My favourite Harry Potter makes!

My son, Joshua has recently gotten into Harry Potter, and he has gone HP mad! His birthday is coming up in March and when I asked him what he wanted he made a list of only HP stuff! So the DIY in me began to search the internet to find a couple of goodies to make him. I came across some awesome finds so I'll share a few with you below... Firstly here are the piece's I made him....

The first thing I made him was a golden stitch! This was a super quick project and very simple to do. I used scrap cotton yarn to make mine and I found the pattern for it here.

After this quick make I decided on something a little more challenging... A Mandrake! This one took me a grand total of 17 failed attempts to get it right! But I think it was well worth it as Josh is going to adore it! You can find the pattern to make your own right here.

After crocheting the mandrake I wanted another quick project (are you noticing a pattern here yet? :D) So I decided to make a childrens sized Griffindor scarf. I made this in about 30 minutes (over 5,500 sts in 30 minutes! Pretty sweet right?) on my Prym knitting mill midi. If you haven't tried the knitting mills out before I totally recommend them! They are great if you want to create something quickly and require pretty much no knowledge to do! I have done 2 brief posts before on the larger prym knitting mill before here and here. Maybe I should do a tutorial on it? Anyway, I knitted 13 blocks of colour and each block is about 20 rounds if you would like to replicate it. 

Once I had finished making the scarf I also found a house elf pattern by the same person who wrote the madrake pattern. I was a little hesitant as the mandrake took me 17 attempts! :D But decided to give it ago anyway! This one was much simpler and I managed to finish him in just over a week. You can grab the pattern for this one here.

As well as the ones I made I found some more amazing patterns which I will list below. I won't be making them for Joshua's birthday but I think I'll try and get through as many as I can for his Christmas! 

Squarks the Phoenix, available via Ravelry
Doll sized sorting hat, available via Etsy
Fluffy the 3 headed dog, available via Etsy
Ipad cosy, available via Ravelry
Muggle Mitts, available via Ravelry
Dumbledores Army Armband, available via Ravelry
Wand, available via Ravelry 
The Gamekeeper, available via Ravelry
Monster book, available via Ravelry

Have you seen or found any awesome HP makes? Let me know but commenting below :)

An EPIC update....

Ahhhh the joy's of pregnancy..... As you may have noticed I haven't been around much over the past few days.... This is due to me being in god damn pain! They say in pregnancy you have a gorgeous glow.... I'm on my third ikkle baby and am yet to experience this!  This particular pregnancy is by far the hardest. Iv'e had every symptom known to man.  I currently have SPD which is hell. It basically makes it really hard to walk, lay down, get up, basic day to day tasks really... But as you may of heard I recently had a tumble down the stairs on Friday which has left me now unable to walk.... YAY! (Where is my pregnancy glow god damn it??!?!??!?)  I have been stuck in bed/sofa since then so my beloved Pirate Steve has taken it upon himself to look after HOW whilst i'm on the mend.... Awww isn't he sweet????

Although I am now unable to move I still have been up to a few bits.... (in between regular rests) Here is just a snippet of what's been going on....

Ha ha! You thought you could stop me pregnancy! :D :D :D 

Above are some of the gorgeous bits I have been working on.  Some of these will be available shortly as a pattern, some in our House Of Wonderland store and a few went up in our crochet and knitting store today..... :O :O :O Quick! Go have a look....

I have also made up a few of our brand new limited edition boxes of happy things....

pretty awesome right??? You can find these in our other Etsy store right here....

So that's it from me for now. I'm off to book some physiotherapy and leave you in the hands of Steve the Pirate for the week.  Go easy on him little Wonderlanders ;)

Tess  x

Make your baby look foxy!

WOW! What a busy start to the year already.  It's been all go here at HOW HQ with orders, plotting and planning as well as working on new patterns!  Speaking of which we have a brand new one for you today... Here is our knitted fox cub hat:

Could this be the most adorable hat I have ever made??? ...I think so! It's a simple knit hat worked over two needles and joined together at the back with a seam.  It would be amazing in a whole rainbow of colours too!  You can find the pattern over in our Etsy digital shop right here.

