House Scarf Earrings

This pattern is free. Use it as you wish. If you make a fortune with it, it would be courteous to share it with me. ::grins:: I would appreciate credit for the pattern, though. Please do not post this as your pattern. That would be inconsiderate and will cause the Gods of Discourtesy to take notice of you.

I used the House colors, as mentioned in the Harry Potter universe, for my earrings. But any 2 color combinations could be used. You can also change the number of rows of each color. Use more or less rows and/or sets to create your own pattern. I wouldn’t do more than a total of 40 rows (my pattern is 38 rows) or the earrings will be too long and look out of proportion when worn.

Materials & Supplies:
size 0 needles
perl cotton in 2 colors (I think mine is size 5)
2 pieces of lightweight interfacing approx 3/4” x 3 1/2”
needle & thread
a few straight pins
2 split rings or jump rings
2 earring hooks or studs with attached rings
small pliers (to open hooks & add rings)
clear nail polish
tapestry needle to attach fringe

MC - 1 set is 6 rows
CC - 1 set is 2 rows

Cast on 10 stitches in any non-stretchy cast on. Starting with MC, alternate sets until you have 5 sets of MC. Bind off - use a non-stretchy bind off. Cut perl cotton, leaving a tail long enough to sew the scarf’s long sides together. You’ll close the short sides with fringe.

Fold 1 piece of interfacing in half. It should fit nicely inside the folded scarf. If not, trim it to fit. It doesn’t have to go all the way to each end. It’s used to give the scarf some stability and to give you something to sew on when you finish the scarf.

Using the pins, carefully match the stripes and pin through both sides of the scarf to hold it closed while you sew it shut. I used a simple running stitch up the side, then knotted off & pushed the tail inside the scarf. Be sure you enclose all the tails & edges inside so the construction doesn’t show.

I added fringe in both colors, alternating MC-CC-MC-CC-MC; and using the perl cotton. If you have matching shades of embroidery floss, that would give you a softer fringe, and you might be able to add more fringe than I could.

Fold the scarf in half at an angle. Place your first stitch into the scarf with your needle & thread about 1/2” down from the center top. Be sure you do not split any of the perl cotton. Your knot should hide down underneath the scarf stitches next to the interfacing. Take one or two stitches to hold the scarf at an angle. Always go between the stitches of the scarf, never over or through them. This way, your stitches won’t show on the scarf. Slip the needle back up to the folded edge of the scarf. You can carefully stitch across the top edge or not. Do not cut your thread yet.

Now add your findings. First, open the loop at the bottom of the hook, slip the split ring on, and close the loop. You can use jump rings, but they are more likely to open when you don’t want them to. You can use a stud finding with a loop on it for hanging, but you’ll need to slip the stud loop onto the split ring because those loops usually don’t open, and if you do open one, you weaken it seriously.

Once your hook or stud is on the split ring, place the split ring at the center top of your scarf. Be sure the side you like best is facing front, and sew the ring onto the scarf with 2 or 3 stitches. Knot off, being careful the knot slides up right next to the thread. Using the tip of a straight pin, place a tiny dot of nail polish on the thread to lock the knot. Be careful - try not to get any on the perl cotton as the polish can cause a color change as well as creating a hard spot when it dries. You want that on the knot, not on your scarf.

NOTES:
Be very careful when changing from MC to CC that you don’t pull hard on the CC. If you don’t leave a bit of slack on the edge of the scarf, you won’t be able to sew the sides together later.

If you use anything smaller than size 5 perl cotton, you might want to use smaller needles. I chose to use a needle size that would be available to anyone. I normally use some needles I made myself from 12 gauge florist wire by cutting 2 lengths of wire & gluing a large bead to one end. You’ll want to smooth the working end with an emery board or something similar so the cotton won’t catch on it.

You could try using embroidery floss; but remember, it has 6 individual strands and will be much harder to work with. There are a lot more colors available in it, though. You know your own abilities, so try it if you have the patience.

NOTE: This pattern may also be found on my other blog.

Cow/Dog mini socks

Hello! Thank you for your interest in my mini sock patterns. These patterns were inspired by my participation in the Wee Mini Sock Swap group on Ravelry. January 2010's theme was literature. My partner listed 'Hank the Cow Dog' as her favorite book. So, really, what else could I do besides a cow dog & a cow?

Both mini socks begin with ....... tiny socks, of course. Only these socks are turned upside down.

