Needle Felted Flower Meadow.

All the mothers at K's Waldorf school are banding together to make her teacher a story blanket. A few of the mothers are seasoned knitter and they have made a plan of what the blanket will look like. They have given the rest of us a few squares to knit. They will put all of our squares together to make our highly anticipated story blanket. We had a brain wave and decided to make double of each square... make two blankets and auction the second one off at our school's May Fair! Oh Gosh... how I am going to want that second story blanket!

But, I am not proficient in knitting yet. I am still at the scarf level of knitting. And, I am very slow... knitting two squares would take me FOREVER, so, I have decided to make a flower meadow out of felting a thrifted sweater instead. I had a practice run and am happy to say that it looks lovely. K quickly claimed my trial run and has been playing with it all afternoon. Here it is, with silky the sheep playing happily amongst the pink flowers and Christmas Gnome merrily picking his love, Snowflake, a bunch of pink blooms. She loves it. There is even a little wooden toadstool growing in it!

I thought I'd share with you how I made it.

First of all, a couple of days ago, I felted a thrifted 100% wool sweater I found at Goodwill. It is a gorgeous green. All you need to do to felt a wool sweater, is run it through the HOT wash cycle of your machine a couple of times... the hot water will shrink the fibers, meshing them together and turning the wool into felt. Drying it in the dryer felts the sweater even more and you end up with a very shrunken, felted sweater. This is good, this is what you want. You know it is felted when you can no longer see the knitted stitches. The fibers have completely meshed, leaving solid felt.

I then cut a square from the sweater. It is now felt so does not unravel when cut. This is my meadow.

Then I made flowers from pink wool roving. 

To make a flower, I separate a little tuft of roving and roll it in my fingers to form a loose ball. I put the ball on the felting board and stab it in the center a couple of times until it is secured to the board. I then gather the loose strands on the outside of the small ball with my needle and bring them into the center of the ball, stabbing them in. I continue this all around the ball until it takes the shape of a sweet little flower. When my flower is done, I peel it off the board. The bottom end of my flower has a lovely 'beard' that is perfect for attaching to the felted meadow. You can see the beards in this photo, 

I take each flower and felt it into the felted sweater meadow using the flower's beard. I poke at the base of the beard until it is all poked through to the other side of the felt and is no longer visible. This secures my flower to the meadow.


I felted all the flowers into the meadow in the same way.

This is what the underside of the felted meadow piece looks like. All the flower beards have been needle felted through to the other side of the meadow, thus securing the flowers to the felt.
And, voila, you have a lovely, soft, green and pink flower meadow for your child to play with.

Of course, you can make any color flower you desire. K wanted pink and I do think it looks lovely. Tonight, I will finish the two flower meadows for the school story blanket and I am so happy with how K's meadow turned out, I think I'll stick to pink flowers too. I will be sure to post a picture of the story blanket when it is finished. I can hardly wait to see it!

Playdough Therapy.

We play with playdough often in our house. I have blogged about it before here. I find that when my kids are having a hard time and nothing seems to be going right for them, playing with playdough always calms them and settles them into a more peaceful mood. I think it's because of the wonderfully squishy feeling of the playdough. It's therapeutic. It's a treat for the senses. It's warm, it's yielding and they have utter control over it. They roll it and push it and it's tactile gifts bring their broken balance back into equilibrium. 

I always find that doing some kind of handiwork helps to rebalance me too. There's something magical about directing your focus onto your hands. Creating a connection between my brain and my hands always help to settle me.

This is what we made with our playdough today:

Some balls.

A caterpillar.

Who got more and more detailed with legs and then with markings using pasta.

And a little bird sitting on her eggs in a nest. One of the eggs hatched and a little yellow chick emerged.

T plays with playdough frantically. It's hard to even take a photo of his work. Here, amidst wildly working hands, I managed to get a photo of his pasta hedgehog before it was squished into the table to become something else.
We have tried many playdough recipes. This is our FAVORITE! It comes out perfectly pliable every time we have made it. It is simply the best playdough!

PLAYDOUGH

• 3 cups flour + a little set aside for kneeding
  
• 1/2 cups salt
  
• 2 tbs. cream of tatar (usually found in the supermarket spice section)
  
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
  
• 2 cups boiling water
  
• a few drops of essential oil (optional)
  

METHOD

• Mix together all the dry ingredients. 
  
