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Tartan is every where this Autumn/Winter. The easiest way to wear it is as an accent, an accessory and the easiest accessory to make is a scarf, unisex too. Take a tartan/check fabric of your choice, measure a piece 2m 32cm x 45cm (2 1/2 yards x 18in). On the two long sides of the fabric turn in 1cm (3/8in) to one side, turn in same again and machine stitch. Fray the two short edges to form a fringe 10cm (4in) long. Knot the fringe at 1.5cm (1/2in) intervals. I was pleased to see that Top Shop were selling crochet flower brooches, similar to the flowers I made.

The shops are starting to stock Halloween merchandise. You could buy decorations but for children a much better option is for them to make their own. Halloween is a great time for children to use their imaginations. I have designed a bat and a spider both based on pom poms. Very easy to make you just need a little application and patience. A previous post with comprehensive instructions for a pom pom can be found  here. When Susie and I ran a halloween workshop for children both boys and girls liked to make these creatures and all were pleased with the results. You will need cereal packet card to make your 2 discs to create your pom pom. Black wool if you want to make a standard bat/spider but if you want to make it more funky any colour will do. A black sheet of Funky Foam, for bat wings and faces. Silver marker pen for spiders features. Google eyes, these are optional you could just draw the eyes. Double sided tape to attach heads to pom poms. For the spiders legs you need two 30cm (12in) long craft pipe cleaners cut in half, this gives you four lengths measuring 15cm (6in). Down load attachments for instructions and templates.

I made my big knitting needles from a wooden broom handle, it was only a £1 from Wilkinsons. First I sawed the handle in half. It's made from a soft wood so it was easy to shape. A very big pencil sharpener would have been handy but with a Swiss army knife I roughly shaped the end of the needle. Then with my Dremel power tool I sanded it. Finally I smoothed it off by hand with fine sand paper. For the stoppers at the end I used wooden knobs. These needles are a fraction of the cost of the bought ones and just as good.

When I was at the Knit and Stitch Show I couldn't resist buying a very delicate sheet of Japanese lace paper. This weekend I made lanterns with it. To get the cool effect I layered two blue bands of torn mulberry paper on to the glass. I put a finishing layer of the lace paper on top. I incorporated into one of the designs some snowflake tissue paper. The basic lantern tutorial is  here  What I like about these lanterns are that If you are not happy with the result or wish to change the design it couldn't be easier. Just soak the lanterns in water for a while and the paper will come off and you can start again.

I crocheted these roses from a pattern featured on The Dark Knit  It was very easy to follow even though I have never crocheted from a pattern before. I found out what the abbreviations in the pattern meant. I then found tutorials on how the stitches were formed. It all made sense eventually and it was easy.

This is the pattern:

Leaving a 10" length for sewing, chain 57.

Row 1 (Wrong side): (Dc, ch 2, dc) in sixth ch from hook (5 skipped chs count as first dc plus ch 2),*ch 2, skip next 2 chs, (dc, ch 2, dc) in next ch; repeat from * across: 36 sps

Row 2: Ch 3, turn; 5 dc in next ch-2 sp, sc in next ch-2 sp, (6 dc in next ch-2 sp, sc in next ch-2 sp) 5times, (9 dc in next ch-2 sp, sc in next ch-2 sp) 5 times, (12 dc in next ch-2 sp, sc in next sp) 7 times;finish off leaving a 10" length for sewing.

Thread yarn needle with yarn end from beginning chain. With right side facing and beginning with firstpetal made, refer to photo to roll Rose; sew to secure as you roll. Then thread needle with ending yarn and sew to secure.

The photographs below may help with the instructions.

This website is great if you need the abbreviations explaining Crochet Basics