You'll find most of my abbreviations are standard. The only exception is purling thru the back loops. I haven't seen any abbreviation for such a stitch as I've never used a pattern that used this stitch. I'm sure there are patterns out there that do it. I've just never happened across them. This is my substitute for attempting to purl thru the back loops. I find the maneuver awkward, but I want the slant it offers. Thus, my method of getting it is to slip the first 2 stitches from my left needle *as if to knit*, slide them back on the left needle, then purl them together in the normal fashion. Slipping the stitches first as if to knit changes the slant you will get with the finished stitch so the edges of the ears will slant properly.

Abbreviations used:
K - knit
P - purl
M1 - Make 1 stitch by picking up the loop from the next stitch in the previous row with the tip of your right needle. Knit this stitch.
K2tog - knit 2 together
K2tb - knit 2 together thru back loops
P2tog - Purl 2 together
P2tb- slip 2 stitches as if to knit, slide back to left needle, purl together
S1 - slip one stitch unworked from left needle to right needle - normally done as if to purl
psso - pass the slipped stitch over the just-worked stitch
sts - stitches

Materials:
You'll need 2 eyes for each sock - I used very small half-ball buttons I found at my local WalMart.

Fiber - fingering weight yarn. Perl cotton, tapestry wool, Persian wool or embroidery floss could also be used. Embroidery floss is used with all 6 strands kept intact. I used embroidery floss because I didn't have any fingering yarn in the colors I wanted.

Size 0 needles - set of 4

Tapestry needle, small amount of polyfil stuffing


Patterns:
To make the dog, use any basic mini sock pattern with a short row heel. I used a cast on of 24 stitches. However, you could use any mini sock with no more than 24 sts. It's the ears & the nose that make this sock a dog. Make your sock first. The nose is embroidered on with duplicate stitch. I used the same color as my ears but any appropriate color is fine. I covered only the top of the toe.

Ears for dog (make 2 per sock):
Cast on 3 stitches, leaving a long tail to sew the ear to the sock later.
Row 1: knit
Row 2: purl
Row 3: K1, M1, K1, M1, K1 (5 sts)
Row 4: purl
Row 5: K1, M1, K3, M1, K1 (7 sts)
Row 6: purl
Row 7: K1, M1, K5, M1, K1 (9 sts)
Row 8: purl
Row 9: knit
Row 10: purl
Row 11: K2tb, K5, K2tog (7 sts)
Row 12: P2tb, P3, P2tog (5 sts)
Row 13: K2tb, K1, K2tog (3 sts)
Row 14: S1, P2tog, psso (1 st)
Cut yarn, thread tail on tapestry needle and pass it thru the last stitch. Tighten thread & weave in end on back of ear. Block if using wool yarn. Otherwise, iron gently with a steam iron to keep ears flat.

Using the cast on tail, sew the ear to the sock with the cast on end of the ear to the sock. For the dog, the cast on end is flat and is positioned so the edge of the ear just covers the end of the diagonal line created by the short-row heel. The top of the ear should be straight & I positioned mine just below the 'crown' of the head (heel). Ear placement is not 'written in stone' but should look appropriate. Weave in end after sewing in place.

Eyes are very small half-ball buttons I found at my local WalMart. You could use large french knots or even the very small 4-hole flat buttons if you can't find the half-ball buttons. Larger beads might work as well. Sew the eyes just in front of the ears. You'll need to decide for yourself just where yours will look best.

I very lightly stuffed my sock to make it look like a dog. This is optional.

Cow:
The inspiration for my cow pattern came from here:
http://papirkurvenoppskrifter.blogspot.com/2009/10/kuflekker-diagram.html
I used bits & pieces of the patterns to fit my stitch requirements.

For the sock itself, I used the basic pattern from here:
http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/2007/06/knitted_mini_ch.html

I did do one thing that I would avoid next time - I forgot that the top of the toe would also be the edges, not the center. I placed my patch of black only in the center of the toe. Next time, I'd make sure that at least one side of that patch touched the edge of the toe to carry the black up the face instead of only on the throat.

I printed out the chart for the cow pattern. Then I outlined the stitches I wanted to use for my cow's blotches. I knitted the sock as the pattern is written. I started the neck patch immediately after the edging rows and I used 2 separate pieces of 6-strand black floss to avoid carrying my black back and forth across the white. I knitted the first 2 rows of the toe section in white, then switched to pink to complete the toe.