• Add the oil to the boiling water (add a few drops essential oil here; our favorites are lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus.
  
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, carefully (it is hot!)

Kneed, using a little additional flour until the consistency is just right (not too sticky, not too dry).

I sometimes divide the playdough into 6 balls and add a different colour to each ball. I try to use natural colouring (but often need the speed of food colouring).

A few drops of beet juice makes a soft pink.

A few drops of fresh blueberry juice makes a lovely blue/purple.

Tumeric makes a beautiful yellow (although it does have a funky smell)

Water from boiled marigolds make a gorgeous yellow/orange.

I make our playdough in advance as it takes about 15 minutes to make and we usually need it quicker that that!

I keep our playdough in a ziplock bag in the fridge. When it’s time to play with it, I pop it into the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. This takes off the fridge chill, making it pliable and not too cold for little hands.

So, next time your kids are fractious and difficult, try using playdough to bring them back into balance.

The Normal Day.

I love this poem. I read it often to remind myself that this moment right now, the nothing-unusual day I've just had with my children and my husband and my friends and the trees and the air, is beautiful, meaningful,  and worth celebrating...

Normal day, 

Let me be aware 

Of the treasure you

Are. Let me learn

From you, love you, 

Before you depart. 

Let me not pass

You by in quest of 

Some rare and 

Perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you

While I may, for it

Will not always be

So. One day I

Shall dig my fingers 

Into the earth, or

Bury my face in the

Pillow, or stretch my-

Self taught, or raise

My hands to the sky,

And want more 

Than all the world

Your return. 

Mary Jean Irion

From: Yes, World, A Mosaic of Meditation.

Thank you to my friend, A, who sent it to me when I needed it.

Earth Hour tonight - 8.30-9.30 pm

I will be turning our lights off, one hour from now, 8.30 - 9.30 pm. My children are asleep in bed. I have my candles ready and I intend to spend that time soaking in the bath and reflecting on what bounty and beauty this earth has given me.

The Pact.

Poor Mr T. He had a bad night last night. He was up at 3 am with only a little restless sleep from then. I think it was his teeth. He has all his teeth except his two bottom incisors which are inflamed red mounds in his gums. They look painful and I'm sure they are.

A Good Man was a good man and got up with his son in the night. He is always the one to get up. It's because we made a pact when T turned one. A Good Man has always wanted at least three children. When T was one, I announced that if he wanted me to consider having another baby, he had to take over night duties. That's it... I was just too tired... A Good Man did! He gets up to pat T back to sleep just about every night. He never complains. He gets up, stumbles through to T's room, pats his back a couple of times and then stumbles back to bed. When he gets back, I rub his shoulder briefly to say thank you before falling back into lovely sleep. Sometimes I even sleep through this ritual. 

Unfortunately, last night, patting didn't do it's magic and T just couldn't sleep. He didn't seem uncomfortable and didn't cry, but was wide awake and restless. A Good Man sat with him lovingly. I relieved him at 5am and lay with T in his bed. I have to admit that I loved it. T hugged me, he kissed me, whispered 'Mummmmmyyyy' into my ear, snuggled his warm little body into mine. I was reminded, once again, how precious all the little moments are... more precious than jewels and silver and, yes, even sleep!

Needle Felted Flower Fairies.

Inspired by the fresh, bright colors of spring, here are my Flower Fairies. They are dressed for the Fairy Ball.

This is Periwinkle. He has on his favorite periwinkle-blue tunic and a periwinkle flower for a hat. 
He is so excited!
Here is Buttercup. 
She has on her buttercup-yellow dress, with collar and cuffs of green. She wears her hair in a bun and her buttercup hat.
I think they will dance all night!

Best Friends Forever?

