Wonderment

Wonderment is our local natural toy store. It resides in the Linden Hills neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Imaginative toys are stocked there in abundance: Ostheimer wooden animals, marble runs, natural wood dollhouses and simply lovable Waldorf Dolls. They even have a dress up section now complete with my felt wands and knitted crowns. Yes, I've gone wholesale!

I met one of the owners at my son's Waldorf School's May Fair Celebration. Lisa was one of the vendors selling her lovely wares - mainly wooden swords and crossbows to the 2nd grade boys who were ready for action! I occupied the table next to her selling my plant dyed wool felt wands, knitted crowns, gnomes and cats. We got to talking during the lulls and she said she'd love to have my wands and crowns in her store. Needless to say I was thrilled!

So, now you can find my handmade items in my etsy store, or at Wonderment if you happen to be in the Minneapolis area.

I'm Back

Hello Everyone! Sorry to have been absent for such a long period of time. My life with my family took over as it is wont to do, but I'm back and gearing up for the holidays by making lots and lots of wands.

I've kept to the same shapes, but have started adding new color combinations to hopefully have something for everyone. Making wands is such fun for me. I love pretty much every part - from trying to get as much cut out from a piece of felt as I possibly can, to wrapping the dowels with yarn, sewing all the pieces together and finally stuffing and gluing the shape on top. My son already has 2 so my only option after I gave one to every child I knew was to sell them. This is my first Holiday Season having them listed in my etsy shop and I'm excited to see how they sell. Here's a few pictures of my latest creations:

I'm also thinking of making a red and yellow star as well as my yellow and blue one. I did try a clover shape this last spring, but it really didn't sell well so I decided to discontinue that style. If you have any suggestions on something you'd like to see in a wand please let me know!

Knitting Doll Clothes

What is the best thing about having a new waldorf doll? Making clothes for him of course! Yes, with the completion of my Waldorf doll kit from Weir Doll and Crafts I had a nice new albeit naked doll. This kit came with patterns for making clothes, but alas I am unable to find it in the pile on my desk. Did I let this deter me? Did I take them time to sort through this pile of detritus? No, I simply made up a toe up sock pattern of sorts with some fingering weight yarn I had on hand.

They are a bit on the pointy side, but cute!

These socks fit just perfectly and with this success under my belt I wanted to knit more. So, I jumped unto the internet to Raverly and looked up free doll clothing patterns. Waldorf Mama has a great cardigan pattern for free on her blog, but it was for worsted weight yarn. Then I found this cardigan pattern made for the lovely Bamboletta Dolls from Pixie for Purls that I could use the same fingering weight yarn I used for the socks. I omitted the button as Sam is not too dexterous at using them yet, and I didn't want him to become frustrated and then mad at his doll. The sweater took a little longer than I thought, but with size 2 needles what did I expect?

Here's Lamby in his whole ensemble.

I still had lots of yarn left over so I created a hat as well again making it up as I went along. Starting with size 2 double pointed needles I cast on 80 stitches and knit in the round. I began with the same rib pattern as used on the cardigan then just good old garter stitch the rest of the way. I decreased ten stitches every so often (didn't keep too good of track to write out specifically) just checking the fit periodically until I had 10 stitches. Then I decreased to 5 stitches and knit for a number of rows to make the knot on top. I wish I would have knit for longer before my first decrease, but otherwise I like the elfin look it gives Lamby.

You can see how the hat decreases a bit to rapidly in this side shot. I love the knot!

Now, I just need to dig up those patterns to make pants and a shirt. I found a fun remnant of fabric at this really funky fabric store in NE Minneapolis that I am excited to use. The fabric is a cream background with red, green, blue, and yellow diamonds arranged in a pattern like you might see on a Harlequin costume. I just need to find the time to sort out that massive pile of stuff...

Waldorf Dolls

Wonderment is a fabulous toy store in Minneapolis that caters to the Waldorf family. They often have classes on making toys too and by far their most popular is making Waldorf Dolls. After struggling with a kit, taking a class that was canceled half way through I decided to try this class. It was wonderful and as the store owner predicted very empowering. Eight women sat down at 10:00 am on a rainy Saturday morning knowing zilch to ending at 4:00 pm that same day with a finished 16" Waldorf Doll. It was so amazing the transformation of cloth, wool and thread to this little person with a personality all his own. I made mine in the image of my child with auburn hair and hazel eyes. I purchased an outfit from the instructor to get him ready to give to my son Sam who was, with Daddy, picking me up (life with one car can be tricky) at the end of the class.