Ears:
Ears are done the same as the dog except skip rows 8 & 9 to shorten them.

To sew the ears in place, fold them in half with the cast on edge on the bottom of the ear. Sew one half of the ear along the slanted line created by the heel. Sew the half straight along a row of the heel/leg stitches. This creates an ear that looks like a cow's ear & sticks out from the cow's head.

Eyes are, again, very small half-ball buttons. Sew them just in front of the ears. Stuff lightly to help the cow keep her shape.

Tinkerbell mini sock

I was inspired by LisaD's Tinkerbell Mini Sock & asked permission to try to re-create her pattern. She didn't write down what she did! But she said I could try. So here's what I've come up with:

Materials:
Sock:
set of 5 size 0 DPNs
a size 0 circular (for blocking petal skirt) or a piece of crochet cotton or yarn long enough to string all the petals on (known as a 'lifeline')
Fingering weight yarn in your choice of color
Note: If you don't use DPNs, you'll have to translate the pattern to whatever method you use.
Wings:
Organza or fabric of choice (should be light weight see-thru)
WonderUnder or equivalent iron-on bonding material

The skirt is composed of 6 petals. You'll be knitting the petal tips individually, then joining them all to finish creating the skirt. This is knitted into the sock later, after the skirt is blocked.

Stitches:
The only non-standard stitch is in row 3 of the petal tip. You need to make 2 stitches. On this row only, you will need to K1, then M1 by picking up the loop *below* the stitch you just knitted into. This keeps all the M1 stitches on the same row & keeps the petal tip symmetrical. All other M1 stitches are created the usual way by picking up the loop of the next stitch on the left hand needle & knitting into it.

W&T - (wrap & turn) - knit (or purl) the specified number of stitches. Slip the next stitch from the left needle to the right needle, bring your yarn between the needles, slip the stitch back to the left needle and turn the work. Yarn is in correct position to be used for the next row. This pulls the stitch in so you won't have a hole in your work.
Note that I do *not* do this on every stitch, only on the last 2 rows & the 2nd half of the toe/heel; nor do I pick up the wraps to knit or purl them.

Petals (make 6)
Cast on 1
Row 1: KFB
Row 2 & all WS rows: purl back
Row 3: K1 M2 K1
Row 5: K1 M1 K2 M1 K1
Row 7: K1 M1 K4 M1 K1
Continue to increase in this manner until you have 12 stitches.
End with a purl row.
Break yarn, leaving enough to weave in later.

Leave this petal on the needle - this is now a 'holding needle'.

Use a new needle to start the next petal. As you finish each petal, slide the stitches onto the holding needle, making sure the RS is always facing the same way.

Make 5 more petals in the same manner except at the end of the last petal, do not break yarn.

Knit across all petal tips, placing a stitch marker between each petal tip.

Purl back.

Next row - RS: *K1 SSK knit to 3 sts before next marker, K2tog, K1* repeat across each petal tip.
WS row: Purl back
Repeat these two rows until you have 4 stitches between markers, ending with a purl row.
Break off yarn, leaving a long enough tail for sewing later.

At this point, slide the stitches to the circular needle or use a tapestry needle to pick up the stitches onto a lifeline for blocking. Skirt needs to be blocked with the center in a circle. Pin & set to dry while you work the rest of the sock.

If you already have a toe up 24-st mini sock pattern that you like, feel free to use it.

The only way I do toe-up socks is with the provisional cast on. If this is new to you, you can find a good tutorial on that here:
http://bellaknitting.typepad.com/bella_knitting/2007/10/provisional-cas.html
or a written version here:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/FEATfall05TT.html

Here's how I do my toes:

Using the provisional cast on, pick up & knit 12 stitches. Purl back across them (WS row).
Row 1: Knit 11
Row 2: S1 P9 turn
Row 3: S1 K8 turn
Row 4: S1 P7 turn
Row 5: S1 K6 turn
Row 6: S1 P5 turn
Row 7: S1 K4 w&t
Row 8: S1 P3 w&t
Second half of toe:
Row 9: S1 K4 w&t
Row 10: S1 P5 w&t
Row 11: S1 K6 w&t
Row 12: S1 P7 w&t
Row 13: S1 K8 w&t
Row 14: S1 P9 w&t
Row 15: Knit across

Divide these stitches on 2 needles for heel stitches.