K is 5 and, already, she has formed a deep, sweet, soul-sister friendship. She did it all on her own. Or rather, they did it all on their own. A mutual, reciprocal love for one another that proves how loving and pure our people can be. It began on their first day of playschool, a year and a half ago. I remember it so clearly... K came home that day and said, 'S is my betht fwiend'. After weeks of hearing all about the beloved S, I thought it best to get to know S's mom. We set up a play-date. I took to A immediately. She is a wholesome, down-to-earth, crafty, loving, natural, mamma who makes every day with her children a fun day. At the time, T was only a couple of months old and A has a son, 10 months older. We had so much in common, their family and ours, that we became friends too. We have helped each other through many ups and downs. Thanks to our daughters who brought us together. 

K and S remain inseparable. They delight in each others company.  They are loving and caring towards each other as in this little episode that happened the other day. K has been asking often about who I love more in the family... do I love T more than her, do I love her more or Dad more... my answer is always the same, 'I love you just the same... but you are my most beloved daughter.' The other day she asked who I loved more, her or S. When I replied, 'You', K burst into tears and scolded me, 'I will NEVER tell S, it would hurt her feelings!' 

K and S know instinctively how the other is feeling. I watched yesterday as they sat on logs, facing each other, so close their knees were touching. They were sharing an apple, whispering to each other, giggling with one another, so utterly comfortable in each others space. It almost brought me to tears, a gratitude that my precious little girl has such a special bond with another human being. It's fascinating for a mother to watch her eldest child nurture her own relationship. It is new ground for us. Until now, every relationship K has had has been initiated by me. This friendship is their own. It reminds me that she is growing up, she is becoming her own person. I am proud of her for who she has chosen.

In September, S and K will attend different Kindergartens. My heart breaks in anticipation of their separation. Will they miss each other? Will they pine for one another? Will one or the other make a new 'betht fwiend'? A and I have promised each other that we will do all we can to help them spend time together. We will each have the other child over for an afternoon a week, giving them two afternoons with each other. I know change is inevitable and positive and necessary for growth, but I worry so for my little girl and the looming void this change will bring.

Fynbos Fairies

Kate received a belated Christmas present in the post from Granny. All the way from sunny South Africa. It is a most magnificent book. It is called Fynbos Fairies. What is Fynbos, you may ask? It is a most curious phenomenon... (to paraphrase the back of our Fynbos Fairies book) Fynbos is a fine-leaved, shrub-like vegetation found only in the southwestern and southern Cape in South Africa. So special is this biome that it has been designated as one of the earth's six plant kingdoms. The Cape Floral Kingdom. At less than 90 000 square kilometers, it is the smallest floral kingdom on earth. Yet it is home to 8 600 plant species, some 5 000 of which occur nowhere else in the world. 

K and I have been pouring over the pages of this beautiful book. Each page features a fynbos flower and fairy and an accompanying poem by Antjie Krog who is one of South Africa's most prominent poets. Each page is charming and delightful and it warms my heart to be sharing this tiny part of my heritage with my american daughter.

These are the Erica Fairies. You will find Erica in most garden shops in America.

This is the King Protea Elf and little white-eye birds that I used to scold my long-gone cat, Snakey, for catching.
These are the butterflies that live in the fynbos.
This is the Sugarbush Fairy.
And here is my favorite, The Milkwood Fairies. 

I grew up around milkwoods, I climbed in their branches, I stepped in their sticky berries, I hung my shell mobiles from their silver limbs. At Kromme, my favorite place on earth, we sit in warmth in the window seat, looking out, through the milkwoods, at the Sacred Ibises wading in the river beyond. This is the place I go to often in my mind.

Peace is Power!

If the truth be told, we had a bit of a fractious weekend. A Good Man traveled to San Francisco with his team for a rugby match (which they won, yay!), leaving me 'home alone' with the kids.  I am usually fine with the kids on my own, sometimes I even find things run more smoothly without dad's exciting influence... more boring, yes, not at all what we would choose, no, but easier if there is just one of you to go around. Alas, not this weekend! All three of us seemed to be involved in our own inner turmoil and we butted heads constantly. With thought in the wee hours of the night last night, I whittled it down to two things for me, 1) I had a burst of creativity and the need to realize my needle felting visions was overwhelming and extremely hard to overcome, and 2) It was VERY windy outside. It was so windy that we couldn't really be outside. We did go for a couple of walks but T was very uncomfortable with the wind in his face. It blew his hair into his eyes (shock, horror!) and he found it difficult to breathe. I imagine he felt like I do when I try to snorkel... I find myself trying so hard to breathe normally that I cant breathe at all! So, poor T, the outside boy, wanted to be inside all day. K and T fought constantly while I tried to needle felt over the worrisome din... recipe for disaster.