The class doll is in clothes and the kit doll just has a hat so far.

I was tired and in a bit of a daze as 4:00 pm hit and I heard a little voice behind me say "Mama?" I turned to Sam and showed him his new doll which he immediately hugged and said "I love him." Wow! I was so pleased my hard work and effort elicited this response - what more could you ask for?

With my new knowledge under my belt, as well as those few extra pounds (where do they come from ? Certainly not chocolate!), I decided to tackle my half made doll kit. So, today I made my second doll. He too is a boy but with blue eyes, Sam's request, and red hair - no clothes yet. What a wonderful feeling to know I could make this doll on my own! An old half completed project now finished and useful - hurray!

Getting the eyes right was so much trickier than I thought, but I'm pleased with the end result.

Sam is loving them with that special boy love of hugs one moment and wacking him on furniture the next. I hope they hold up to such affection. He named them Sheepy and Lamby. Kind of fitting when you think of all the wool used to make them yes? I'm off to make them socks now - wish me luck!

Gnome Pouches and a Personal Note

This idea came to me watching my son Sam's Waldorf Kindergarten class. The children in the class are given a "little one", a small doll, from their teacher when they turn 5. The children then get to sew a bag to carry their "little one" around their neck. This way their doll can go on adventures with them and be close to their heart. It really is the sweetest thing to see both boys and girls playing with these doll; although the boys vehemently say they are not dolls but little ones.

So, here is my version for carrying - what else but - a gnome! The pouches are made out of plant dyed wool felt from fellow etsian mamajudes same as my wands. The bag portion measures aproximately 3 1/2 inches x 5 inches and the chain is 17" long. Sam tried them on for me but I haven't gotten him to hold still for a picture, but they sit at chest level with the gnomes hat coming almost to his chin. I decorated them with a rainbow so that no matter what gnome you choose it will match, and frankly can anyone have too many rainbows? Of course then I had to use my lovely bulky rainbow yarn to finger knot a chain for the bag. Sam is so eager to finger knit, knit and sew it's hard for me to keep telling him soon you'll learn this in Kindergarten, as he really isn't ready yet. He is just such a boy of action he wants to do, do, do not just watch. I think of these bags for gnomes, but they could be used for other dolls, or treasures, or maybe even secret messages!

On a personal note our In Vitro Fertilization or IVF prodcedure was not a success. I'm coming to terms with the fact I won't be pregnant again, but it was hard for Sam. He really wanted me to be pregnant and to watch the birth (he loves to hear the story of his birth - sliding out of mama into the water.) We'll now focus on adopting from the Philippines (my husband Dan is 1/2 Phillipino himself.) I find myself hoping to adopt siblings so Sam can have the brother and sister he wants to complete our family. Looking towards the future is good right now.

Fairies

Gnomes have been my focus in my etsy store for some time now. This past January I added wands and crowns for some more variety of imaginative toys. But, still something was missing. I've always wanted a counterpart for the gnomes - elves seemed too similar, mermaids too different and fairies too delicate for knitting. Then Mamajudes on etsy had a sampler of plant dyed doll hair yarns (mohair and boucles) for sale and I thought maybe I could give fairies a try.

Here are my first attempts

I used the braid around their head to help keep their hair sewn down.

In these first attempts I used the body from my standing gnome to start. Then sewed on hair instead of a hat and felt wings in place of a knitted cape. I gave them symbols on their chests to give them an identity and to balance the color and texture of the wings. So, there is a love fairy, sun fairy and a good luck fairy (you'll notice they are similar to my wands.)

Here is the "love" fairy, but she could also be a bleeding heart flower fairy.

You'll notice here that I sewed felt to the bottom to completely enclose
the fairy and making it more child safe.

I'd love to hear comments from all of you on how successful these fairies turned out and any improvements or changes I might make. Once an idea occurs to me I find it hard to see other possibilities that's why your comments really help me in refining a toy.

I'm Back

Well, it's been a bit of a long absence for me in the blogger world, but now I'm back. I spent most of May doing 1 of the following 2 things: planning for Sam's School's May Fair and undergoing IVF treatments and holistic support therapies for having another child. Needless to say life has been a bit stressful.

