Fairy gardens

You might remember the post I did some time ago about fairies in our garden. They are busy little people as you can see.

And here they are in the meadow making a daisy chain.

I thought of my garden fairies recently when I read a Milly Molly Mandy story about the time she and Billy Blunt made a miniature garden in a dish.

I well remember making these tiny gardens in saucers and dishes when I was young. Our village fete always held a competition for the best miniature garden and these tiny worlds fascinated me.

What a lovely surprise to find a post about a pretty garden made for two tiny pals in the US. Below you can see Honey and Tilda working in their garden. It was cleverly created in a barrel by Lydia and her Mom at Blueberry Cottage.

I'm not showing you more of this garden because I'd like you to pop over to Blueberry Cottage and take a look for yourself. Its amazing what can be achieved from a few pebbles, shells, moss and twigs plus plenty of imagination and magic. The pictures bring back memories of the days when we created tiny worlds in dishes for our village fete . . . . . happy days!

Fairy fun

Some of you have been asking about the little fairy that Kate recently caught. I'm happy to tell you that he is living in the playroom amongst the dolls but they are making such a fuss of him that he's becoming thoroughly spoilt.

This Mabel Lucie Attwell plate hangs on the playroom wall and this morning Kate decided she would wash her fairy in a teacup bath just like the little girl in the picture.

She filled a tiny teacup with warm soapy water, fetched a sponge and towel and then rolled up her sleeves and prepared to bath her fairy.

But the little rascal was having none of it and hurriedly made his escape.

After a quick search we found him gazing longingly into the big box of scrumptious chocolates I received as a Mother's Day gift from my son and his wife.

Yes, I can assure you those chocs really are as yummy as they look.

My sweet daughter-in-law is very creative and instead of using gift wrap for the box she wrapped it beautifully in this gorgeous vintage scarf. I've always loved chinoiserie designs so was absolutely delighted.

The scarf is in perfect condition and probably dates from the 1950s but we aren't sure. Does anyone have a more definite idea of its age?

Meanwhile, if you are wondering whether Kate ever managed to bath her fairy I think the picture below should answer your question!!

Fishing for fairies

Here at Flutterby Patch we all love reading Mabel Lucie Attwell annuals and my little dolls especially like the pictures of the tiny fairy folk. One of their favourite stories is this one where a little girl catches a fairy in her fishing net. But when she lifts the net the rascally fairy flies away.

My two dolls Tilly and Kate long to catch a fairy but the weather outside today was cold and damp and so Tilly decided she would open the playroom window and she and Kate would take turns to hold the fishing net ready to catch any little fairy that popped in for a look around. They waited.....and waited........

..........then suddenly..........Plop! Something tiny landed on the window sill and Kate was quick to catch the 'something' in her net. Could it possibly be a fairy?

Kate held tightly to the net whilst Tilly closed the window.

Then Kate removed the net and picked up the little 'something'.....

........... and much to her delight it was indeed a tiny fairy.

 Measuring just 15cm (6in) he was the sweetest little fellow dressed from head to toe in scarlet and green.

He showed no sign of wanting to escape.

He even danced a little jig, much to the amusement of the two girls.

I think he might have come to stay for a while and the dolls will spoil him of course. If he should get lonely he'll find plenty of companions in our Lucie Attwell Annuals.

A BIG thank you to those of you who left thoughtful comments with my previous post (A skip down Memory Lane). It was good to see Milly Molly Mandy is such a great favourite worldwide. It seems the books never fail to stir happy childhood memories.

Several of you asked about the little dolly I featured. You quite rightly presumed she was inspired by Waldorf dolls. Her head, which is roughly the size of a conker (horse chestnut), is made using the Waldorf method. It was quite a fiddly process working on something so small but I've always loved making miniature items and so persevered. She measures 15cm (6in). Her arms and legs are covered pipe cleaners, her hair is mohair knitting yarn, her dress is Liberty lawn and her cardigan is knitted with 4 ply Shetland wool. The head and features of the little fairy found by Tilly and Kate is also Waldorf inspired.

Before I started blogging three years ago I knew very little about Waldorf dolls and their history and hadn't a clue how one was put together. Creating the head and features is a fascinating procedure and the resulting dollies are just the sweetest little characters. I've seen many of these dolls featured in blogland but the blog that has always been in my favourites list is Little Jenny Wren. Jenny never fails to amaze me with the little people she creates. She never seems to run out of ideas and as a result every doll is different. Jenny's lucky little dollies regularly travel to new homes around the world. Do pop over and take a look.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to know more about making Waldorf dolls you'll find plenty of information online and there are several good books (with patterns) available. Another blogging friend of mine has just completed her first doll and what a pretty little girl she is. You'll find her at Mary Jane's Tearoom.

Time to visit Tilly and Kate and check their new found friend with his mischievous grin isn't wreaking havoc in the playroom.

A busy old week

Well folks, it's been a busy old week with one thing and another. Just doing this and that and not really achieving anything in particular.

Sunday was a frustrating knitting day. I seemed to spend more time pulling back than actually knitting.

Monday I braved torrential rain and went shopping

Tuesday turned cold and before going to bed I filled my trusty hot-water bottle.

Wednesday I received the wonderful news that my oldest school friend had become a grandma for the first time.

Thursday night was cold again and this time I filled the trusty bottle and put an extra blanket on the bed....very snug!

Friday was a 'shopping for the weekend' day and as usual hubby and I got seriously frustrated by the huge number of pedestrians who step off in front of the car and wander aimlessly across the road.

Saturday. Out with the camera and take a few pics for the blog.

In case you hadn't guessed I'm a bit of a Mabel Lucie Attwell fan. Her innocent world of chubby children and fairies is one that has always appealed to me!