So, as I said, in the wee hours of the night, I came to the conclusion that I have to work on curbing my volatility, soften my disposition, yes... even when I am justified in being MAD! The outward expressions of my frustrations only serve to heighten the tensions my children are experiencing. It is like a spiral... high tensions frustrate me, I vent, causing the tensions to spiral tighter, causing my children to behave worse until we are all rapped up in a crazy mess in the middle. I have to make a conscious choice; I can either live in the instant and express my frustrations as they occur or I can purposefully calm the tensions until they dissipate. I tried the former this weekend without happy results. So now I am going to try the latter. I have made this pledge to the-good-parent-in-me; for 1 week; I will NOT raise my voice to my children, I will NOT shout at them, I will NOT meet their frustrations with my own, but rather; I WILL calm them, I WILL talk them through their disappointments, I WILL discipline them in a peaceful, non-emotive way, I WILL meet their frustrations with quiet resolve to promote peace and equilibrium in our house. That is my pledge. I have already exercised, many times this morning, this great power I possess. The result has been a smooth morning when a fractious one could so easily have stolen in. So far, like is true with so many other things in this world, peace is power!

Another Gnomes Feast!

Poor K, she gets very anxious whenever we pack up a gnome for his journey to his new home. We love the story of Padington Bear and she often laments that the gnomes we are sending off have no marmalade!

So, inspired by our gnomes feast the other day, K and I set about making a little package for a Gnomes Feast! Here it is;

All the goodies come in a needle felted Easter Egg.
There is a painted wooden toadstool and little toadstools for gnomes to sit on. There are gnomes treasures, two shells and some magic stones. Of course a gnome needs a milk bottle and  a shell basket, full of needle felted gnome food.
There is a pumpkin, corn on the cob, two eggs, a fried egg, and juicy apples.
K has played with her set all morning... she loves it so much that we made some other sets for my Etsy shop. Now, she's not too sad that the Easter Gnomes might sell!

The Weeping Willow.

In November, A Good Man and I will have been married for 10 years. We can both hardly remember what it felt like to be without the other. We know one another so well. Sometimes we feel like these trees...

Don't they look so very in love, so comfortable together, their souls intertwined. A Good Man remarked that they would have to love each other even if they had a big fight. We decided that we would try think of these trees in our future disagreements.

So, 10 years on and feeling like I know all there is to know about A Good Man, it amazes me when I learn little snippets from his childhood that I haven't heard before. 

A Good Man grew up in New Zealand. He had a wonderful childhood full of freedom. It was a time before we knew too much, a time before fear played such a huge role in parenting, when mothers and fathers could let their children run amok without the fear that they would never see them again. He played cricket in the street and caught tadpoles in the stream without even being told to 'be careful'. How nice this must have been for him.

He is the youngest of 4 and ran in a pack with his brothers and sister as if fun was all life was about. They spent holidays with their grandparents in Blenheim. Grandnanna and Pop lived in a grand old house. In the garden of this Grand Old House, lived a magnificent weeping willow tree. It was huge and thick with weeping branches, making an enormous, secret, fort in its center for the children to play in. They spent many, many hours within it's magical walls. When we saw this Weeping Willow at Descanso Gardens the other day, A Good Man was whisked back in time. He said the tree in his grandparents garden was just as big, just as beautiful... 

He remembered how, as kids, they used to grasp ahold of a handful of hanging branches, jump up into the air and... SWING! A Good Man was filled with such excitement at these memories, that he just had to let K and T have a go. It's important to note that he is a rule follower and feels uncomfortable doing something he thinks he shouldn't. He can't help but worry what others might be thinking, that others might be shaking their head in disapproval... so, for him to let, or rather, actively encourage, his children to swing on a precious, protected, park tree was quite out of the ordinary and he couldn't help 'looking out' for the park ranger with big, nervous eyes... but this just added to our enjoyment. 