First off May Fair. I was in charge of getting vendors to sell their wares at the event; finding artists and people who reflex the Waldorf School Philosophy. Here are a couple of my favorites. Community Homestead - a community of people who make beautiful watercolored wooden puzzles as well as all the tables, chairs and desks in our school, Wonderment - a local shop with all sorts of Waldorf inspired toys (bow and arrow sets were a big seller for her with the second grade boys), Universal Pants - is a woman who makes these fabulous pants that are cut on the bias and look good on everybody! And lastly me! Yes, Simply Playing made an appearance selling my knitted cats, gnomes and crowns as well as felted wands and rainbow window stars.

Here's my "booth" on a table in the early childhood classroom.

The day didn't go as planned. It was to be as an outdoor event, but we had a dilly of a thunder storm come through. So, just about the time everyone was set up we had to move everything inside. The vendors set up in the classrooms while the food and crafts were in the Social Hall. It was all a jumble, but cozy, and everyone rolled with it very well. The sad part was there was no May Pole Dancing at May Fair, but we did have a queen, the green man, pocket people and many fairies flitting about the school. The day was truly festive and a coming together of community. For us it was a family affair as well with my selling crafts, my mother giving fairy card readings, my dad being a pocket person and Dan helping out with all the vendors setting up and breaking down. Sam was left to his own devices from time to time, but the community held him well which was wonderful to experience.

Gnomes anyone?

As much fun as May Fair was with pony rides, tug of wars, raw food, baked treats, crafts, jump rope making and shopping, I'm glad all the work has come to a close. It's our last big festival of the school year as next week will be the closing and graduation ceremonies for Spring Hill Waldorf School. What a joyful way to begin summer!

Back to my 2nd distraction for the month of May - IVF (in-vitro fertilization.) My husband and I went through IVF many years ago to have our son Sam who is now almost 4. Sam did not want to be an only child and I loved being pregnant so we thought we'd try another round and see if we could be successful again. We're in the waiting period of watching the embryos develop before they are transferred back into me. I'm completely excited and wanting to fast forward another 2 weeks. But, at least I am now done with Mayan abdominal massages, acupuncture and 4 shots a day of follicle medication. I'll keep up the wheatgrass and green drinks through the pregnancy and the 1 shot of progesterone goes through the 10th week. This is probably way more than any of you want to know but it's so all encompassing right now I feel the need to talk about it. Wish us luck and you'll be hearing about the pregnancy soon!

Juxtapositions

I took two photos in this last week and their similarities really threw me.
Take a look for yourself.

A lovely tulip growing in my front garden

Sam's new shoes which he picked out all by himself.

Well, that's all I have for you today. Make it a great one for you and others!

It Was A Happy Easter

We hosted Easter this year at our small house in Hopkins. I was wondering how to fit my Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Cousin's Wife, Cousin's Kids, Brother, Sister-in-Law, Niece, Mother, Husband and Son into our little living and dining room. The weather gave me the solution. As it was 65 degrees and sunny we hosted outside! It was truly a gift as MN often will still have snow this time of year.

Sam, Anya, Chase and Mia (hidden behind Chase) playing in the playhouse.

Mia playing so sweetly in the sandbox

My mother's planting table became the buffet, lawn chairs plus 2 folding chairs gave the adults places to sit and the combination of Sam's picnic table and his inside table and chairs gave spots for all the kids to eat. What was the best was that the kids were happy the whole time. They started out with an Easter egg hunt, then played in the sandbox, on bikes and cars, in the playhouse, on the tire swing and lastly the BIGGEST hit of the day (have you guessed it yet?) ...drum roll please...BUBBLES. What is it with kids and bubbles? The wind practically made the bubbles for them which delighted young Chase who is only 2. They must have blown bubbles for over an hour having my mom refill their bubble trays with "bubble juice."

The bubble hour of fun!

Anya blowing bubbles on my purple scillia.

The food was fresh and oh so delicious! The ham was a nitrate/nitrite free Beeler's Ham, lovely bright veggies consisting of green beans, sugar snap peas, carrots and red peppers, sweet potatoes with pecans, a salad with avocado, onions and strawberries, fresh fruit and rolls. With cheesecake from Trader Joe's and cupcakes from my kitchen for dessert. Everyone left sated and happy with doggie bags (don't you just love getting leftovers from a holiday feast?)

I have to say it was one of my all time favorite Easters even including the get Easter where my Dad wrote poems as clues for us to find our Easter goodies that were hidden all over the neighborhood at an early 6:00 a.m. I think it was the kids who made it so great for me. Watching their joy at finding eggs and their laughter when playing with one another. Kids really make a holiday a holiday don't you think? How was your Easter?

