Yarn bowls are a great help to keep your balls of wool from rolling away or just out of reach of curious pets or kids while you knit or crochet the hours away, they are not only handy but should also be as beautiful and crafted with the same love that you are putting into your craft.

This hand crafted yarn bowl turned in Huon Pine. It was turned in my workshop in Heathmont, a leafy suburb of outer Melbourne and sanded and polished to a fine finish, the yarn slot is then cut by hand and sanded to allow the smooth feed out of your yarn. 

Huon Pine is highly prized for its golden yellow colour, fine grain, and natural oils that not only resist decay but give it a distinctive aroma.

Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii) is endemic to Tasmania, an extremely slow growing tree, it can take centuries for it to grown to a sizable tree. A stand of Huon Pine is aged as one of the oldest living organisms on Earth at 10,500 years old with individuals in that stand having ages of 2,000 to 3,000 years old. Traditionally a boat building timber in the early days of the penal colony of Tasmania, logging of Huon Pine ceased in the 1970s and all timber is now sourced from a limited number of salvage operations.

The very limited supplies I have managed to source have come from the Lake Pedder salvage operation where dead trees have been salvaged under the waters of Lake Pedder. I’ve stored these bowl blanks for about 2 years as they dry out. After much patience, they are now ready for turning.

This bowl measures 13 cm x 7 cm (6" x 3") making it suitable for 100g balls of wool and weigh approx 250 g (0.5 lb).