He taught K and T the finer aspects of Willow Swinging with wild abandon and watching them whoop in delight made my heart sing. As I watched my husband and children swinging in the willow, I couldn't but envision the sight that must have made Grandnanna and Pop smile all those years ago; 4 darling grandchildren swinging in delight on their beloved Willow, shrieking in happiness as they crashed and bashed into each other with childish recklessness.

A New Gnome in the Garden.

There is a new gnome in the garden. She is of the Toadstool Clan. She lives in her very own, wonderfully cozy, toadstool!

She has on her gnome hat, knitted lovingly by Grandmother Gnome to keep her warm and toasty.

And she platted her hair into two neat braids so that it doesn't get into the way of her spring planting.

And a poem to go with her;

The Dell

Down past my garden, underneath the trees,
There is a place of magic that no-one ever sees,
A little grassy clearing, plain at ones first sight;
But if you take the time to see, you shall find delight.
If you come to see this place, take heed: youv’e found the Dell,
The little patch of beauty where the world’s magics dwell.
The green, green grass spreads everywhere, dancing with the breeze,
Countless, tiny brooks run wild, laughing at their ease;
Flowers garnish everything, a flame of rainbow hues,
Circle brilliant, tiny pools, a shining range of blues.

One night the grass will kiss the sky when sun and moon are one,
And out will come the fairies, shaded from the sun;
The elves will come from underground to see the night move past,
The wood sprites will come one by one, awake, alive at last;
The pixies of the crystal wings will come out from the flowers,
And the Dell will come alive in the nights secret hours.
The fairies and the wood sprites, the elves and pixies too,
Will see the world at darkness where all the still things move,
Where moonlight deepens elfin souls and touches elfin hearts,
The fairies will know this moonstruck night has lived for them at last.

But by-and-by the lazy sun will waken from its sleep;
From across the world the sunlight rays shall peep;
The fairies flee back to the garden, and fade amongst the trees
The elves will dive back underground, digging up the weeds;
The sprites will fly back to the woods to be never seen again,
And the pixies climb back to the flowers, their one night at an end.
And dawn will break like any day, waking up the world,
The sky will flush a dusky pink and a creamy white of pearl,
And the Dell will be as normal, dancing with the breeze,
That secret place of magic underneath the trees,
But never again shall the fairies come when the moonlight falls,
Because its only once in a lifetime that fairy magic calls.

SusieA

Happy Friday!

The Flower Ball.

I used to complain bitterly about living in our concrete jungle. I used to lament that every tree I saw had been planted in the last 20 years and was of the fast growing type, chosen so that we could pretend. No wise old trees to seek wisdom from... no gnarled grandfathers to seek solace under. 

Then I had my epiphany, which I have written about here, and I realized that beauty is all around me... I have to work harder to get it, but there it is... out my window... at the end of a 45 minute drive... through the gates that I've paid $7 to enter. There it is, all around me! We just have to make finding it a priority. Once I understood this, my whole world opened up. We have found jewels of wonder in our concrete jungle!

On Sunday we went one of our most famous and favorite jewels, Descanso Gardens. It is a marvel, especially in this, my favorite, season, Spring.

And would you believe, we were there just in time to see the flower fairies leaving for their Spring Ball. They were dressed in their prettiest gowns and we could hardly choose who we thought most beautiful...

Was it Blue Hibiscus, in her soft silver-blue gown?

Or dainty little Whitebelle in her white and green?

Was it Daffy Down Dilly in her orange petticote and yellow frills?

Was it Rose, in her dusky pink skirt?

Or Blue Elf in his Easter tunic?

Was it Bottle Brush Fairy, in her wispy silken fronds?

Or Dowager in her long elegant gown?

Or was it her, with her layers of frills?

Was it Red Berry Elf, muscular and handsome in his red suit?

Or was it Goblin?

After much debate, we all settled on our own winners...

Mr T's was, of course, Goblin.

K thought Blue Hibiscus was prettiest.

A Good Man settled on Rose, as who can love a flower above a rose?

And mine? I chose Daffy Down Dilly... My beloved grandmother was called Daphne and I feel her presence in the air I breathe when daffodils are near. 

Conversation with K.

Conversation with K...

Background: S is K's very good friend. Their birthdays are two days apart. It has been very confusing for both of them that K is noticeably taller than S... in their 5-year-old logic, size = age. 