Signs of Spring

A few signs of spring are poking up in our garden. It's so exciting to see new growth after the long winter of bare branches and piles of snow (I do like winter, but it does go on rather long here.) My mother, a gardener by trade and hobby, is so excited to get into the yard and start digging - something - anything!

purple Scillia flowers just about to bloom

This is a bulb garden I received in a pot last spring which I replanted whole and I'm excited to see how it blooms this year

We have a large prairie garden out front and a shade and vegetable gardens in back so it's a lot to care for by myself. But since my mother moved in with us late in 2008 it's been a pleasure to have someone else to work besides in the garden. Dan just doesn't have the time with a job and his own business to run on the side. We usually just ask him to do a big job here and there. For instance this year we need lots and lots of mulch for the whole yard which means many trips to the city public works for free mulch.

Virginia Bluebell leaves just starting to poke through the soil

We have lots of cutting back of old growth to do out front as well as a hedge of hydrangeas. The shade garden just needs to be raked and the vegetable garden soil needs to be turned and prepped for planting. Sam likes working in the vegetable garden the best, digging in the dirt and planting seeds. Last fall he planted lots of wheatgrass that we need to now turn over or dig out.

Tete-a-Tete Miniature daffodils giving off just a hint of color

Today is sunny so I'm hoping to get lots done before we have to go to a family birthday gathering. Sam's hankering for a walk to I'll have to end here. I hope you all have a great day and are thinking of gardening too!

Flower Wand Third and Final Design

Thanks to all of you who left comments for my flower wands. With your help I've come up with a third and I think final version. I made the shape more regular, cut a smaller center and made that center have two layers. The result you can see below.

I'm currently out of pink felt so I used orange instead, but the following flower wands will be pink with maybe a purple one here and there to keep it interesting. Now I just have to make lots and lots for the May Faire at Sam's Waldorf School. What else can say May in Minnesota but flowers finally waking up. Thank you Root Children!

Sam's BIG Adventure #2

This happened a few weeks back, but I'm only now getting to writing about it. Sam's first adventure as you might recall was a trip into Uptown Minneapolis on a city bus. The day went so well and we had such fun that we decided we needed to repeat it, but this time on a train.

The beautiful new light rail train

Minneapolis is behind most major cities by not having an extensive train/subway system. Instead we have 1 light rail line that runs from downtown to the Mall of America (my least favorite place to go.) So, we drove to the enormous Mall of America Saturday morning; parked our car and took the train to downtown Minneapolis. Sam was vibrating with excitement and could hardly wait to get a seat. Not too many people were going our way, but we made all the stops just the same. Going over the bridge that crosses the freeway was of great interest, as well as passing the Metrodome where the Minnesota Vikings football team plays (Sam was ready to drop everything and play some football!)

Dan purchasing our tickets - Sam was free!

Sam choosing his window seat

We disembarked on Nicolett Mall and as the day was cold hit the Skyway system. Because of our cold winters a series of enclosed corridors that connect the downtown buildings one level above the street were developed to keep us out of the inclement weather. Sam was not as impressed with this as I thought. I was so enamored with the Skyway when I was a kid that I had plans to build my own starting in my bedroom cutting through the garage to the backyard where I'd have my very own playhouse. Ahh, those were fun daydreams. The Minneapolis rock band The Replacements even wrote a song called Skyway back in the 80's. So, needless to say I expected more from Sam than his non interest in the cars driving beneath us.

Dan and Sam looking out at the cars below in the skyway. Note the blase look on Sam's face.

After quite a long time of running through the Skyways we started looking for somewhere to eat. Not knowing downtown very well we ended up at Applebees a chain restaurant where we knew there was something that Sam, our picky eater, would eat. Not as glamorous as the Independent in Uptown with it's pool table and darts; maybe next time.

Mom and a squirrely Sam on the return trip

After we were all sated and sleepy we took the train back to the Mall. This trip was much busier with many more passengers - lots of good people watching to do while I knitted. Sam was a bit impatient and ready to go home as the newness of the adventure wore off. We said goodbye to the train as we got in our van for the ride home. As we were passing the airport we heard Sam request from the backseat "I want to ride an airplane next time." Oh boy, that one will have to wait awhile!