Carefully pulling the provisional cast on stitches off, pick up & knit 11 stitches. You'll need to pick up 1 stitch so you have 12 instep stitches on this needle. Knit across 12 instep stitches.

Using stockinette stitch, knit sock foot until it is 1 1/2" from cast on.

Heel is worked over 12 stitches using the same directions as the toe.

After you finish the heel, rounds start at center of heel. You can divide the stitches evenly between the needles as long as you mark the center back.

Knit 12 rounds of stockinette stitch.

If petal stitches are on a life line, place them back on a needle. Hold this needle next to the sock, right side of petals facing towards you.

Next round: Starting at center back of sock, knit one stitch from each needle together to end of round. 24 stitches on working needles, all petal stitches are knitted into the sock.

Knit 10 rounds of stockinette stitch.
Knit 6 rounds of K1 P1 ribbing.
Bind off.
Sew the center back seam on skirt.
Weave in all ends.

Wings are crafted from organza or another transparent-type fabric, preferably one with some stiffness to it.

You won't need much fabric, but create your wing pattern from paper first, until you get a pattern you like. My pattern was drawn as a single unit to make it easier to sew the wings to the sock.

You'll need two layers of fabric with WonderUnder ironed between them. You could add shreds of metallic fibers, colored embroidery floss, bits of glow-in-the-dark thread, etc. between the layers of fabric when you iron them together for your own unique look.

Trace & cut your wing pattern. Fold the finished wings in half & iron for neat fold - wings will stand back from sock & look more like they are in flight.

Sew to center back of sock down the center of the wing pattern.

Frog-It Bookmark

If you don't know how to use 'magic ring' for crochet, google it - there are several excellent tutorials on the web.

Using magic ring, make a starting ring of 6 stitches. Join last st to first st with a sl st & tighten the ring so there is no hole showing. Now the idea is to make a flat circle that will be the frog's head/face. So if you need to do more or fewer stitches to keep this circle flat, then do so. What I did was: ch 1 in same space as sl st, 2 sc in each sc around, join. Next round: ch 2, 2 hdc in each sc around, join. Last round: *Ch 2, 4 hdc in same space, ch 3, sl st in same space*, sl st in next 4 hdc, repeat eye between *'s. I glued goggle eyes on the eye bumps using a hot glue gun.

BTW, I used camo green for my frog but a solid green works, too.

With red, and leaving a 3"-4" tail, sc a chain of 50 sts, or whatever length you want the bookmark to be. Turn & work hdc in each ch, starting with the 3rd ch from the hook. Cut yarn, leaving a 3"-4" tail. Thread tails thru your frog face using 2 different stitches, centering the tongue on the bottom half of the face below the eyes and about half way down. I tied the tails in the back before weaving all ends in. I took the red tails back thru another stitch and then back into the tongue to bury them.

If you find this pattern usable, you are welcome to it. I only made a single bookmark, for a 4 yo boy who loves frogs. And unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of it before I sent it to its new owner.

Customizable Fingerless Mitts

My first pair are Free Spirit … I used the same yarn, but different stripe patterns. I actually like the 2nd mitt better … I think the finer stripes of single rounds looks better. I’ll be knitting at least one more pair, probably a Wild Rebel pair (look below for the explanation of a Wild Rebel ::smiles::).

CUSTOMIZABLE FINGERLESS MITTS

Size … average woman’s hand, but can be adjusted

The instructions look really long … but they aren’t, honest! They look that way because I explain several things before the actual instructions begin. It’s easier to explain it all first, so you don’t have to read through all the explanations when you start knitting.

Materials & supplies
Finger weight yarn in 2 colors
Note 1: For 2 mitts, I used less than a skein of my MC. I used leftover yarns for CC.
Note 2: You can use various scrap yarns for your CC, or even do the pair in all different left over yarns.
Needles - I used size 1. You may need size 0 for smaller hands, or size 2 or 3 for larger hands.
Stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Scrap of yarn to hold thumb stitches

You’ll need to know how to make a stitch. You can do this 2 ways. Either way will work. Making a stitch is marked in the pattern as M1.
1. You can pick up the yarn between the stitch you just knit and the next stitch. Pick up with the tip of your left needle. Knit into the back of the new stitch. This will make it twist so you won’t have a hole there.
2. I prefer to pick up the top of the stitch in the row below the working row. Use the tip of your right needle to pick up, slip the new stitch to your left needle, and knit as usual.

