Yes that's right - it's Wool Week and even Shaun is getting involved!
I guess it's not all that surprising he's a big fan of wool, well, he is a sheep after all :)
Do check out Shaun's page on the Campaign for Wool site - it's full of fun things to do like games and crafty how-tos (choose from pom-pom sheep, a flock of nodding Shauns or even knit yourself sheepy a Nintendo DS cover!).
Best of all, there's a gallery where you can submit your own drawing or painting of Shaun and the gang!
If you enjoyed the recent Royal Wedding, and have crafty inclinations, this may well appeal to you: a knitted version of the Queen's companions, little Corgi dogs!
You can read the full pattern for free here on the Guradian website, and knit your own little Pembroke Welsh Corgi keepsake. It's an extract from Fiona Goble's "Knit Your Own Royal Wedding", which I thought was a really fun take on the wedding :)
Here's a couple of fun Easter break projects, suitable for small kids and big kids alike! :D
You can use an old sock (maybe its partner has been eaten by the sock monster?) to make a sock friend:
...or even a sock pet! Choose from snake, sock dog, crocodile and even a doggy draught excluder:
The possiblities are endless, if you have as many socks lying around that are no longer in a pair or have holes in them as I do. Check out the Pet Pooch Gallery too!
I recently discovered this treasure trove of knitting, crochet and sewing projects, nicely packaged as an online magazine at www.petitepurls.com.
It's great to see such a nice collection of patterns (the majority of them by indie designers) aimed at children, including toys, clothes and accessories. In addition to this, they have a sprinkling of articles which would make great tea break reading. The best part of all? It's free to use, you simply print off a copy of the pattern you wish to make.
Petite Purls is published seasonally in March, June, August and November.
My other half recently found out he was to become an uncle, so naturally we wanted to give something cool to the proud new parents. The idea of a (home made) baby mobile came up, which we both thought was a great idea, especially as we didn't know if the baby was going to be a boy or girl just yet.
When I couldn't find a tutorial for the kind of mobile I had in mind (i.e. one with a motor, so it spins), we resorted to outside-the-box thinking. May it be noted that my other half is rather good at this kind of thing! Hence the idea to buy a pre-existing design and modify it.
This proved to be the easiest way to proceed, so we got a simple, inexpensive one which I could add my own toy shapes to in place of the ones the mobile came with. One of the benefits of this approach was that it provided a stable framework from which to start, and the clip/arm for attaching to the baby's cot. The last thing I wanted was for it to end up looking like a botched DIY attempt made with coathangers!
Well, it has now been gifted so I can share it with you :) Here is a little clip of it in action:
P.S. Do excuse the whirring...apparently my camera always does this!
