Make some friends this weekend...

I painted photography backdrops this week, did some bookkeeping (which I consider deadly boring, but survived it), and am back to work on the illustrations for Cathy Isles' children's book, Fruit and Veggies Aplenty!  I also tortured my artgirl with painting in watercolor, which she hates, so in order to get back in her good graces, I showed her how to make pom-pom animals.  I made these when I was a kid, and I always think of them around Easter, as I made one of my first ones as a gift to my Aunt Rose, at whose house we often spent the holiday. 

Faithie took her mouse and bolted (perhaps not quite over the torture session?), so I had to make myself some other friends to photograph.

Pom-pom friends are quick, easy, and fun to make and share.

If Spring is a little slow to arrive in your neck of the woods, and the kids are cooped up this weekend, they might like to make pom-pom animals for their friends or favorite aunties. Here's my favorite way to wind the poms:

Use different sized forks to make different sized pom-poms.  75 wraps on the serving fork, 50 on a dinner fork, and 30 on a pickle fork will make pretty firm poms, but experiment, as yarn thickness varies.  To make even smaller ones, tape the tie thread to the length of a pencil or an even skinnier paint brush, then wrap 45 times.

Start to snug up your tie thread on the fork (I usually use the same color for both), then...

Slip it off and pull tightly, then knot firmly.  If you don't pull tight enough, the poms will fall apart.

Trim poms to shape.  The frog body and the pig nose are more puck shaped than round. 

Feet, ears, wings and other parts and accessories are cut from felt.  I like to make feet double thick, as this helps the critters stand up better.

 I used hot glue to put everything together, but Fabri-tac works just as well, and tacky glue works if you have a bit of patience with drying time, and there's no risk of burnt fingertips.  If you do use hot glue, keep a bowl of ice cubes on the table nearby!