Children

A Letter from the Tooth Fairy

It's Finally Happened......

It’s finally happened… we’ve been waiting aaaages. At last, after weeks of wobbling, it’s come out –  the first tooth.

Already six and one of the oldest in the class, yet one of the last to start losing her baby teeth. It’s made me feel a little sad – she’s growing up – far too quickly if you ask me. But just look at that that little happy, gappy smile.  

So Here I Am - With A Tooth.......

I had to ask around for the going Tooth Fairy rate (thanks mums), and it got me thinking of how it was when I was a kid. The idea of a fairy taking away my old tooth ….for money, was magic on so many levels. So thought I’d do a little embellishing..the sort of thing I would’ve loved. A letter from the Tooth Fairy…a 21st century tooth fairy of course. A modern day, urban tooth fairy who likes a bit of skateboarding as much as she likes her glitter. A fairy who’s not really that much into pink and isn’t afraid to get a bit messy sometimes … and I thought it’d be nice to share with anyone else who lost a tooth this weekend. 

Tooth Fairy Letter Printable......

 I’ve drawn up and made a little printable – a letter from the Tooth Fairy… complete with envelope. I’ve included pdfs which can be the saved as a an image file and placed it into a program of your choice (e.g. Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, or an online photo editing site). Write your message, print and cut it out, fold and stick where necessary. I’ve provided full instructions on how to add text, plus an example of what the tooth fairy might write – optional of course. You can print it using one of the many quirky, fairy-style fonts out there, or even handwrite it for that lovely personal touch. Blond, brunette – you get to choose. Plus you get to use it again and again – just change the message each time. Easy peasy. 

Print Any Size

You can even make it ‘Fairy size
Let’s make the most of the magic, eh…. while it’s still around…..it doesn’t last long.  
Get your customisable Tooth Fairy Letter HERE

Graduated Stripe Buggy Blanket

Another new baby in the ‘hood….a boy.  
Seems that there are lots of boys being born round here at the moment. 
Means only one thing….
…yep, another blanket.  

This time I had hardily any time to whip one up. 
Wait…. I really shouldn’t say that – handmade items are NEVER ‘just whipped up’. 
So a nice simple stitch in an easy to do and contemporary graduated stripe. This can be made in any DK yarn. I used Stylecraft Life DK in classic, but not traditional baby colours. It is one of my favourite wool mix yarns and has a real quality soft feel. What’s more it washes and wears well and doesn’t break the bank. 
 Cream, Fern and Blue Haze – Perfect for a boy ….or a girl.

This is a great project for beginners.
I’ve made an easy to follow pattern with a chart for those more visually inclined, plus a guide to the graduated stripe pattern.
You can get it HERE

US Version
UK Version

A Letter to Santa

Christmas seems to be so much more fun with children around. They’re coming home from school with cotton wool snowmen and cut out snowflakes. They’re practising their Christmas songs and learning lines for the nativity. Their latest favourite read is the Argos catalogue (why oh why did I pick one of those up?) and every trip to the shopping centre needs a plan for avoiding the Disney shop. Those little ones are getting excited.

I’m very conscious and a little sad that those years of magic are very fleeting so I’m determined to make the best of them. Perhaps in a way, I’m  wanting to relive the the magic I remember from my own childhood. Of course I also learnt the true meaning of christmas and our kids will too, but in the meantime there’s no reason why it can’t be fun.

I thought it would be nice to make a printable. A letter to Santa… in its own special envelope.  Nothing pre-written, chances are they can write their own now – at least with some help from mum or dad. I’ve provided some lines, but hopefully that’s all the help they need…

Just watch them fill up that space in no time.

 

I wanted to share this as a printable download – in case you might like to do it too.
If you follow the link at the end you can download the 2 page PDF. You may reduce or enlarge as required by changing the details in the ‘scale box in the print menu.
Print and cut out on A4 (portrait setting).  Fold the envelope (it’s easy to see where) and stick down. 
It will need to be sealed with glue – my daughter was a little disappointed when she licked the top and it wouldn’t stick, bless her – never mind….  no big deal. 

We (with an adult of course) put ours on the open fire, and sent it up the chimney… or you could do 

THIS

 

If you do decide to send it in the post, don’t forget to include a stamped addressed envelope if you want a reply.

