Green Hat

It was a beautiful day while I knitted but not there is hail the size of peas pelting my window.

The dog kept me company. :)

Germany & Hats

Well, I actually did go to Germany - how weird is that...however not there (below post)

It happened fast and it was all because of free airline tickets. :)

It was beautiful.

I am excited to be working with one of my classmates on a plant dyeing workshop/course/study over the next few months.

I am currently working on my final project for handwork. I am making hats from yarn I have dyed and spun. I am in need of research to go along with my paper. Anybody have a good article on design or color theory or hats in particular from Steiner that you want to share?

Here are some of my yarns I have spun up. Some have been dyed with plant material and some are natural. I have a bunch more and I am incorporating different materials and "how they spin" as well. There are many more colors and cant wait to spin more. This late autumn weather today bodes well with a cup of coffee and knitting on the front porch...so off I go.

Done being sick

I am able to take a deep breath today - my boys are healthy and so am I.

It was a long two weeks of sickness but now we are done and are able to move on into Spring!

The weather lately has been in the low 50's, nice and sunny (January and Feb only had a handful of sunny days).  I hope to have my boys down in the stream collecting crayfish for the turtle.

I had not taught this week so the kids are a bit behind with their projects and hopefully we can all buckle down and really crank out some good classroom time this coming week.

Here are some random shots from this winter.

This is the Black Sheep Spinners Guild I belong to, once a month we gather and spin, knit, chat, show&tell, and in the summer we gather at people's houses and do random projects.  I joined as a needle felter but now I have my wheel!

Here are my 4th grade handwork bags.  They loved working on them (some had a hard time finishing the french seams) but were happy when they were finished.

3rd grade plant dyed wool yarn hat.

1st grade knit mouse (from a square).

This was the window right before winter break for the 2/3rd graders.  They made those window stars.  Below is their watercolors of Moses in the water as a baby. 

Cute Knit Lamb or sheep

I think this pattern is widely know but I thought I would share anyway.  I like my animals to have some heft to them so I adjusted the normal pattern to reflect that.  Good luck.  If you are too busy to knit (or don't know how) I am putting is lamb and several horses up on my 

Etsy page 

for sale.  Just in time for Easter baskets if you like :) .

Sewing & filling the animal is what really takes the time.  Remember to roll your wool filling around a pencil (very tightly) for the legs and let it come up and be part of the hip bone too - that will make the animal more stable.  Don't forget to give him a nice round plump tummy.  If you knit a dark animal - don't forget to fill and shape him with dark colored wool.

Double color finger knitting

Here is my first "how to" video. I step over my words every once in a while but I had fun.

Return, to a lot of things

Well, - that was a long break form the computer.  I think I went into deep hibernation and hopefully I will now emerge from the crisp new earth ready to flower again and show you all new things.

I am also back fresh from my training at The Fiber Craft Studio (click here or see below)

http://www.threefold.org/fiber_craft_studio/applied_arts_program.aspx

This is located on the Sunbridge College campus but is now under the umbrella of the 

Threefold Educational Center community 260 Hungry Hollow Road Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977.

I highly recommend this program to anybody who is teaching Handworks, aspiring to & also for personal growth.  I can't speak enough about how much this program is enriching my life.

Here we are looking at out 4 legged animals that we did using the pattern with a spine (a wakeful project for the 3/4th grader)

Here are 2 puppets we returned with this Spring as homework.  She is having quite a cute dialogue with the two of them.

I am also taken with the beauty of the campus and simple things like their doors.

I am giving a small talk tonight at out Parent Study night about Handworks and why we teach different subjects at different grades, it should be fun. 

Snow Day

I have been around snow all my life and I still can't get over how lovely it is.

Snow days are rare around here even thought we regularly get inches at a time - something to do with the union bus drivers & their other jobs so - when we do its a great thing for the boys.  They are already planning a sledding party with the friends down the road.  I think we got about 8 inches this time  :)  - no scratch that its more like 14" I just got in from shoveling.  I will be inside decorating and baking cookies no doubt.  I was hoping to get the third book in the Twilight series but I guess that will have to wait till tomorrow.

The 1st graders are all finished with their owls but one (she was going to finish today) So we will have to let them fly home on Monday.  Most of them will finish the knitting needle case.  

2nd & 3rd grade

Second grade knitting - it will be a stripped ball.  The example I showed the class has the colors in a neat tidy rainbow and just assumed that the kids would follow... Oh no, they have to follow their own path and of course choose their own color order.  Then I thought of course they do!  

