Daffy Down Dilly

I love daffodils. As a child, the sight of a conversation of daffodils nodding their heads in the park would mean that a birthday wasn't far away. Daffodil brooches are my latest charity project and despite a slow start and much unravelling of prototypes, I'm very pleased with how they turned out.

The first problem was finding yarn in the right colour. I wanted a fine cotton in a nice daffodilly yellow. I could find bright orange and really pale, baby yellow but no daffodil colour. In the end I picked up a plain white cotton and a packet of dye. The result was a bit uneven but I think it makes a nice wild look to the flower and each one is different.

Then I struggled to find a pattern I liked that was fairly quick and easy to make in case they turn out to be as popular as the poppies. In the end I made plain a six petal flower and double crochet round each one with a picot on the top. Picked up stitches from the middle to make the trumpet in the middle with more picots round the top.

Running out of time to sew I decided to stick the brooch pin on the back with superglue. I routed out a tube from the kitchen draw and started to squeeze. No joy. I squeezed harder, nothing. I peered down the nozzle (I did stop squeezing at this point). Still no signs of glue so I squeezed even harder. A few bubbles escaped the nozzle and I felt a burning sensation on my fingers. The glue was pouring out of the side of the tube all over my hands. Luckily I managed to prise my fingers apart and wash the glue away before they stuck forever. Think I'd better stick to needle and thread!