a gypsy caravan

early autumn knitting-adonis wrap

Fall is the perfect time for reading and knitting. I love to hunker down on the sofa in the evenings while knitting or sit up in bed and read. I've been on a poetry kick lately.  A large compilation of Keats sits on my nightstand.  I'm also reading the controversial Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I haven't gotten to anything controversial yet though I am only a couple of chapters in. I do think she is very humorous and that her humor might be lost if you aren't used to that subtle sarcasm. 

There is a lovely knit shop just a few miles from my house that is owned by Kate Jackson.  Kate is a charming and creative young woman who has just recently published her first book called Sunday Drive. Some fabulous patterns grace its pages. It is available for download in her ravelry store. But if you're a bibliophile like me, you will want the print version. Because paper is oh so nice!

Kate recently offered a test pattern at the shop called the Adonis Wrap. I started it during the Olympic opening ceremonies and finished it the other day. I am not a very fast knitter, catching five minutes here and there to get things done. It is one of the first things I have knit for myself as I usually make things for my children or give away my projects as gifts once they are completed.  But this wrap is mine. :)

Be sure to visit Ginny for more Yarn Along inspiration!

A Special Surprise

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago. My grandmother Kathryn called on that day to tell me that she had a special gift for me but that she was unable to get to the post office on time. I was so curious as to what she was sending.

Imagine my delight when I came home from the store today to find Grandma's package had arrived! I opened the box and inside I found this beautiful, handmade crocheted rug.

It is about three feet in diameter and is such a pretty combination of colors. Those of you who used to read my previous blog (of the same name) might recognize this rug from a post I wrote after visiting my grandmother last spring. My grandma remembered how much I loved her rugs and saved it for my birthday. I am completely giddy over her gift! I think I will put it in the girls' room which has a pink, yellow and white color scheme and where it won't see heavy, dirty traffic.

I am determined to get down to Florida sometime this year and learn, firsthand, how to make one of these beautiful rugs. She showed me a bit while I was there but I did not get the hang of it very well.

Here is a photo of Kathryn taken last spring.

And another of her hands fixing Mary's hair.

I am so grateful to have Kathryn as my grandmother.

Woodworking Projects

I thought you might like to see the some of the children's recent woodworking projects.

Here is a bird feeder that Benjamin made following directions from the book Easy Carpentry Projects for Children by Leavitt.  It will be mounted on a pole and used as a platform feeder for the birds in our backyard. 

He has made a number of these feeders in the past and has given them as Christmas gifts with a small bag of birdseed in the middle. 

Here are some castle banks that the boys made from kits.  Ben left his natural wood while Christopher painted his gray.

Both boys so enjoy woodcraft.  They've made some nice keepsakes and gifts over the years.  There is a list of helpful books in my sidebar if you are interested in learning woodworking with your child.

Felted Doll Clothes

Miss Felicity is modeling a festive felted wool sweater and hat made using a pattern from the very creative Alice.   The set is a present for Mary who received Felicity for Christmas last year.   Now, to search for the bag containing the brass buttons for  the front of the sweater!

Finger Knit Garlands

Last summer, during my investigation into Waldorf homeschooling, I was intrigued by the concept of finger knitting for young children.  While I don't ascribe to Rudolph Steiner's  philosophy or the esoteric reasons for introducing fingerknitting, the handcraft itself sounded like a whole lot of fun in its own right.

In hopes of teaching Mary to fingerknit while the rest of us used needles, I bought the book Finger Knitting by Katsuno Suzuki.  I expected to find directions for teaching children to make some simple projects.  There are a couple simple projects but most of those in Suzuki's book are downright complicated even for an adult! 

Needless to say, my Mary is still making single crocheted chains with her fingers.  We haven't progressed past that yet and I am not sure we will any time soon.   She has made several leashes for her stuffed dogs, some reins for her horses and lots of pretty belts and headbands for her mommy. :)

Today we began to make some garland for the tree.  I brought out the red and green yarn and the kids had much fun making chains.  I was inspired to do so from these posts over at Soule Mama. 

Even Annie got in on the act, trying to finger knit with her chubby little hands.   

When we finish the garlands, I will post some photos for you to see. 

Have a beautiful day and thanks for visiting. :)

Update:  How to Finger Knit video clip here.

 

Handmade Gifts: Crayon Art Caddy

On the first Saturday of every month, the boys head over to Home Depot for the morning.  The store offers a three hour time slot for children and their parents to make wooden toys or other useful items from prepackaged kits.  There is usually quite a turnout.  It is fun to see kids of many ages hammering and painting to their hearts content.  The children are given a work apron to take home and receive a pin for each project they complete.   The  woodworking session is free of charge. 