Random Ribbing
My youngest son wants socks … plain, ribbed socks. I got so tired of regimental K2 P2 or even K3 P2 ribbing that I rebelled and played around with making my own ribbing patterns. I rarely use standard ribbing now. I much prefer the softer look of random ribbing and that is what I’ve used here. If you prefer a standard ribbing pattern, any ribbing pattern that will divide evenly into 52 will work with this pattern.

If you want to use random ribbing, just make up your own pattern as you work the first row after cast on. The only rule for random ribbing is never to use more than 3 knit or 3 purl stitches in a row. If you do, you begin to lose the elasticity of the ribbing and you start to create stockinette stitch instead. You don’t want stockinette stitch yet! So do any combination of knits and purls you happen to feel like, just remember to stop at 3 stitches in a row. NOTE: You’ll need to pay attention on the 2nd row, and possibly the 3rd row, to be sure you are knitting and purling the correct stitches. After that, your pattern should be established well enough that you can see which to do at a glance. You will have to pay more attention to this ribbing pattern than you do to a standard ribbing pattern, since there is no pattern to it.

Slip Stitch
I used a slip stitch pattern to soften the edges of the stripes. The slip stitch row is done on the 1st row of any color change. Again, I used a random pattern here. When doing a slip stitch pattern on ribbing, slip only knit stitches. Slipping purl stitches will put a pattern inside the mitt …. where no one will see it.
Slip stitch pattern: Knit a random number of stitches (I prefer not to go more than 5 stitches) and instead of knitting the next stitch, just slip it from the left needle to the right needle. Repeat to end of round. Knit all stitches on the next round. The slipped stitches will stretch up into the new color, softening the edges of the stripe. Depending on your color choices, the pattern can be soft or very dramatic.

There is no reference in the pattern instructions about color changes. This is because you make up your own pattern as you knit. I’ve done a few samples of the mitts to show various possible patterns. You can do stripes at regular intervals or as the mood strikes. You can use a variegated yarn and do no stripes at all. You can add stripes to just the cuff. You can do all the ribbing in one color and use another color for the stockinette stitch. In other words, create your own mitts.

Be a Free Spirit and use the same yarn but 2 different stripe patterns for a pair. Or be a Wild Rebel and make stripes of all different colors on your mitts. This way, any 2 mitts you pick up are a pair! And it’s a great way to use up all those little balls of yarn you just couldn’t quite bring yourself to throw away.

MITT PATTERN
Gauge: 11 rows / 7 1/2 sts over 1 inch
Using a stretchy cast on, cast on 52 stitches. Begin random ribbing. Be sure to watch your stitches for the first few rows to make sure you are knitting and purling appropriately. At the end of row one you may wish to place a marker to mark beginning of row. I just leave the CO tail hanging and use that for my marker.

I do 32 rows of ribbing to be sure the ribbing covers my wrists completely. You can do a few more (or less) to accomodate whatever stripe pattern you are using … or if your wrists are longer or shorter. The idea is just to make sure the ribbing is long enough to keep your wrists warm.

Once your ribbing is long enough, change to stockinette stitch and begin the hand.
Rnds 1-7 - Knit all stitches in the round.
Begin thumb gusset:
Rnd 8 - M1, place marker, knit to end of row.
Note: Only the M1 stitch should be in front of marker.
Rnd 9 - Knit all stitches to end of round, slipping marker
Rnd 10 - M1, knit to marker, M1. Note: 3 stitches in thumb gusset. Knit to end of round.
Repeat Rnds 9 & 10 until you have 21 stitches in the thumb gusset.
Knit 1 round even in established pattern.

Slip the thumb stitches to a piece of waste yarn. You will have 52 stitches left on the needles. Snug the stitches on each side of the thumb gusset up to each other. Try not to leave too large a space here. You’ll need some space to pick up the rest of the thumb stitches later, but you don’t want a big gaping hole.

Finishing the hand portion

Knit even on the 52 stitches until the mitt just covers your knuckles. You might want to try the mitt on after 10 or so rounds to check how it fits and how many more rounds you think you’ll need. I used 13 rounds to cover my knuckles.
Change to random ribbing and knit in pattern until mitt covers the bottom joint of your little finger - 5 rows should do it for most people. BO in ribbing.

Finishing the thumb

Pick up the thumb stitches on 2 needles. Pick up 7 stitches across top of thumb. Round begins at this point.
Knit in established pattern until the thumb is desired length. I knit until the thumb is about half way between the two joints. I needed 3 rounds. Switch to ribbing and knit until piece covers thumb joint, or desired length. Again, 5 rounds should do it for most people. BO in ribbing.

