Fall has been taking beautiful form here at the woolnest. Daily rhythm of school for the boy, lots of crafting and stories for the girl, dedicated at-home time for me, and the freedom of "school's out" for the dad. All that good routine, plus some novelties in the form of soccer, dance, girls' weekend, and Michigan football games has made us all very content.
It seems that we're always crafting something, but to facilitate happier days at home for Hana and me, I try to think out some specific projects to pull out of my hat. A couple of weeks ago, I made appear a felting project that I had been mulling over for a while now.
These pumpkins are the result of about a half-hour's worth of wet felting. We wrapped roving around some pinky balls (you know those super bouncy ones that are about the size of a tennis ball?), about five layers, with special attention paid to laying the fibers crosswise to the previous layer. Then we lowered the roving-covered balls into a basin of hot, soapy water, cradling the ball in our palms. Then I instructed Hana to cuddle the ball as gently as she could, as if she were handling a little chick. As I notice her wool starting to felt, I let her know that she can now pet the ball more like she pets the cat. Then, finally I let her knead the ball like bread dough. She really loved the whole process. After a night of drying, I snipped open the tops, and we felted the rims of the lid and the base so they wouldn't look so frayed and loose. Then we
carefully needle-felted the stems; first the handle, leaving some loose bits to attach it to the lid. I plan to knit some wee mousies to hide inside the pumpkins for a bit of Halloween anticipation-quelling treat. Do your kids ask you every day, "How many days until Halloween?"?
And speaking of anticipation-quelling, here are the mini socks to-date for the Advent garland that I am knitting for Socktober. No. 6 is on the needles, a dark red one. I'm glad to be making these again, they are so cute and fun! We have also discovered that the sock is just the right size for Charlotte, Hana's newest not-new doll! She and her dad found themselves in the local "treasure store" while I was away, and scored a cute vintage doll! That's my girl!
So, Chinese Lanterns and bouquets of basil, pumpkins and black cats, and mini-socks! I love the fall!!!
be well - xo
The dolls are each wearing a sweater I knit for them. I based the construction of the sweaters on a top-down cardigan I knit for Hana a few years ago from a Knitting Pure & Simple pattern. I like KP&S patterns for the seamlessness and simplicity of the garments; a knitter can add design elements to their heart's content. So what I did was to shrink the idea way down to dolly size (these girls are 16" dolls). The first one (blue) was the prototype I knit last winter where I fiddled a lot with stitch count and scale. Eventually, I got it! Ava's pink sweater is just recently off the needles, knit from my old notes. I'm happy to say that between the notes and my memory, I could finish in a few nights' worth of knitting! Hana picked out some cute ladybug buttons from the button drawer, and now Ava's cozy too. Hat's are in the works too, but shhh... those are a surprise!
If you're interested in knitting one yourself from my notes (don't worry, I tidied them up, yours won't have coffee stains), please leave a comment or email me, and I'll send you a copy.
Olive oil, onion, garlic, Italian sausage, red peppers, broccoli, diced tomatoes, chili pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and a pot of pasta! It was kinda fun and very yum!
Yes, you read right, "caught up." I've got eleven mini-stockings knit. Today is the 17th. I think I can catch up, but I am not going to be self-critical because I have been legitimately otherwise occupied. By otherwise, I mean: lots of soccer games (did I mention the cold?), substituting in kindergarten :), other knitting, family-keeping, birthday celebrating, and it's all great and fun but has not led to many finished minis.
