Experimenting

Having finished the socks for next year's competition, I took a look at the crochet section. The brief is to make a 'Mandala cushion'. The competition booklet says, "The word Mandala means magic circle in Sanskrit. Mandala art consists of patterns and symbols worked in concentric circles and arranged to achieve a symmetric and kaleidoscopic effect". Right.

 There's a long list of requirements for the cushion.  I've been looking at patterns -  on Ravelry, on Pinterest and following blog trails. I can't find a single pattern that will meet all the specs but I think I can combine patterns and make something unique.

 An eagle eyed friend of mine pointed out that it 'recommends' that you use more than one kind of crochet yarn. Plan B required because I had thought I could dye the cotton thread I bought and use it throughout. So in this experiment I've used the bought cotton yarn for the flower and handspun cotton for the leaves. I have thread I bought for tatting that I can incorporate. My idea for the flower is to dye a different shade of the same colour for each layer.

I"m going to a craft group meeting this afternoon, so I will take along the socks and this experiment and see what feedback I get.