How to - 5 Great Pom Pom Crafts

I just love Pom Poms! They're easy to make and can be turned into so many things.

All you need to make them is yarn, scissors and some form of Pom Pom maker.  You might want extra bits, such as wiggly eyes, pipe cleaners and felt, to turn them into creatures

As a child, Pom Poms were made using 2 circles of cardboard. Of course, you can still make them this way but I thoroughly recommend the new Pom Pom makers that split in the middle and make Pom Pom making so much easier. They also come in lots of different sizes to. You can buy these from most yarn and craft shops as well as online.

Pom Pom Animals

Pom Poms are great for creating animals. From bunnies to sheep, cats to octopuses, just add some wiggly eyes, bits of felt and pipe cleaners and you've got yourselves a menagerie of creatures! 

Pom Pom Monsters

If animals aren't your thing, why not create some monsters? Let your imagination run wild and create some truly scary monsters. Combine yarn colours, Pom Pom sizes, add lots of eyes in different sizes, create multiple arms with pipe cleaners. Before you know it, monsters will be taking over your home. 

Check out this great tutorial - http://thepurplepug.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/yarn-pom-pom-monster-tutorial.html

Pom Pom Garland

These are just perfect for decorating your room or even the garden. 

Make lots if Pom Poms in different colours. When you tie the middle, leave a long tail to attach them to one long piece of yarn. String them up everywhere and enjoy.

Pom Pom Flowers

Another great decoration for any room.

You'll need lots of Pom Poms, sticks (the ones you use in the garden are great or, if you want a more natural look, why not go out and collect some?) and some glue.  Just blue your Poms Poms to the top of the sticks, leave to dry and then display in a beautiful vase.

Pom Pom Book Marks

You can never gave too many bookmarks and these mark your pages perfectly.

You'll need Pom Poms, lollipop sticks (you can buy these from craft stores and the children's craft section in the supermarket) and glue. Just glue your Pom Poms to the top of the lollipop stick, leave to dry and then enjoy.  You could turn your Pom Poms into animals or monsters! 

How to Finger Crochet

                       

The summer holidays are well under way here in Wigan!

Sadly, the weather isn't what it should be: it's raining, cold and I've had to put a wooly cardigan on as I refuse to turn the heating on in July.

Miserable weather doesn't have to mean miserable children. There are lots of exciting art and craft activities you can do at home that will keep your little ones (and yourself) entertained. 

Finger Crochet

Finger crochet is a fantastic introduction to crochet. Children often find it tricky to co-ordinate the hook and yarn and finger crochet offers them a way try it out.  I taught finger crochet as part of a family learning session last year, and the children lived making great long chains which they then plaited together to make necklaces and scarves they adored wearing. 

All you need to get started is some yarn and your fingers! You want something quite substantial and thick: chunky yarn, a few strands of finer yarn held together or you could even cut up an old tshirt or  fabric to make your own yarn! 

This is a great video, showing you how to finger crochet. I recommend that you just stick with the chaining for children (shown at the start of the video). How to work into the stitches is shown later in the video, great for teenagers and for yourself as I'm sure you'll be joining in to! 

Once you get started, there's no limit to what you can create - from one skein scarves to beautiful rugs -  there'll be no stopping those crocheting fingers.

I Can Make That!

I use to be the person who said "I can make that!" 

All the time! I'd go to craft fairs and other such crafty places, spot something I like and think "I won't buy it, I'll make it." And did I? 99% of the time, no. Sometimes because I later decided I didn't really want it or because I just didn't have the time.  

A lot of the time it was because I just couldn't make it as pretty as they did. I didn't have the right colours or materials and when I put what I did have together it just didn't work.

Now I look back on these occasions, I realise that what I should have been doing is supporting the artist.  If I like it, I should buy it. I should take home a little piece of them and their creativity. 

At Woolfest last weekend there was the most beautiful stall, H-Anne-Made. Anne makes the most amazing stitched collage pieces and I wanted to take home every piece. She had kits. But it was the tins I loved. I admired the paper, the stitching and the lovely message 'a tin to keep my treasures in'. The thought crept in, "I could make that." I wandered off and continued shopping.  Later, I met Mr Bunny and hound myself telling him about the tin. I returned to the stall and had another good luck at it. I then thought to myself, " it's gorgeous. Buy it. This artist gas worked hard to make this and you could own a piece of her creativity. You won't make one and, if you did, it would never be like this one." So I bought it. And I'm so glad I did. I know that I would have been so gutted if I hadn't.

So, what am I trying to say? We each have our own crafts. Mine are crochet, felting and a teeny bit of sewing. I dabble in others but they are my main areas. It is ok, in fact it is amazing, to buy a piece by another artist because you are not only supporting them but also buying a piece of their creativity.  

Next time you see a piece and think 'I could make that' remember the tin! 

The Tin

Nooch - Vegan and Gluten Free Eating in Wigan!

This is a slightly different topic than usual, although craft does feature towards the end!  

This morning I went for my first visit to a new alternative food shop in Wigan - Nooch.  It opened last Saturday and is run by the lovely Debra, who I know from The Coven (a vegan and gluten free cafe/restaurant) and her husband Jim.  

If you have a funny diet, like me, then getting certain types of food can be an absolute nightmare.  I have been a vegetarian for over 10 years now and have had varying experiences.  Cooking for myself is easy now and supermarkets have improved their meat free ranges significantly over the past few years.  As well as this, I am also lactose intolerant so dairy is a no-no and you won't believe the items that contain milk.  I spend most of a supermarket trip reading labels and regularly find items contain gelatine or milk powder and often it is the value products that are safe to eat.  To have a food store in my home town that stocks a wide range of products I can eat is just amazing!

