Screme - It's a ghost!

BOO!

For Halloween a quick and easy knit! A Screme Egg Ghost - and ... pause for effect ....
It glows in the dark! 
Taking a photo was tricky, and it doesn't show you how brilliant (if I say so myself) it is. Pickle-Lily and I had great fun trying to take photo's in the cloakroom, trying all the different settings on the camera.

It really does glow!

To make the ghost, you need
4mm knitting needles
white double knit yarn
2 googly eyes
and DMC Glow in the dark embroidery silk No E940

Using the white yarn and the embroidery thread together cast on 25 stitches.

Knit the two 'yarns' together, counting each one as a stitch

Garter stitch 15 rows and then cast off. I had to use just the white yarn to cast off with. This is your body. Fold in half length ways and seam the two long sides.
For the arms, using just the white yarn cast on 8 stitches, knit 1 row and then cast off.
Over sew the two long sides together.

Leave a long tail to sew with

Then sew to either side of the ghost and then add two eyes. Pop a screme egg inside, as the yarn is very thick it will support your ghost nicely.
To make your ghost glow, stand him under a light for a while, the longer he stays, the longer he'll glow.
I'm joining in with Handmade Monday as it's half term - yippee - so I can visit all the lovely blogs on there.

Happy Halloween!

Little Robin Red Vest

One of our favourite Christmas stories is a lovely picture book by Jan Fearnley called Little Robin Red Vest, and a few years ago I made a story sack about it and collected a few robins!

This inspired me to create a little robin decoration and pin badge for Pickle-Lily to make to give to her friends and sell at the Christmas fairs she comes to with me.

Cut two brown felt circles - whatever size you like, and a red felt circle. We used sparkly red felt on ours. Cut the red circle in half and sew it onto a brown circle across the diameter.

Then sew a yellow felt diamond shape on for a beak.
Add two eyes. This one used 4mm black beads - these are shiny but fiddly. P used two black brads - very easy.

We pinned a loop of ribbon and cut two sail like shapes from the brown felt for wings.
Finally the robin was sewn together with a little stuffing inside, the stitches holding the wings and ribbon in place. I used blanket stitch, P did simple running stitch.
For badges we left out the ribbon and sewed a brooch pin to the other brown circle before the robin was sewn together.

Little Robin Red Vests

I am very happy to be able link in with Wendy and Handmade Monday this week and am looking forward to visiting all the other blogs on there. It will be like visiting old friends.

Christmas Owls

I have managed to fit in a little sewing and knitting over the past few weeks, so I thought I would share...

Christmas owls

These are my favourites - so far - this year, Christmas owl decorations. I have loads more ideas in my head but just not enough hours in the day! A quick post today, just to let you know I'm in the land of the living! Perhaps that's the answer, little and often, to blogging at the moment?
Jo x