The pattern is just cast on 20 stitches (for a large handful ball) knit 4 ribs (1 rib = 2 rows of knit) of each color to make a rectangle.  Shape wool batting in a ball by winding it like yarn.  Place the ball in the center of the knitting and sew up the short side of the knitting to the other short side.  Then take a fat needle and wind it around the very edge (long edge of the rectangle) to "gather", pull the string to close and tie.  Repeat on the other side.  Its a great ball - if you put a jingle bell in it - wrap it in paper first then the wool.

This is the crocheting from the third grade.  They were limited to two colors (light and dark) which was a tough class in its self!  Kids love to compromise.  They drew, with the two colors, how they would strip the flute case.  Its great to give them limited freedom.  Two are finished and 4 are on their way.   Next project will be a sample bag so i can teach them new stitches and how to blend color.  Then off to making their crochet hat.

First day of teaching

I had a great first day.  We had opening ceremonies with lovely 2 cellos playing while the parents and siblings arrived.  There was a short history and then the teachers & staff were introduced - there are 16 of us!  It was a beautiful and powerful sight.  Then the older grades played a song while the 1st graders carries a flower under a flowing silk to their new teacher. Andi then told a story (for us all to hear) and then we walked up to the school house and revealed the new school sign.  It was very emotional and I loved being a part of it.

Class went very well and I dived into it.  The 4/5 grades are making their designs for their handworks bag - some of which have a strong opinion (imagine that!).   The 2/3 grades are in a mixed class as well and it will prove difficult if I don't get some parent help.  I have two people in the works hopefully I will get more.  Grade 2 are going to learn how to pearl (with 3 that don't know how to knit) and Grade 3 will be crocheting (with 2 that don't know how).  There are 12 total.  Sigh - I love it already.  They have release forms for everybody so I hope to have photos of the kids hands working every once in a while.   

Handworks curriculum

My friend here

http://teachinghandwork.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-curriculum-this-year.html

has posted her great curriculum for handworks and now I have finally worked mine out (not too sure of 5th grade but...) all of it is still a work in progress:

Grade 1:
Story about wool and Farm - leads into stick twist twisties.
Making knitting needles (3/16” )
Practicing slip knots & winding yarn, casting on.
1st project: white yarn (1 oz) balls for cat.
2rd project :Flute case done with several colors - try to use all extra wool balls from all the other projects
3th project: 4 legged animal - lion or lamb yellow or white yarn.
(Plant dyed by 4th grade)
Extra projects - other animals made from a square. (Butterfly, bunny, squirrel. box, mouse)

Grade 2
1st project: Knit and Purl a ball - 2 colors
2nd project: Knit and purl gnome
3rd project: Crocheting a chain as long as them (is it even?)
4th project: Square pot holder - Round potholder - Star table mat
Extra projects: Crochet a ball bag, knit a bear

Grade 3:
Alum yarn for sun jar for 1st grade
1st project: Collect things for a sun dye jar for 1st grade
2nd project: Crochet recorder case with 2 colors
3rd project: Crochet a small pouch to teach different stitches and color gradation
4th project: Crochet a hat with 3 colors
Hopefully - January
5th project: Knit horse with a spine

Grade 4:
1st project; Handworks bag = study of form and color (bag stays with them thru 5th grade)
2nd project: Painted cross stitch pouch Mirror image
3rd project Painted cross stitch box lid 4 way
extra projects: Chain stitch a hackie sack ball, make an extra cross stitch pouch.

Grade 5:
Tell a story discuss the characters make the puppets.
Discuss the doll head size and what the colors would mean to each doll.
1st Project: Crochet in the round a puppet
2nd project: Make drop spindles, wash wool fleece, spin wool, dye it with “dried” flowers, roots.

Knit grade 3 Horse

This is a fabulous knit horse with a wakeful spine that third graders can do in Waldorf schools.  Its a great project with counting / division & with close attention to detail with that great spine.  I did one at school and then I had this supper thick wool yarn that I had no idea what to do with - voila.

Some folks use felt for the feet pads - you can also crochet them and I might be putting leather on the bottom of the white horse.  I do think a unicorn might appeal to some as well.   There is a lot to shaping the horse after it is knit and mostly sewn together.  It was brought to our attention that "stuffing" an item isn't as nice as "shaping" an item.  Rolling the wool in a tube before placing them in the legs - and making sure that the leg roll goes up into the horses back side/shoulder to create strength - (the look of the muscles).

Here is a shot of all the projects done this past summer - 3rd and 4th grade.  The hand puppets are for another post - and they are fantastic too.  I love that I am apart of a program (being a handworks teacher) that teaches useful artistic and beautiful items.  Our kids can do so much and are so capable and I am glad that I am not dumbing them down.