Can't knit? hmmm... Well we are now taking on custom orders! Whooo hooo! So get in touch at sales@how-store.com to commission your very own piece of Wonderland!  Check out some of our past makes below....

Be sure to share any of your awesome HOW makes on our social pages! We would LOVE to see them!

Happy knitting!

Tess x

Make your own Custard Cream biscuit!

It seems that we have not had a free crafty pattern in a while :( -Boooooo! So I came up with this quick one for you crocheters to whip up! 

Are you looking for a quick and easy project to use up those yarn scraps? Then this one might just be for you. These simple crochet biscuits are made in just 5 simple steps. Add a brooch back to your badges to create a tasty accessory or make a few for your children's toy box!

So here it is....

I LOVE how fast these are to do! With my patience of a goldfish these are a super quick project.  You can grab the pattern for FREE on Craftsy right here

If you do make up these little biccies be sure to spam us with all of your awesome pictures!

Happy crocheting little Wonderlanders!

Tess x

A new pattern...

Well, firstly I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas?  Ours was fantastic, hectic and busy! Here are some of our highlights...

We have been back in the office today slowly getting back to work... and we have a brand new crochet pattern just for you! (whooo hooo!!)  So here it is a pattern to make these....

1. 2. 3. Awwwwwwww.... How completely sweet are these?  These adorable crochet baby booties are the perfect gift for that special new arrival. They are simple and quick to make and you'll find yourself with a collection quite quickly! Customize your shoes in different colours for either a girl or boy or use our suggested yarn to create a unisex bootie. You can find the pattern in our etsy pattern store right here for just £2!

If you do make these we would LOVE to see your pictures so send them over!! 

Happy crocheting little Wonderlanders!

Tess x

It's nearly Christmas!!!

It's been completely manic over the past month or so.  I can't wait to have a little rest and get on with some drawing and crocheting/knitting again! And it's already begun! You may have spotted my little baby booties about and a few of you have asked for the pattern for them which I will share below... So here are the little baby booties in question... 

Aren't they just adorable?  They are made for ages 0-3 months and are knitted in Sirdar Simply Recycled Aran yarn which is made up of 51% recycled cotton.  Fancy making your own? I found the pattern for these on Ravelry right here.  It took just one evening to do to! So is great if you need a 'quick fix'!

So before I head off and get on with my endless list of things to do I thought I'd remind you that over the festive holiday's we will be operating a limited service.  See the picture below for opening times :)  

^ ^ ^ It's during these times we will be here at HOW HQ cracking on with your orders, answering messages and making up pieces.  So don't fear if you don't get a reply instantly to your messages this is why ;) 

From everyone at HOW HQ we wish you a truly magical and glitter filled Christmas and a happy healthy new year.  Thank you so much for sticking with us!

Tess x

Just keep knitting...

So since yesterday there has been more progress on the Prym Maxi Knitting Mill! Today I have made up these gorgeous cotton wash cloths. You could replicate this pattern without the knitting mill too! It is created across 44 pegs and has a total of 40 rows and knitted in stockinette stitch. The wash cloths have 2 layers and are joined together at the ends like a sandwich!

How awesome would these be for gifting? Guess what EVERYONE is getting for Christmas this year?...

I'm hooked!

So earlier this week I had an awesome delivery from Mr.Amazon delivery man! This! Isn't it a beaut!? This is the Prym Maxi Knitting Mill. This little bad boy is a circlular knitting machine with 44 pegs. So of course I had to test it out and prepare to be amazed... Okay I can knit but usually a scarf would take me a good few months (I have a super short attention span!) The ones shown in the picture took just 15 minutes each! Pretty awesome huh? From this machine you can make knitted tubes or panels. Potentially anything! I am hoping to begin work on christmas goodies already and with this little bad boy it will be done in no time! I think some DIY's have to be coming soon right???

Take care little Wonderlanders
Tess