Nooch is in what used to be an Indian restaurant that me and Jo (aka Shinybees) frequented often.  It is a lovely, big space which feels bright and airy.  The range of food is truly magnificent.  I bought some soya squirty cream, the most amazing vegan chocolate orange desert, vegan marshmallows, vegan pesto, soya yoghurts, vegan lemon ice-cream a curried cauliflower pasty and a soya sausage roll.  I could have bought much more but I was trying to be a good girl.

They also stock a range of vegan and cruelty free toiletries (I used the handwash in the toilets and it smelled yummy) as wells as plus size clothing my My Queen Bee, vintage clothing and jewellery.  They are home to a mini branch of Book Cycle to with lots of cooking and alternative therapy books.  

It's not just food!

There is an area which is going to be used for groups and workshops to!

The best news is that I will be stocking some of my handmade goodies in there and, hopefully, running a few groups and workshops!  

It's all rather exciting!

Teaching Crochet - Be Prepared!

In the words of the Scouts, 'Be Prepared'. 

This week saw my third session teaching my beginners crochet class and it really made me realise how important it is to be prepared for just about anything that might happen in your class.

As a very teacher, with over 8 years experience teaching children and adults, I know only too well the need to be prepared for just about any eventuality that may occur. Obviously, you can't be prepared for everything - you'd spend hours planning if you did - but it helps if you can think on your feet and improvise as required. For example, this week I left my new set of stitch markers, bought especially for the session, on the coffee table at home so we had to improvise with bits of coloured yarn!

There are, however, a few things you can be prepared for:

1) The High Fliers
In any group of students, there will be a wide range of abilities. There will be those who need a bit more support and those who whizz through the planned task in half an hour with over an hour of the class.left! To keep this group engaged, you need to plan extension tasks. This task will vary depending on your lesson; if you are teaching granny squares then have a few patterns for different motifs available for students to try, if it's changing colour then set students the challenge of changing colour.using the stitches they know. 

2) The Inquisitive
I love students who ask questions - it is a sign that they want to learn more! If your subject knowledge is good, then you should be able t.answer most questions that you're.asked.
But what if you can't?
Do not panic! Be honest! Do not try to make up an answer! Nobody knows everything about everything and it is perfectly acceptable to say I don't know. You can offer to find out the answer by the next session or set your students the challenge of finding out for themselves. Point them in the direction of books or.websites that might be able to help or, if it's  a practical question, ask them to try something out and see what happens. 

3) The Forgetful
There will always be times when students attend and forget their.hooks, scissors and yarn. It's always good to have spare few of everything that you and your students might need just in case they forget or, if you are providing materials for your workshops, in case something breaks or doesn't work. When I'm teaching crochet, I always have a range of hooks in different sizes and yarn of different weights to help with getting the right tension and being able to see the stitches.

It is never possible to be prepared for everything, but thinking ahead can save you a lot of stress and help to ensure that you and your.students have a great workshop.

... and in with the new

In my last post, I reviewed 2013 (if you missed it, you can read all about it here) 

The start of a New Year is a chance to set intentions for the coming 12 months.  To think about what you want to get out of the New Year.  I often choose a word or a quote to inspire me throughout the year - I will share this with you in a future post.

As in previous years, I'm going to set myself a crafty resolution - yes this year it's just 1 but it's going to take all my willpower to succeed with this one!

TO USE UP THE STASH

Every crafter has a stash.  Every crafter needs a stash, items that you can just go and grab when you need them.  However. my stash has gotten a little out of control.  It is enormous!

 I have boxes of yarn, fabric, buttons, ribbons, paper and don't even get me started on the number of sketch and note books I've got.  My craft room is like a small branch of Hobbycraft!

In 2014 I'm going to use up the stash.  I'm only going to buy new if I NEED it (that's NEED not WANT!) so if I need it for my City and Guilds course or for an order (and of course, I can have a small budget for Woolfest).

I have some amazing goodies hidden away that desperately need to be turned into something beautiful and be admired.

I'm pretty certain that this is a resolution I can work with and I will share with you what I've been making with my extensive stash. 

Have you got any crafty resolutions for 2014?  Do you want to join in me in my liberation of the stash?

4KCBWDAY4 - Colour Review

What colours do you tend to buy when you shop for yarn or fabric?  That is the question I am going to answer today.  I'm going to look at this in   parts.  What I favour when I buy, what I have actually used in my projects and what I have in my stash.  Will they be the same?  Let's find out!

What do I buy?
I love colour and generally like anything that is bright and colourful.  I love multicoloured fabrics and variagated yarns, probably why I love sock yarn.  I buy lots of purple, teal and pink as these are colours I love.  I know now that I avoid black, white, cream and brown unless they are for a particular project and generally that will be for someone else.

What have I used in my projects?
Lots of purple.  Lots and lots of purple in jumpers and cardigans.  I have also used pink and turquoise and many variagated yarns in shawls and blankets.  I have used green for a gorgeous hooded cardigan which isn't a colour I'd normally used but is an item I wear a lot.

Project Colours

What do I have in my stash?
My stash contains: purple, teal, pink, turquoise, lots of variagated sock yarns in various colours and some cream.  I have sparkly yarn aswell as I love a bit of sparkle. 

A small selection from my stash!

It is really interesting to look at my yarn colours and see that I use lots of the same colours.  I do feel that I need to expand my colour choices.  I'd love to introduce some more green and orange into my stash as well as grey.

Take a look at your yarn stash.  What colours do you have?  Do you tend to be drawn to the same colours?

Until tomorrow.

Sarah x