New Gnomes and Wand Design Help

We just came back from a trip to Northern Minnesota. We went with friends to their family cabin (post and pics to follow soon) close to the city of Walker. It's about a 4 hour car ride from the cities which translated into lots of knitting time - Yeah! So, I knitted on the way there, stitched wands while there and knitted again on the way back - it was a fun trip.

With only a few colors of yarn with me I made many yellow items: chicks (for Sam's Kindergarten Class) standing gnomes, gnome dolls and a cat. Here is the pair of my Sunshine standing gnomes, which are laying down oddly enough for the photo.

I need to wash and card some more wool for stuffing the other knitted goodies. So, they will have to wait a few days more for their photo op.

The new wand design is of a flower, two versions, but I'm not satisfied yet. Here is a picture of both and maybe you could leave me some comments on which you like better, suggestions for changes or starting a totally new design. My thought is that the rounded one is better, but it needs to be more regular (I drew it freehand) like the crispness of the stars or hearts. What do you think?

I'm waiting for more pink felt from mamajudes, but I might make a couple of light orange flowers in the interim. Is Spring inspiring you too?

Emily's Scarf

You might remember from this post that I was hoping to make my friend Emily a scarf to match her fingerless mitts. Well, I didn't get it done in time for her birthday, but I did finish! The pattern is a free one from Ravelry, but here it is directly for the author's blog. It was very simple and after a few rows you'll have the pattern committed to memory. The only modification I made was to only cast on 12 stitches instead of the 21 asked for in the directions. Emily is a small person and looks better in this type of scarf. Also, I think a skinny scarf can be used in more seasons then just winter don't you think? Here's a few photos below.

Overall it was quite an inexpensive gift using only 1 skein of yarn for BOTH fingerless mitts and scarf. Emily was pleased with the belated gift too! Although her son Eli is concerned her fingers will be cold with the mitts. What projects have you finished lately?

Making Window Stars

Well I finally tackled a project I've been dying to try - making window stars. You know those beautiful translucent stars you see at Waldorf schools? I've purchased some in the past from harvestmoonbyhand on etsy, but I wanted so many(you know every season a different color scheme etc.) that the cost would have been prohibitive.

With the purchase of this book and some kite paper from Wonderment I was ready to begin. I did look at the book Magical Window Stars, but the stars were quite complex and confusing to my Mama fogged mind.

To start I cut my large square into four small ones and began folding each piece as per the directions.

Then I stared gluing each pieces folds down, then all the pieces into one star! It wasn't too hard and the directions were very easy to follow. Here is the results.

I made green for St. Patrick's day and for the coming Spring here in Minnesota - only 12 more days to go! Really the snow is melting and the weather is a balmy 45 degrees (I know not too balmy in most people's eyes but after being frozen all Winter with temps in the single digits and below it is a major relief!) Here are two others I made this morning.

I'm very pleased with the results and can't wait for what Sam will think when he comes home from school. I think I'll still buy the more complicated stars from harvestmoonbyhand as they intimidate me too much, but these basic ones are for me to make in the future. Maybe I'll do some rainbow ones for Sam's room? What projects have you been working on lately?

Having Depression

I suffer from depression. It's not something I talk about and before this not many people knew about it. What do you say? That's always been my problem. Well, I thought maybe if I wrote about my depression some I could maybe find the words and talking might become less hard.

I've always been a melancholy introverted creative sort of person and have had what I now know to be bouts of depression my whole life. Things really came to a head when we went through infertility treatments and I finally sought out some help to deal with my emotional overload. Right away I was put on medication because I was so low all I could do was cry and sleep so talk therapy wasn't much use yet. Finding the "right" medication mix is not a fun process. Some drugs made me worse, some had side affects that I couldn't live with - hands that shook so badly I couldn't lift a plate let alone knit and one even made me act like I was drunk and couldn't walk straight, and some just did nothing. When my doctor finally found the right "cocktail" of medications my world got appreciably better.

Then talk therapy was added which became quite a help and looks like a mainstay in my life. I'm just realizing that this will be my life. Just like alcoholism depression really doesn't go away. I have good periods and then low periods, but the depression is always there. That's why I need to learn to talk about this major aspect of my life.

Right now I'm in a low and having my medications adjusted. Both my doctors want me to join a support group. I'm not a good joiner, but I'm going to give it a try. The hope is that if I have more and more people to reach out to I'll catch myself before I get too low again and maintain a more even balance.

This post is an abrupt change from my usual postings, but I felt the need to reach out. Maybe some of you also suffer from depression. I would like to hear your stories. Let's start talking.