The Things They Do With Yarn (a kids crafts show and tell)

A few weeks ago there was an explosion in our living room.  A yarn bomb went off and we're still wading through the aftermath ...

I've taken up crocheting again recently.  It's a nice activity for the chilly winter months, and it's something I can work on without sequestering myself in my attic sewing room.  But once the yarn comes out, the kids go nuts.  They have to be in it, around it, on top of it.  Last year I tried to teach them to crochet but they didn't have the coordination (read, I didn't have the patience.)  So I've been trying to come up with other yarn-related projects for them so that they can join me without needing my help every. twelve. seconds.  (So far, we're at about every 32 seconds, so we still have a long way to go before we're all crafting away in peace and quiet.) 

I love this picture because this is what is supposed to be happening...  I have my work and they craft quietly nearby!

I have bought so much yarn in the past few weeks, the majority of it cheap-o kid craft yarn.  With materials from around the house, we've made pom-pom makers and homemade looms.  The boys are able to complete projects on them mostly independently, so that makes all of us happy!  They wish I'd get the camera out of their faces and craft projects but that's not going to happen!  So here are a few photos of the work they've been doing...

The pom-pom makers were sturdy cardboard squares with the centers cut out so that we could tie a string around
the middle before cutting the ends.  

We made looms by gluing together random pieces of cardboard - to keep it stiff.  Then Russ sawed the notches into the top and bottom and glued on wood paint stirrers cut to fit.

Dominic's project

Aaron's project - he's tying it off in this picture

Aaron's other project involved building a manually powered "sewing machine."  He used it to thread his loom for his second weaving, but for some reason I can't get the picture to load :(
Seriously, what did seven-year-old boys do before Legos???