There was much fun had at May Faire, but before I write about that, I want to share with you how to make a simple, knitted springtime flower garland. (Yep, that’s the project I was working on in last week’s YarnAlong.) Last year when we went to the May Faire for the first time and not knowing what to expect, we weren’t dressed up for the festivities. Seeing all the springtime celebration around us, I knew I wanted to be a bit more festive this year. It’s always fun to have an excuse for that, right? I had an inspiration for a simple knitted garland that I could make for each of us. I made one for Bracken, one for Jeff, and one for me. My plan was to make a bunch of extras to share with friends, but that didn’t happen. (That’s alright, maybe next year.) They are an easy project to make and great for beginning knitters. I was asked about them all day at May Faire and wanted to share how to make them here. I saw other knitted head pieces at May Faire with much wider knitting, that looked so beautiful on all the children I saw them on. There are so many different variations you can make!

 (I also finished a wool vest for Bracken, which I will be sharing how to make later this week.)

 (It seems I’m always the one behind the camera, so I was grateful Jeff took these pictures of Bracken and I.)

 (And he got a close up of the flower garland.)

 Jeff wore his right over his hat. (His needed more flowers added to his, which I didn’t finish the night before. I added more flowers to Bracken’s and mine first because, honestly, we cared more about it. Jeff was happy to wear his, but didn’t mind a bit if I hadn’t finished adding all the flowers to it. I was so busy finishing Bracken’s vest, right up until bedtime, that it didn’t get done.)

 How To Make A Simple Knitted Springtime Flower Garland:

You’ll need:

-green yarn

-double pointed knitting needles

-white wool felt (or color of your choice)

-yellow yarn (for center of flowers)

-a tapestry needle

-a sewing needle

-scissors

1) Pick your yarn. The yarn that I had on hand in green was some handspun wool yarn. It varied in size from being larger than a worsted weight yarn to being smaller than a worsted weight yarn. If I were to pick out yarn for the project, I probably would have chosen worsted weight, since I use that weight in my knitting projects a lot. You’ll notice this patten is extremely flexible! I always think it’s best to use what you already have on hand. Whatever size yarn you use, I think it will look great. Play around and have fun.

2) Get your knitting needles. Once again, I used what I had on hand. I knitted with size 4 double pointed needles. If in doubt, just use the size recommended with your yarn weight. (I went smaller than what would probably been  recommended for my yarn.) Again, you don’t need to be too particular about this.

3) Start knitting. To create the base for the garland, I knit a simple i-cord. Cast on three stitches. Knit those three stitches. When you finish knitting, slide those three stitches to the end of your double pointed needle (from the left side of your needle to the right side of your needle, without turning your needles.) Knit the three stitches. Slide to end of knitting needle. Repeat. Easy peasy.

4) Connect and make a circle. Once you knit to your desired length, cast off and leave a long tail. (For general reference: I made Jeff’s about 22 inches around and it was worn over a hat, mine was about 21 inches around, and Bracken’s was about 18 inches around. They will stretch and if you think you’ve made yours a bit too small, it might be alright.) Use your tail to weave together both ends of the i-cord with your tapestry needle. When your ends are connected to make a circle, weave in your ends.

5) Cut your felt flowers. Get your piece of wool felt. I had a leftover piece of natural white (technically off-white) felt from Felt On The Fly. I took a blunt pencil and lightly drew my flower shapes. I was going for a daisy look. (The first one in the picture above, in the upper left with only four petals was a blooper, I liked the way five petals looked better.) Once I drew my shapes and cut them out, I put the side with the pencil markings to the back, facing the green circle, so the markings wouldn’t show while you wear it. If you draw a flower shape you like, you can use it as a template for the rest. I just drew each flower individually, which was fun in that each one was unique, but a template would have been easier.

6) Attach your flowers. Place your first flower where you would like it. (I always put the first flower on the point where I connected the ends together, to cover it up.) Sew the flower on. I used yellow wool yarn to stitch on the flowers. There were three stitches going across the center of each flower, which made a good, colorful center. (I had some sport weight wool yarn from our friends at Timberwolf Farm, naturally dyed with marigolds. It was leftover from the beekeeper’s daughter hat.) You could just use yellow thread, or whichever color you would like, but the yarn makes a much more noticeable center. I started with four flowers on each garland, evenly spaced, and then added one more in between each flower, for a total of eight flowers on each garland. It seemed like a good amount. Whatever looks good to you. Jeff also had a good idea, that you could add real flowers throughout by weaving the stems along the knitted round. We had some columbines blooming that would have been so beautiful for that, but we left the house early and didn’t end up doing that.

7) Wear and enjoy. You might even notice yourself smiling more than usual. It’s fun to be festive. If you have any springtime celebrations, it’s the perfect time to wear them. For us, it was the May Faire, but springtime arriving is celebration enough. The children in your life will especially love them, but everyone will enjoy a touch of fun.

And now, onto the May Faire….

 Bracken headed straight for the bubbles, just like last year. He got there early, so had the whole tub of bubbles to himself for awhile before anyone else came. The bubble wands that they had were copper rounds with wooden handles. They made such large bubbles and were so easy for children to make bubbles with. You didn’t need to blow on them, you simply needed to wave the wand or walk a bit and huge bubbles emerged.

 He was so excited he could hardly stand it.

 All those bits of white throughout the grass were little white flowers (I call them daisies), the same that grow at our house. When the sun came out, they opened up and I thought they added to the May Faire magic.

 The May Pole was magical as always.

 The May Faire Queen, surrounded by children.

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Last year it was in the eighties the day of the May Faire, this year it was cooler. The day went back and forth from sun to clouds to rain. Even in the rain, we enjoyed ourselves. There were activities last year that Bracken wasn’t quite old enough for that he loved this year. He did the tumbling gnomes race and won a honey stick. He thought it was the best prize ever and showed everyone. He did the ring toss (and later told me he wanted to make one at our house.) He also did the fishing game, with a bamboo fishing pole, and “hooked” a prize. Inside were polished, colorful rocks and he saved them to put in our dish with water for the bees in our yard. I appreciated that they had natural prizes and that the only “sweet” prizes were honey sticks. He also got to make his own terrarium, which I thought was such a great idea for a project. The music all day long was amazing. There was such a feeling of sweetness there. Bracken loved to run freely in the field. At Saturday Market I always have to watch him like a hawk because we are so close to busy roads. At the May Faire, it was a big grassy field that was fenced so I was able to relax so much more. (I think I mentioned that last year as well.) We saw many friends throughout the day. Jeff watched the booth almost the entire day while I ran around with Bracken. Poor Jeff had lower back pain and didn’t want to walk much because his sciatic nerve would act up. It was hard for him by the end of the day, but he still had a wonderful time. We all did. It’s become a new yearly tradition for us. When I think of May, I think of the May Faire.