Tuesday 17 March 2015

St Patrick's Day



People from Ireland are the people who least celebrate St Parick's Day, at least in Northern Ireland, and at least when I lived there. I do seem to remember that we got the afternoon off school to watch some inter-school rugby final, but other than that I don't remember celebrating it in any way. Of course that may have changed now what with the internet an' all. I know that our cousins across the pond go a bit mad for St Patrick's Day, and certainly in England it's a day of (albeit minor) note. Usually I will wear a green top or scarf and perhaps have some soda bread or Guinness, but this year I didn't even do that. My (English) friend ran up to me in Sainsbury's earlier, gave me a massive hug, and shrieked "Happy St Patrick's Day !!! Bless her, it was very sweet :)

Little Miss had to "bring something from Ireland" to Brownies tonight. I said "bring me, I'm something from Ireland" but thankfully she took it as the joke it was intended and did not make me accompany her. Instead, after scouring Pinterest, I made her a little leprechaun hat fascinator-come-headband to wear. The pin sent me to a ravelry pattern here (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/st-patricks-day-fascinator), so big thankyou to Helen Whiteley for making it available :)

I made 90% of it waiting for Little Man to come out of the school, and the last bit while I was making dinner. A bit of a rush but here's how it turned out ....



<.... and here's the Brownie herself modelling it :)


The photos are rubbish, sorry. It was 5.50pm. I had to finish drying her hair, fish her top out from the tumble drier, get her to finish her dinner, and finish the headband thingy and get to Brownies for 6pm, so no time for decent pics. She was late, yes. Oops.

Now everyone knows that you can't just go on Pinterest, find a pattern, and leave. That would be most rude. Naturally you have to spend loads of time browsing other stuff but usually not making anything else. Today though I decided to capitalise on the St Patrick's Day spirit and make a little wreath too. I gathered some bits and pieces ....


The little inconspicuous pink and white plasticy thing on the left is a pom-pom maker. Have you ever used one ? They are great fun. Much easier than getting all cross with cardboard. Here's a quick lesson in pom-pom making.

1. Get your pom-pom maker ready - it starts off like this (this is my slightly bigger one),


Both sides have 2 foldy-out arm things.


2. Make sure the arms on one side are folded in, and that the 2 on the other side are folded out. It's the two that are folded out that we will use first.


3. Start wrapping your wool round the arches of the folded out arms. Just keep going round and round, over and over, with an even distribution, until there is only a small space left at the centre.


4. Now fold that side away, and fold out the other side. Start wrapping again.


5.  Once the second side is wrapped, fold it away too. Then use a pair of sharp scissors to cut all the way round both sides.


6. At this point you can see the beginnings of a pom-pom :)


7. Tie a length of yarn round the middle to catch all the pom-pom strands together. Make sure it's nice and tight, do it a couple of times to be sure.

8. Now for the fun part! Open out the foldy-out arm things on both sides, then separate the white flat front and back from each other (they are held together by a pin and come apart fairly easily). Ruffle it up and ta-daaaa - a lovely squishy pom-pom :)


Back to the wreath. I used some green fabric - leftover from an old book-rack thing that bit the dust - the fabric formed pockets for the books to lay in. I cut the fabric into strips, wound it around the wreath and pinned the ends in place.


The pom-poms were also pinned in place ....


.... I had some green felt that I cut into 4 little square-heart shapes ....


 .... and gathered then together into a sort of shamrock ....


... and pinned with some ribbon to the top of my wreath ....


.... and here it is, a really simple St Patrick's Day wreath ....


Happy St Patrick's Day :)

Jill
xxxxxxxxxxxx

25 comments:

  1. I love your little Brownie. I was a Brownie scout too and spent many years in the Girl Scout program. I've often wondered how those Pom pom makers worked. Thanks for the tutorial, now I need one! It makes them look so easy.
    So glad to have found your blog and look forward to visiting you more.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  2. You are so inventive! I love the way you magic up things for your children so quickly - hope they appreciate it:) I remember being allowed to wear my girl guide uniform to school on St Patrick, St Andrew, St David and St George's days when I was young - not sure if guides or scouts do that anymore (they don't at the secondary school I work at anyway - probably not 'cool') :) Happy St Patrick's Day!
    Cathy x

