in the right direction. 🧶
The sunny weather in the Netherlands did some good for all of us, including the cotton plants that developed more flowers.
The flowers appear to have a more pronounced Stigma compared to the flowers that developed during the rainy period.
The stigma, the female reproductive structure, are the part in the flower where later the cotton seeds will form.
🌱
The first flower bud of the cotton plant has opened in the last few days, showing milky white flower leaves. The leaves have turned a pinkish purple in the meantime and have not opened. This may be due to the rainy weather conditions and the lack of sunshine in the recent days. Perhaps the forcasted sunny weather may improve this. 🌱
After almost 5 months after sprouting, the cotton plants plants have developed fruiting branches with leaf like bracts (epicalyx) that form ‘cotton squares’ which are the flower buds. This means that flowers are forming and the actual cotton maybe the next step!
The plants themselves are relatively small and stalled at 35 cm in height. This may be due to the Dutch weather which is not optimal for growth of cotton. 🌱
After about 4 months after sprouting the cotton plants, They are approximately 30 cm in height and I moved them outside to enjoy a bit more sunshine. Afterwards the stems of the plant turned a bit reddish and became more sturdy, probably to adjust to their lives outside. There are some buds forming in axils of the plant, but I am not sure id they are leaf buds or flower buds. I am hoping that they are flower buds, because it would mean that cotton will start forming after the flower has matured. 🌱
In 1.5 weeks the flax (Linum usitatissimum) seeds have sprouted and are about 3-5 cm long. They grew very easily and only needed some sunshine and a bit of water. I divided the sprouts over a couple of pots to give them more space and noticed that the root system was well developed.
The next step in my ‘quest’ to see how yarn is produced is to grow flax and make linnen. Flax (Linum usitatissimum) grows from these small seeds and is supposed to grow quite well in soil and climate in West Europe.
An advantage of flax in comparison of cotton is that it requires less water and pesticides. Let’s see if this is also true growing it at home.
The first pieces of a new project are finished. These pieces will be part of a little monster that will join me for future climbing sessions. 🧶
The cotton plants are growing strongly now thanks to sunny weather we have been having.
The cotton plant drinks a lot of water and likes a humid atmosphere. This made me try to build a small greenhouse, which was surprisingly simple by covering the young sprouts with a drinking glass.
When I am in between projects, I like to tidy up my yarn. I recently learned how to hand wind left over yarn. It is so simple and the yarn balls, or cakes that they are also called, look so cute.
It took some time, but the cotton plants (Gossypium herbaceum) are starting to look like real plants. That said, they look somewhat frail. Some sunshine should make them a bit stronger.
Within 5 days the cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) seeds have already sprouted. I let the seeds sprout between moistened tissues and now planted them in soil. I cannot wait until the plants will start growing!
These little things are seeds from the cotton plant (Gossypium herbaceum). I usually use cotton yarn for my crochet creations and I was wondering if I would be able to grow some cotton plants at home as a fun experiment. Who knows, the fibers may even be good enough as stuffing for crochet dolls or perhaps even to spin some basic yarn.
The child-play-cube is ready to be enjoyed by a special little toddler! I like the result and especially that it is completely made with natural fibers.
The geometric shapes as well as the nature inspired shapes, such as the flowers, will help trigger young minds.
Crocheting a decently shaped can be quite a problem if regular filling, such as polyester or, preferably, natural fibers such as wool or cotton are used as the cube would almost turn into a sphere. In addition, I am find it important to use as less synthetic fibers as possible to avoid any spillage of persistent fibers from my creations into the environment and cause harm to our fellow earth inhabitants. To circumvent the need for regular filling and at the same time maintain a cube shape, I started with a tiny cube and added subsequent larger cubes around it to form a sort of matroesjka cube. In the end, 19 layers were necessarily to obtain a sufficient size cube that will be the ‘filling’ of the child playing dice.
Christmas has come and gone. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and their loved ones. Like most years I set out to crochet something nice for my family and friends, but this year I did not have that much inspiration and ‘only’ managed to make new patterns for Christmas candy canes. While I found this rather frustrating I noticed that together they form a heart, which is actually the most important thing to cherish and remember during the holidays. Lets keep and spread this warm feeling throughout the coming year!
Christmas came early this year! I am so happy with my new custom made crochet hook. It feels like a magic wand!
This crochet hook was made from bamboo by the artisans from www.bamhout.nl and I cannot wait what crochet projects will be created using it.
The last three pieces of the ‘child play dice’ are done! The last thing remaining is to crochet all six sides together! 🧶
Maybe I should set up a small production site for the Bifidobacterium amigurumi that I am sending as gift to friends and family who recently became proud parents. Bifidobacteria are usually quite abundant in the gut of babies where they help stimulate a healthy immune system.