This week Christopher made this art caddy for his sister Annie.

Annie likes to draw, color or paint while her brothers have their table time lessons.  Christopher filled the art caddy with interesting things for Annie to use.  He bought an eight pack of crayons, some tiny pads of paper and some stickers. Total cost: about $3!   I know she will love it! :)

Just Monkeying Around

In keeping with our theme of handmade gifts, Mary and I made this little fellow today.  He is a present for Annie who is quite fond of monkeys. 

He was made using two cotton Rockford Red Heel Socks.  Rockford Socks originated in Rockford, Illinois and have been made in the USA since 1880.  They are now owned by Fox River Mills in Osage, Iowa. 

Each pack (2 pair) of Rockford Red Heel Socks comes with directions for making the sock monkey and an elephant as well. 

Last month,  I had the pleasure of meeting Molly and her sweet family at a Jan Brett book signing.  As well as getting to spend time chatting with her, she also brought me an generous bag of clean, carded wool!  I am still giddy over her gift and have been using it to stuff toys like this little guy, as well as the knitted farmyard that I have been making for Mary (more on that in another post). 

So, I did the sewing and Mary stuffed him with Molly's wool.   It was fun to work on him together and watch her excitement grow as he drew near completion.   We will try our hand at some more animals in the upcoming weeks.

Crocheted Rag Rugs by Kathryn

I have been wanting to post these photos since my visit with my grandmother in Florida last month.  I would be remiss not to share with you some of the work that she does.

Kathryn is 92 years old.  This winter she made two crocheted rag rugs.  One in bright colors and another in more muted tones.

Annie loved them!

A close up of the detail and Mary's tootsies.

Here is the muted one which she is still planning to enlarge.

These rugs are made from 100% cotton sheets.  Grandma cuts each sheet into 1 inch strips and sews the strips together end to end.  Then she folds them in half and crochets them together, being careful to tuck in the cut ends, so as not to fray.  She told me that it took several twin sized sheets to make one rug.  I am just amazed at the gumption this woman exhibits.  She also quilts every Wednesday with a dozen other ladies from church.

I find her so inspiring. 

My Sewing Project

I am not much of a seamstress.  I say that with a big smile on my face because the last time I tried to sew something, it was a bridesmaid dress in 1992.  The dress turned out two and a half sizes too large and I finished it at 3:00 am the morning of the wedding.  Really.

So, needless to say, I am a little needle shy.  However, my friend Elizabeth has inspired me to give it a go, that perhaps I can actually make something worthwhile and beautiful for my family. 

I am pleased to announce my first sewing project.  Here it is, a pair of curtains for the girls' bedroom. I made them out of a flat sheet and sewed the little ball fringe on the edge for a fun look. 

My kids don't seem to use the flat sheets that come with the sheet sets.  They end up wadded up at the foot of the bed.  This was a neat way to make a pair of curtains that matched the bedding without having to spend any extra money. 

I have quite a bit of fabric left over.  The girls have an armoire that has glassfront drawers which show all of the clothing inside.  Sometimes, because the girls change several times a day :), the drawers look sort of messy.  I was thinking of lining a piece of cardboard with the left over fabric and placing it in the drawer fronts to tie the room together.  What do you think?   

Have a wonderful Friday!

Homemade Gifts

Our family has been busy preparing gifts to give as Christmas gifts.  I am not a very crafty person, though I can knit and make some other simple items.   We not only share gifts within our family, but also have two other gift exchanges with our extended families.  That means 6 people x 2 gift exchanges=12 additional gifts.  I have been making scarves for some of the family members this past week.

This one was knit using three different types of yarn, an eyelash, a boucle and a ribbon type.  Knit together, it makes a soft, fuzzy, very touchable scarf.

Below is another that I am making for a teenage cousin.  She likes funky looking things so I made hers in a brown eyelash, bright pink worsted weight wool and a bumbly ribbon of mixed colors.  While I am done with the knitting, I plan to add some pompoms at the end, where the fringe goes, for a fun effect.

I am also making some booties and other baby items.  Here is one, made in a variegated cotton of dark and light pinks, white and lavender.  Its mate is not yet finished.

Here is yarn for my next project, another scarf.  I like the soft purples and pinks.