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  3. Hi Jill! I have just had a scroll back visit with you and could not believe how many of your posts I had missed :( but I am glad now to have caught up again :) Like Betsy in the above comment, I admire your little Brownie very much. She makes a great model for your St. Pat's headband. You have completed many good projects: scarves, mitts, granny squares, a calendar and more since I last visited you, and you celebrated your 100th post! Cheers for you and lucky us who can visit you and be inspired by your many creative pursuits, and your good humor :) Thanks for showing how you work your pom-pom maker. I have never used one, and wondered how one might work.
    I last posted about a baby hat I finished crocheting last week and I am ready to start the decrease round on the baby hat I am knitting on dpn. May you and yours be blessed, xx

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  4. I just adore the little hat you made for your very own brownie! I bet her friends were jealous that her mother made such a cute hat! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. Oh you are amazing Jill, juggling the kids, dinner, washing and crochet. Love the wreath. I remember st patricks day was always big in my student days where we would all pile down the nearest pub for some cheap watered down beer and the compulsory pint of guinness. Any excuse!

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  6. Love the Irish goodies, the hat for your beautiful brownie was delightful and I love the wreath.

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  7. What a woman you are, whipping up a headband hat in between dinner prep and laundry! Your wreath is fab too X

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  8. Hello Jill,
    What a creative St. Patrick's Day wreath you made, and the little head piece is so cute. Oh, your daughter is a brownie girl - I was a cub scouts girl, but only for a short time. I could never stick to the scheduled meetings haha. I see that you are a stay at home mom of three. How I relate to that because I was also a stay at home mom of three. I just wanted to say how wonderful that is and how appreciated you are. My kids are all grown now, but I wouldn't trade that time I spent with them for anything.

    Have a beautiful week.

    ~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

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  9. Well Happy belated St. Patrick's day to ye Irish Lass! Lol

    I love that headband you made - beyond adorable and especially with your daughter wearing it. What a Doll.

    I don't think I've used a pom pom maker since I was a kiddo. I bet Annie would love making projects with me with one of those - such a great idea for embellishing your wreath. It turned out beautifully!!

    Always fun to see what you'll create next. xoxo

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  10. Look at you go, you make two really cute things. I love that you told her to bring you, you're from Ireland. That really made me giggle.

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  11. Awww I love the leprechaun hat! And the wreath is genius, happy belated St Patrick's day! I need a pom pom maker. Need not want! xx

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  12. Well if I was in school I would have brought you fro show and tell because of your Irish background. I am about 1/16 Irish and proud of it I might add. But did I wear green? No I totally forgot about the whole thing. Over here it is another excuse to get drunk. Love the hair band, you are an awesome Mom.
    Meredith

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  13. You would expect an emerald cottage to celebrate St. Patrick's and you certainly did it in style. Love all the little details!
    Amalia
    xo

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  14. Thanks for popping over to my blog and saying hello. My sister recently gave me a pom pom maker and I was amazed at how well they work, I love it! Lovely St Patrick's Day goodies! x

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  15. How cute is the little leprechaun hat...what a wonderful idea for St Patrick's day!! Love the gorgeous green wreath too :)
    Happy weekend.
    Helen xox

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  16. First time I have seen a PomPom Maker in action! Wow - so cool! I might need to buy one too...

    The hat is adorable btw!

    Take care
    Anne (Crochet Between Worlds)

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  17. A happy Belated St Patrick's Day ..... just love the hat. Glad all went well.

    All the best Jan

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  18. Your little brownie looks so happy and sweet!!!
    Have a great weekend, love from Mirjam.

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  19. Love the Leprechaun hat...unfortunately I cannot see it being worn as some of your photos don't load up on my computer. (weird as it only seems to happen with your blog) Your Paddy's Day wreath is lovely and yes I do have pom-pom makers...I got the cheap ones from China but they seem just as good.

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    1. Weird! No idea what makes that happen. I find sometime photos on blogs won't load but haven't paid enough attention to see if there's a pattern. If I remember I'll try and see if there's a difference in re settings on the html of the photo links, maybe Google will help me:)

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  20. Love the wee hat you made. And the wreath is great too.

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  21. Such fun makes Jill! I love the fascinator....perfect for Brownies. Your wreath is fantastic too.
    Marianne x

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  22. Hi
    Oh St Patrick's day is celebrated in a Big way here, parades in loads of townso the biggest in Dublin, seactain na geal, everyone wearing green and shamrocks. Armagh have agreed week of entertainment. And we get a day off work as it's a bank holiday.

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    Replies
    1. It's changed since my day then!
      Thanks for visiting :)
      Jill

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  23. I certainly agree to some points that you have discussed on this post. I appreciate that you have shared some reliable tips on this review.

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Jillxxxxx