d is for ... dinosaurs

dinosaur roll

I have been trying to make some more things for boys lately and so my dinosaur range has hatched! I know girls like dinosaurs too, so I am hoping they will be popular.

pop in a bag or pocket and ready to go!

There is cute dinosaur mini bunting ..

mini bunting

and a pocket purse in the same fabric.
A cheeky dinosaur note book made from felt.

notebook

Finally a dinosaur carry roll, complete with six dinosaurs but you can always add more.

dinosaurs rule!

WiP

Owl

This week seems to be all about Work in Progress, with lots of projects on the go and as usual I think I've got rather carried away with what I've started! I am definitely not one of those people who start a project and work on it methodically to the end. I've got mini bunting waiting for the blue thread on the sewing machine ..

Mini bunting

Car carriers started to replenish my stock for next week-end's event

cars

and why I then started on dinosaur carriers as well!

Dinosaurs

There's a bunny waiting to be made up using Rowan pure wool, so lovely to knit with and snuggle ...
And finally one thing I finished yesterday afternoon, a new owl design! I love mixing all the colours together for his tummy and this will make each one even more unique, but the problem is I feel like casting a new one on now in lots of other colours!!!

And a big pile of big bunting to sort out too!

Wassail

On Saturday evening Pickle-Lily and I went to the Wassail at the local cider farm with the guides.
The word Wassail is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words "waes" and "hael", meaning be of good health. The guides were first on the stage doing some African drumming.

Choosing the queen

There were also morris men, belly dancers, the mummers and local bands during the rest of the evening. After the drumming one of the guides is chosen to be the wassail queen - this is done by cake. A special apple cake is baked and cut up whoever gets the piece with the note in it it, is the queen. She wears her queenly outfit and a crown and is carried on her throne in a special procession to the oldest apple tree in the orchard.

The wassail queen on her throne

At the tree, traditional wassail songs are sung, there is much shouting and noise making and then the tree has toast pushed into the cracks and is sprinkled with cider. The wassail ceremony is at this time of year because the tree spirit is sleeping and needs to be awakened, which is why we sing and make lots of noise, this also helps to frighten away any evil spirits. The toast soaked in cider is an offering to the robins who are seen as good spirits. The wassailing ceremony has been going on for hundreds and hundreds of years, and can be regarded as a thanksgiving to the apple trees and hoping for a good harvest during the coming year.

The mummers fantastic costumes



Toasting the tree



Sorry about the photo quality, but we were on the move a lot, it was dark and there was over 400 people there! At the end of the wassail the guides went home and the merriment went on long into the evening!

raaah!

For Handmade Monday this week - thank-you Wendy, and Creative Me - thank-you Jenny, I would like to offer dinosaurs ...
I have been busy making these for all the little boys out there either in self striping yarn or more sedate colours! Why not pop over to all those other fabulous blogs and have a look!
Jo x