I am fond of making these decoupage vases.  They are really very simple.  I choose colors and patterns from home decorating catalogs.  I cut out triangles of color from the pages and dip them in white glue and a bit of water.  Then, I smooth the triangles on a glass vase.  After drying, the vases can be displayed alone or with flowers inside.  They make a nice gift and can be made to match any decor. 

Ben likes to make rosaries and sacrifice beads.  He makes many different styles with various crucifixes and bead colors. 

We will be busy in the upcoming weeks, preparing more gifts for Christmas.  Our immediate family also has a tradition in which we draw a name among ourselves.  During the twelve days after Christmas, we do small acts of kindness for the person we chose and also give them a handmade gift on Epiphany.  My kids are up to their ears in my scarves (literally and figuratively)  so that means I will have to glean some new ideas from other creative moms who are participating in the Loveliness of Handmade Gifts!  Thank you, Dawn, for hosting!

Woodworking Skills: The Tea Table

Both of my sons enjoy working with hand tools. Benjamin began when he was four, hammering nails in a piece of soft pine.  We supplied him with the real things although he was very young.  He had a great respect for the tools and used them correctly from the start.  At that time, we kept a small workbench in our basement that I had purchased from a Montessori school that had closed.  It was just the right height for a young child to work efficiently and safely.

I would like to tell you that the bench is neat and orderly but that is not the case.  It is now kept in our garage (among many other tools, bikes and toys) but it still gets quite a bit of use. Benjamin now does his work at his father's workbench or outside because he has grown too tall to use the small workbench. Christopher, on the other hand, is able to use it comfortably.

Last week the boys disappeared into the garage for quite some time.  When they came back in the house, they told me that they planned to build a tiny tea table for their sister, Mary, out of some scrap wood they had found. Mary just loves to play with her miniature tea set and sets up elaborate parties with her dolls and animals.  I told the boys that the table was a great idea.  They went back outside and set to work.

After building the table, they sanded it smooth.  Then, they consulted their sister as to what color she would like to have it painted.  She chose dark purple.  Since we did not have any dark purple paint in the house, we took a trip to the craft store to pick some up.  While we were there, they also chose some sparkly "jewels" that they used to decorate the top.

Here is the finished product:

It stands about 7 inches from the floor, just the right height for a little girl and her dolls to sit around and share a spot of tea.  :)

While this table is not "professional" quality, it was made from the heart. It serves a wonderful purpose for its recipient, who will never forget the little tea table her brothers made for her.  I also think the skills used and learned while making it are so valuable.  But most of all, I shiver with happiness that these boys chose to spend their afternoon doing something to bring joy to another person.  That, to me, is worth more than anything.

Egyptian Pyramids

The kids and I have spent the past five years learning American history. This year we took a break from it and are studying  Ancient History.  We have been using Susan Wise Bauer's The Story of the World, Ancient Times as a spine, along with its accompanying activity guide.  While I think that SWB can be a bit of an overachiever, she certainly has some fun ideas packed into that activity book.  There are reproducible maps to highlight the geographical area of study, supplemental reading lists, games to play, coloring pages and arts and crafts activities. 

We decided to take her suggestion to build Egyptian pyramids out of sugar cubes.  To build each pyramid, you need 55 sugar cubes, white glue and craft sand.

In order to build a pyramid that can be displayed and handled, it must be glued together.  We began with a small piece of cardboard, which we covered with glue.   On it we placed the first layer of the pyramid which consisted of 25 sugar cubes.

Follwing the first layer, a coating of white glue is necessary.  The second layer of the pyramid is made of 16 blocks. 

Each  layer is coated with white glue and the correct number of blocks as follows: 25 for the base, 16 for the second level, 9 for the third, 4 for the fourth and lastly a single block on top.

The excess glue is fine because after building the pyramid, it will be covered in sand.

Next the layer of sand is added.
Voila! The finished pyramid...

When these are completely dried, I think we will use them in a diaorama of Egypt, just for fun. 

Interestingly enough, Cheop's Great Pyramid stands 481 feet high, contains 2.3 million blocks which weigh 2 1/2 tons each and was built completely by the hands of 100,000 slaves over the course of 20 years.  Quite amazing. 

The kids and I had a lot of fun making this project.  I have some books in the sidebar that we are working on for Ancient history.  I welcome any other recommendations you might have to supplement our study.  Thanks!

A Special Gift

Ben (10) built and painted this box for our statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  He gave it to me recently as a present.  He chose colors that he thought looked "Mexican" and added some stars in the background of the box for decoration.  I bought the statue last summer for one dollar at a yard sale.  It is hand carved and very beautiful.  I am delighted that Our Lady's statue now has such a special place to be displayed.