A very lucky fairy band
Got a lift to fairyland

If I had a fairy
How jolly it would be.
I'd bathe him in a tea cup
And take him walks with me.

I don't have many Lucie Attwell books but love my 1944 annual and there are 51 more to collect!
Before I go I must thank Julie at Yummy Miniature Foods who kindly gave me an award. Do call in and look at the tiny doll sized morsels this talented lady makes, they are amazing. It is something I have always wanted to do so I'm very envious of her skills.

My knitted fairy pattern

After so much mousy knitting recently I got the urge yesterday to design and knit something easy. Suddenly this cute little autumn fairy popped off my needles and flew away to sit in a nearby tree.


Then a gust of wind caused her to slip from her mossy perch and she landed (very daintily) amongst some big yellow daisies below.

I lifted her carefully from the flowers and took her back indoors where I gave her a mossy log to sit on and that seemed to please her.

She only measures 15 cm (6 in) and I feel sure she would be easy enough for new knitters to try (children as well as adults). As long as you can cast on, cast off, knit and purl there shouldn't be a problem. I'm including the pattern in this post and have given added hints and tips which I hope will help if you are a new knitter. So whether you are new to the craft, or have been clicking away for years, do try knitting my fairy. I used 3.25 mm needles (US 3). If your knitting tends to be fairly loose then use a needle one size smaller. You will also require a large (tapestry) needle for sewing up.

I used DK yarn (in the US use light worsted and in Australia 8 ply). You can of course mix and match your own colour range but I chose autumnal shades. Golden yellow, rusty red, olive green and cream for clothes. Golden brown for hair and flesh pink for the fairy. Brown and pink embroidery floss or sewing cotton for eyes and mouth plus a tiny amount of stuffing.



The body and head are worked in stocking stitch (knit one row, purl one row) .
Cast-on 15 stitches in golden yellow and start with a knit row.
Rows 1 - 12. gold/yellow
Rows 13 - 20. flesh pink
Row 21. k2tog across row to last stitch, k1 (knit 2 stitches together right across the row to the last stitch then knit this last stitch)
Row 22. purl



Break the flesh pink yarn leaving a 15 cm ( 6 in) tail. Thread this onto a tapestry needle and take the remaining stitches off the knitting needle onto the tail of yarn. Draw up tightly and secure



Stitch the head and body seam which will be at the back. Stuff the head and part of the body, but not too firmly (don't stretch the knitting).



Thread your needle with flesh pink yarn and starting from the seam at the back, where the gold joins the flesh, pick up every alternate loop all the way round (see picture above).

Draw up to create a neck and fasten off.

Placing your needle down the centre of the head (see above) will indicate where the eyes and mouth should go but there are several variations. Using pins with coloured heads will give you some idea where you want to place the features.

Eyes close together and fairly high on the head will give a worried or perplexed expression.



Eyes places at different heights and mouth off-centre gives a quizzical look.

So I played safe with eyes widely spaced. I'm not sure what expression this would be.

Knitting yarn can be too thick for a small face so use embroidery floss or sewing thread. Black eyes and a red mouth can look too heavy so try brown eyes and a dark pink mouth.

At this stage the fairy is simply a finger puppet and so she needs arms and legs.

These are twisted cords made from flesh pink yarn. Just two strands twisted to form a four strand cord is perfect. If you are unsure how to make a twisted cord you will find very good instructions (with pictures) in the sidebar of my blog. Arms should be approximately 6 cm (2.5 in) long and legs 8 cm (3.5 in) long.

There shouldn't be a knot at the top of the arm but the knot at the bottom will (with a bit of imagination) look like a fairy hand and fingers. Similarly the knot at the bottom of the leg will resemble feet and toes. A knot at the top of the leg will be useful as it will help to secure it inside the body when the legs are attached.

Stitch the tops of the arms to the fairy's shoulders. Add a little extra stuffing to the body if required and push the knots at the tops of the legs into the body. Stitch across the bottom of the body with matching yarn ensuring the legs are held firmly in place.

Next comes the fairy hair. I have used golden brown and have created a fairy top-knot. Wrap the yarn 6 times around two fingers and secure in the centre with matching yarn to make a top-knot (see picture below).

Stitch top-knot over the centre hole in the top of the head

Place a few extra stitches on the fairy's forehead. I got so carried away with my hair styling I added a little plait at each side. (If you want to do this you will need to plait six strands of yarn).

Finally the fairy needs wings and a skirt. Firstly the wings. Cast on 4 stitches in green and work 10 rows in garter stitch (knit every row). Break the yarn leaving a 15 cm ( 6 in) tail. Thread this onto a tapestry needle and take the remaining stitches off the knitting needle onto the tail of yarn. Draw up tightly and secure. Stitch this end of the wing to the back of the fairy at shoulder height. The tail at the cast on end can be woven down through the wing and cut off.

The skirt is quite full which allows the fairy to sit comfortably. It is knitted in garter stitch (knit every row). Cast on 52 stitches in russet.

Rows 1 - 2. russet

Rows 3 - 6. golden yellow

Rows 7 - 9. white

Row 10. k2tog across row

Row 11. green

Row 12. k1, k2tog across row to last stitch, k1 (green)

Rows 13 - 15 green

Cast off . Weave in the ends of yarn and then (leaving a small opening for fitting) stitch the seam from the bottom upwards. Fit the skirt onto the fairy with the seam at the back. Close the remainder of the back seam and back-stitch the skirt to the body around the fairy's waist.

Finally, little blushing cheeks made with a red pencil crayon complete the 'look'. What a cute little lady she is. But I think she looks a bit lonely so reckon I'll have to knit her a few fairy friends!!

Hope you have fun knitting fairies.