 

Get The free printable download by clicking 

HERE

This is for personal use only. It must not be re-sold or used for commercial purposes.
For all permissions please contact
thredhed@btinternet.com

 

Baby Brights….Buggy Blanket

baby blanket crochet pattern,baby afghan,funky crochet blanket, baby blanket crochet pattern,baby afghan,
I’m hoping that those of you who have downloaded the pattern of the Buggy Blanket featured in my last post are enjoying making it as much as I did. In fact I enjoyed working with that particular stitch so much, I wanted to do another one straight away. It’s rather addictive, and it just so happened that one of the mums in my neighbourhood was having a baby. Another perfect excuse.
So…..as a follow on from my last post I thought I’d provide you with a new update of my latest buggy blanket to show how versatile the pattern is. I can’t believe how popular it’s been – it seems we’re well and truly ready for the new, Mid-Century-look pastels – I thought as much. 
Having said that, let’s face it – not everyone likes the softer, paler shades….so how about a different, bolder colourway? 

I am equally fond of brights and was curious to see how it would look, so I thought I’d experiment with another variation of the pattern in brighter colours.
great crochet baby blanket, unique baby gift, buggy blanket crochet pattern
Here I chose some real tropical zingers. I used Stylecraft Special DK in Saffron, Aspen and Silver and King Cole Comfort Baby DK in Sorbet. They are good quality acrylic yarns, which are soft, and which wear and wash well – so important with a newborn.  This time I left out the black accent which I thought may have been a little too much in this case. I just continued with the same colour of the stripe. Works just as well. Great summer colours.


We’re midway through a heatwave in sunny London at the moment. Right now, blankets are out of the question, but heatwaves here are few and far-between and don’t last for long. The warmth of the orange yellow and turquoise-blue shades will carry nicely on through to the autumn, and beyond. 

Baby blanket in bright colours, alternative colour baby blanket pattern
The beauty is that you can use any DK, or if you have a stash of 4ply you can use a double strand. For the more creative among you, the options for different stripe and colour combinations are many. What would you do? – would love to hear your ideas.
As mentioned in my previous post, I have donated this pattern to charity.

P/hop is a charity knitting/crochet project that raises funds for the emergency aid organisation Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders.




Designers donate their patterns to P/hop, which are then available for you to download. The idea is that you decide the amount you wish to pay based on the amount of pleasure you get from knitting or crocheting your P/hop pattern. There is no fixed amount – it’s up to you what you pay. You can get more details HERE 

The pattern comes as a downloadable PDF with clear instructions and easy to follow charts for those of you who prefer something more visual.

Make special gift to give to a Newborn and, at the same time, turn your enjoyment of crochet into vaccines, midwives and malaria treatments . 

 Get the pattern HERE via P/HOP and adapt.

Little Werewolf

Halloween – it’s fast approaching. The shops are full of scary props and decorations and the kids (and grown-ups too perhaps?) are looking forward to dressing up.
Here’s an idea for a a quick costume you can make using my Bear Hat no 2, some imagination and a little bit of help from Youtube.

Werewolf hat, Knitted werewolf hat, Werewolf Hat Pattern 
All you need is a bear hat, some white and black(mix the two to make the grey) facepaints, a steady hand and this Werewolf face-painting tutorial from Beatrice R on You tube. It comes complete with scary music and it’s fabulous. I did a simpler, toned-down variation – perhaps a bit more child friendly ie. quicker – they just can’t sit for too long, and managed to create my very own little monster.

Doesn’t have to be a werewolf, can be a Witches Cat or any other scary creature.

Happy Halloween!

Back into the woods….Bear Hat no.2

I can’t believe we’re already heading into Winter. Seems like only weeks since we were looking forward to the Summer.
Now the days are getting shorter and colder over here in the northern hemisphere I thought it would be nice to give you another version of my Bear Hat… let’s call it an update.

Cosy Knitted Bear Hat, Bear Trapper Hat, Bear Hat pattern
This one is a slightly different fit to suit the style and a little more versatile – possibly more suitable for a boy as well as a girl, having said that, a few older girls – even women have  expressed a keen interest.

I’m sticking with the the double strand of fur/eyelash and 4ply yarn as it’s such an excellent combo for cold weather  – not heavy and ultra warm, with the Trapper style flap this time, to keep those little ears cosy. Well, I say little ears – it comes in sizes up to adult. Who says only the kids should get to wear the fun stuff?

It knits up on big needles in only a couple of evenings, and makes a great pressie. There’s plenty of time to start making them for Christmas.
Watch out for the 120g pack of eyelash yarn in your local UK 99p Store. It crops up every now and again  – an offer far too good to miss.

Click Here for Bear Hat 2 pattern
Hat can be made to order. For information contact thredHED