Weave in any hanging tails.

I've finished several pairs of socks .... Oh, My, Gecko Eyes, Firestarter (from Yarnissima's site), a pretty plain ribbed, solid color pair for my youngest son, a nice cabled rib pattern in one of Happy Feet's beautiful deep variegated colorways for my daughter-in-law, a couple of fairly plain patterned pairs for myself but in really nicely colored variegated yarns ... I'm moving on to more complicated patterns now for the most part. Although I *LOVE* colors and variegated yarns ... and have several in my stash waiting for my attention ::grins;:, so it's not likely I'll be abandoning them completely for solid colors anytime soon.

Working on Dragon's Breath in solid grays for my younger son - he really isn't much for patterns or lots of color. Nice soft, mostly dark, solid colors, thank you very much ::NOT much fun to knit:: .... I've found a few patterns I think he'll put up with ... 3 dragon patterns (well, sort of ... they have dragon in the pattern name & are all based on nice quiet (but at least not boring!) patterns), a couple of ribbing patterns that include cables & twists in them, and a pattern called Earl Gray (or Earl Grey? ... can't recall off-hand) which is mostly plain stockinette stitch but has a small quiet cable pattern along each side from the toe up to the cuff. I'll do that one in gray as well ... what else with that name?

But he has such BIG feet! 11" long!! Means I always have to allow for an extra 50 grams of yarn - either get 3 50 gram balls of one color, 2 100 gram balls (and have quite a bit leftover) or 2 50 gram balls of a main color and 1 50 gram ball of an accent color to use for the ribbing, heels and toes. Well, I figure when I have extra yarn from daddy's socks, I can always make a pair of matching socks for his son ...

I currently have a 100 gram ball of a lovely blue denim variegated color from Trexxing XXL to use for him ... but first, I've got to either find a color to use for the accent color or get another 100 gram ball of this. I'm hoping to get a second ball of this ... it's a really soft, pretty yarn.

Working on the Bayerische pattern for myself. Well, at least I've started hunting for the yarn for it. It's nearly a hundred stitches cast on (VERY textured cable & twisted stitches .... should keep my mind occupied!) and needs a thinner than usual sock yarn. I've actually got some in the right weight .... but this pattern really needs a solid yarn to show off that wonderful textural pattern and all I've got right now in that weight is a beautiful variegated. Unfortunately, the two will just clash and that won't do at all. ::sighs:: Simply forces me to go shopping .... terrible, ya know? ::snickers::

You can find both of these patterns on Ravelry.com. You may have to wait a few days to get your invitation to join (once you've requested it) but it's well worth the wait to be able to see all the work done by others - and the chance to download some absolutely fabulous patterns ... some for free, others you'll need to pay for.

Also have another grandchild on the way, so bootees and blankets are being created. Found some wonderful bootee patterns on Ravelry as well.

Well, need to go work on either one of the knitting projects or that huge pile of sewing projects .... just as soon as I manage another cup of tea. :)

Day 3

I'm not doing very good with my vow to post weekly I just have so many hours in a day and it seems like that just isn't enough for all I want to do !!

However, I have found 3 sites I'd like to share ... the first two are for dragon lovers, especially.

On the first site, you'll find directions to make your own dragon eggs, display stands, and transport boxes (as well as some other really fun projects!) We love dragons around here, so this one will be well used.

http://dadcando.com/default_SPECIAL.asp?section=Making&project=Wizardry_and_Magic_Homepage

Then there's the next one ... where you can make a soft, furry, dragon of your very own even if you don't have advanced sewing skills. The patterns are provided (for free!) as well as instructions for putting them together. Click on the cuddly dragon link on the left. The Bean Bag Dragon or Batty are the easiest ones. Batty comes out adorable! Make sure you hang on to yours with both hands - everyone who sees him will want him!

http://www.wyrm.org.uk/

The last link will take you to a site that shows you how to make your very own miniature books - and some instructions for making very special, personalized paper of your own for the covers! Templates are provided for various mini-books as well. You can also find instructions at the first site (above), under Book Binding, for making a diary-sized book of your own. Use the instructions here for the paper to create your own papers to cover the inside front and back of your diary/journal.

http://www.lostbuttonstudio.com/minibooks.html