                                 * * *

"Mommy, why is S smaller than me? She's also 5!"

"People come in different shapes and sizes, K. Some people have blond hair, some have brown hair... some have blue eyes, some have brown eyes... some are tall, some are shorter. Being different is what makes our world so interesting." I swell with pride at what a clever answer I am giving.

"Oh, so Mommy, I will grow up to be a big parent like S's mom and will S wont grow up that much to be a little parent like you?"

"Um... yes..." replied the little parent... Deeeeeflaaaateeeeeddddd!

Rolly-Polly

K and T have just learnt the Rolly-Polly song at their waldorf school... "Rolly-Polly, Rolly-Polly, ever so slowly, ever so slowly..." It is T's best song in all the world. We have to sing it constantly while he does the hand movements. He thinks he is very VERY clever that he can do them! 

Being thus interested in Rolly-Pollys, we have been looking out for them in our garden. There is great excitement when we find one... and then we have to sing the Rolly-Polly song, AGAIN.

K has taken on the challenge of finding the BIGGEST one... we found this one on Sunday... he's by far the biggest we've seen... Look, he's the size of K's finger nail!

T likes to roll them around and K spends the whole time reminding him, in her adorably patronising big-sister voice, to "be gentle, he's a living creature."

Speaking of balls, I have been working on some for my Etsy shop. They turned out really well. They were needle felted first and then wet felted. They jingle when they are thrown as they have a little bell inside. My favorite is the moon one, it has the sun in a blue sky on the other side.

I have put them away in a secret place as I will not be able to keep them away from T if he sees them... He is a ball man for sure and I do feel mean!

Garage Sale Day.

Yesterday was Saturday... better known in our house as, Garage Sale Day! Gorgeous stuff was found once again. 

I love these pretty pillow cases...

But K loves them even more! She has adopted them for herself, not to use as pillowcases, but as... quilts... pillowcase sized quilts? She has given one to T (he doesn't really know what to make of it) and kept one for herself. She has declared them 'Favorite Huggies'. She carried hers around most of the day yesterday, even taking it to A Good Man's rugby game. She slept hugging it last night, beloved Puppy and Awwie neglected in the corner of her bed. I would feel a little worried as to the reason why she has formed such a strong attachment to this, um, pillowcase if I didn't know the reason. Fortunately I do... they smell like one of her favorite people in all the world... Tessa, T's Godmother. Tessa and her family are the closest we have to family in Southern California. Her three little girls are like cousins to K and T and, obviously, they smell really good!

This is a gorgeous wool poncho for me. It's perfect for this indecisive spring weather.

I am going to try to felt this woolen sweater. The embroidery also looks like it is wool and I am hoping like mad it shrinks at the same rate as the rest. If all goes to plan, it will make a lovely 'flower meadow' in the story blanket we are making.

This is an author I have been searching for... James Herriot. James Herriot is a vet in England and he writes delightful stories for children (and adults) from his everyday experiences with animals. If we were in England, our bookcase would abound with his charming books. The one we have in our bookcase is called, "Bonny's Big Day". The inscription reads,  "Dear K, on our way to the airport to come to you when you were born, we passed Dolly and Bonny in their field in Yorkshire. They sent their love. Love Granny and Grampa." And then in the top right hand corner reads a pencil scribbled "50 pence" This is delightful to both K and me and starts and ends each reading. The James Herriot we found yesterday is the only one I have ever seen at a Garage Sale. It is a compilation and I know many hours we will spend between it's pages.  

And now for my favorite find... He came from a funny little garage sale that we would have driven past if I weren't such a freak. From the road we could see that it wasn't a sale full of treasures. Rather, there were rusty old tools, a hanging rack with mens shirts a few plastic and cracked dishes. But I had 'my feeling' and A Good Man stopped to let me have a quick look... and this is what I found...

He is a little red elf. Where he comes from, who knows... the man at the garage sale didn't even know how he came about him. He said he'd been sitting at the back of a cupboard for many, many years. He was mine for $1 and the man looked a little sheepish that he was ripping me off at such a price! Little Red Elf now sits on the shelf in T's room, surveying all the excitement that happens around about him.