Crochet by Gantsilyo Baguio

Mandala Madness: My Fascination For Mandalas

I’ve always been fascinated with Mandalas. The complex geometric design of each is so mesmerizing and I have found crocheting Mandalas to be calming, relaxing, and well, almost therapeutic. I love doing every row as it brings me joy and comfort when the designs start to unfold before my eyes. My favorite to do are the mandalas by Helen Shrimpton and Lilla Bjorn. I have seen gorgeous ones by other crochet designers like CARO crochet and I’m sure that if I had the time, I would definitely try making those too.

Mandala Madness is a free pattern created by designer, Helen Shrimpton. I must have done 7 or 8 giant Mandals using this pattern because it really is so beautiful! I’ve only reached up to Part 8 of 18 and I can’t seem to get past the 2nd row of part 8. But that’s ok because at this stage, the mandala is quite large. If I mount it in a hoop, it reaches up to 4 feet wide. Here are the five Mandala Madness I’ve made last year. I love each and every one of them. For cataloging purposes, I have named my mandalas based on the yarns I used.

I’ve named this Mandala Aztec because it reminds me of the Mayan calendar. I probably should have named it Maya but at that time when I needed to call it something, Aztec was the 1st word that came to mind.

I made a gradient yarn based on the film, Dark Phoenix. It was coming out at that time when I was designing this gradient yarn. So I just named this particular mandala Dark Phoenix after the name of the gradient yarn used. This mandala is now displayed in a coffee shop in the city. If you wish to view it, it’s at the Coffee Place @ Ibay Zion Hotel in Minesview, Baguio City. 

The Galaxy is also named after a gradient yarn that I created especially for this mandala. At that time, I was prepping to join the prestigious Ibagiw Arts Festival here in Baguio City. I wanted to make another Mandala Madness using a new color scheme and I came up with the Galaxy gradient yarn. Most people that have viewed all of my mandalas say that this is their favorite.  I personally love the Aztec one, but I can’t deny the enthralling power of this one. 

I named this one Marrakesh after seeing the pictures of the spices sold  at the Moroccan market. The colors were so vibrant and I was inspired to mix this specific gradient yarn to catch the essence of the colorful Moroccan market. Although this and the last one below are my least popular mandalas, I personally enjoy looking at this Marrakesh one. I also don’t like the Pastel theme too much. I don’t know why I even made this last one.

These two below were the very first ones I made. Quite smaller than my present mandalas. I have long sold these two at the Baguio Craft Fair and I hope that they are giving much joy to their new owners.

Next post, I’ll be featuring the Lilla Bjorn Mandalas. I’ve finished two of them and will probably start with my third tonight. If you love Mandala Madness by Helen Shrimpton, you can fine the free pattern in her website, Crystals and Crochet. There is also a video tutorial on YouTube by It’s All In A Nutshell. 
Do you love Mandalas like I do? Tell me why you love them. Love and Light. 
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