Easter Special Ekokid

Easter will be here before we know it!

Rather than, or as well as, chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate this easter, how about rustling up a hugely delightful Ekokid doll with her own Easter outfit.

These eco-friendly 'barbie' dolls are easy to dress and undress, they don't break very easily and they are so fun to play with!

Try it out.. the pattern is in step by step form so it's easy to follow if you are a beginner knitter.

Easter Special: The Ekokids (US Link)

Easter Special: The Ekokids (UK Link)




Happy Knitting!

P.S.  Join us on facebook and share your creations.

Girl About Town

Knit these new glam outfits for your Ekokid doll. They are so quick to make and a delightful addition to your eco-friendly teenage doll's wardrobe. My photographer grandson took the photos with his cool new camera!

Girl About Town: The Ekokids (Kindle US direct link)
Girl About Town: The Ekokids (Kindle UK direct link)

Share your finished works of art on our Facebook page! The Ekokids on Facebook

Happy Knitting!

Linda x

P.S. This Kindle pattern book only contains patterns for the three outfits shown. If you haven't knitted your doll yet, pop over to the  Books page (in menu above) to find your basic doll pattern.

Recycling the witch!

Hi,

If you knit your witch in 'flesh colour' yarn rather than green, the witch costume can be put away for next year.

Then you can create a whole wardrobe of gorgeous clothes and your ekokid doll can take on any number of  new characters to suit your imagination!

A pattern for a basic wardrobe of ten items is available now and new patterns are being developed all the time.

Kindle US Link: Doll's Clothes: The Ekokids (US)
Kindle UK Link: Doll's Clothes: The Ekokids (UK)

Happy Knitting!

Linda x

Halloween Witch

This happy witch will cast a spell of delight!

She’s simple and quick to make and you only need a few ingredients:

Double knitting yarn
1 pair of size 4mm (old UK size: 8 and US size: 6) knitting needles
Soft toy filling
Short lengths of embroidery silk or cotton for features

Pick up a pattern from Kindle today!
US Link: Halloween Doll Pattern (US)
UK Link: Halloween Doll Pattern (UK)

Happy Knitting! x

Melting Moments

(originally from a Good Housekeeping Recipe book)
Makes about 24

Ingredients

100g. (4oz) butter or alternative - butter is best.
75g (3oz) caster sugar
150g (5-6oz) self raising flour
1 egg yolk
Few drops of vanilla essence
2 or 3 handfuls of crushed cornflakes

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to Gas mark 5 (375F, 190C) Adjust for fan ovens
2. Grease 2 fairly large baking sheets
3. Cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon, or with your fingers.. messy though.
4. When the mixture is pale and 'fluffy' beat in the egg yolk and vanilla essence
5. Stir in the flour to make a smooth dough and divide the mixture into 24 pieces, or thereabouts.
6. Form each piece into a ball, roll in crushed cornflakes and flatten slightly.
7. Place on baking sheets, leaving space to rise.
8. Put  into pre-heated oven, not too near the top, for 15-20 minutes until turning golden brown
9. Remove from oven, leave to cool for a couple of minutes then carefully lift off the tins on to a wire tray to cool completely.

I used to make batch after batch of melting moments - they disappeared off the cooling tray very quickly in my house. I hope you manage to save a few for afternoon tea :-)

For more afternoon tea ideas, download this simple and inexpensive Kindle book today, and indulge in one of life's pleasures :-)

Make a perfect cuppa and create an afternoon tea fit for royalty!

Tea and Cakes (US Direct Link)
Tea and Cakes (UK Direct Link)


Bon Appetit!

Linda x

Banana and Chocolate Pancakes

 This delicious recipe is a perfect teatime treat

Ingredients

Pancake Mix:

4oz. (100g) flour
Approx. 8fl.oz (200mls) milk
1-2 eggs (depending on size)
A little cooking oil


Filling:

1-2 bananas
2oz. (50g) dark chocolate (keeping it healthy!)
1 tablespoon honey


Method:

To make pancakes:

1. Sift flour into a bowl and make a well in the centre

2. Break an egg into the well and add a little milk.

3. Mix well, adding more milk gradually and mixing until all milk has been used and you have a fairly thick batter mix.

4. Heat oil in a frying pan and pour in a little batter and cook for a minute or two.

5. Turn over - or flip if you can! - and cook gently on the other side for a minute or two.

6. Serve warm


To Make Filling:

1. Gently warm honey and chocolate in a pan to melt. (Stir to avoid burning)

2. Slice bananas and add to the pan.

3. Cook gently for a minute or two, stirring all the time, then spread over cooked pancake.

4. Eat immediately!


Enjoy :-)

Shabby Chic Purse

I've just started making these cute little purses - perfect for lunch money or a lucky charm... and tres chic don't you think?

They're simple and quick to make. And cost very little.



You need one pair of 3.75mm knitting needles, and a 4.00mm crochet hook.(or a length of thin cord)
And less than 25g of double knitting yarn.

Experiment with different size needles and different types of yarn. There are some great alternate yarns on the market - some with lurex sparkly bits - maybe good for an evening purse?

In case you're new to knitting, stocking stitch is 'knit one row, purl one row'


Method:

So, cast on 16 sts and starting with a knit row, stocking stitch 13 rows.

Next Row: Purl 2sts together at beginning and end of  row (14sts)
Next Row: Knit 2sts together at beginning and end of  row (12sts)

Increase 1 stitch at beginning and end of next 2 rows (16sts)

Then starting with a purl row, stocking stitch 13 rows.

Cast off.


Making Up:

Fold bag in half with right sides facing and sew up the side seams. Turn right side out.

Crochet about a metre length for strap or use thin cord or ribbon - or plait a few lengths of yarn together.

Thread strap through 3rd or 4th row of knitting from the top. Then knot to length you want it, and cut off excess.

NB: To make a stripe, work the 4th and 5th row (of the first 13 rows) and the 9th and 10th row (of the 2nd 13 rows) in a contrasting colour.

Altogether, this bag took about an hour to make.


Cost? 

Presuming you already have the knitting needles, a suitable sewing needle for yarn and a crochet hook if you're using one, there is only the yarn to buy and any little extras you may want!

You could tie a couple of charms onto the cord to personalize it more. Look for packs in craft stores. They are often very inexpensive.

And the yarn - well you could probably get half a dozen purses out of 50g of yarn (50g of yarn maybe a couple of quid?) I haven't tested the exact amount of yarn needed yet so don't quote me on this!

Happy Knitting!