Spinning Yarn

I read this sweet post of a woman who raised her own sheep, sheared it, had the wool washed and carded, then she dyed it and spun it into yarn and then knitted a sweater for her son. It's sort of a modern day version of the lovely story, Pelle's New Suit. I was so moved and very inspired.

Now, since I can't raise my own sheep (though I *wish* I could!) and since I have no access to the sheep on the island, I ordered this gorgeous roving (appropriately named 'Paradise on the Playground') from here and decided I'd learn how to spin my own yarn!

I saw this tutorial on making a homemade spindle and quickly created one of my own.

Then I saw this post on Childhood Magic which recommended these spinning videos from YouTube: drafting, spinning and finishing. After watching the videos I set to work...

I split and drafted the wool into several bunches and began spinning. Because I couldn't spin and take pictures at the same time I have no photos of me in sheer spinning bliss. :) It was a bit tricky at first, and I did modify the way I held the roving from the way that's shown in the video (I wrap mine around my right wrist), but it wasn't long before I was a spinning machine!

I kept at it and practiced spinning into the wee hours of the night. I couldn't stop once I got hang of it! I felt so happy and content while spinning, and I kept thinking about how ancient this craft is. In this day and age when everything is done for you in the name of convenience, I felt honored to put the effort into creating something special with my own two hands.

And here's my first bit of hand spun yarn...

(This is post washing, hanging and drying.)

It's not anywhere near perfect, but I love it! Now the question is what shall I knit with it??? A sweater or a pair of wool socks isn't really practical for Bermuda. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Linking up to some of my favorite blog carnivals - click around for some really inspiring ideas!

Completed Craft Hope Project

I knitted a bundle of washcloths and sent them to Pensacola to aid in the clean up of the animals affected by the he Gulf Coast Oil Spill. The good people at Craft Hope hosted this project. I wish time permitted me to knit more!

The deadline for sending in washcloths is July 3rd, so if you're quick you can still make and send some things in. Otherwise, they'll still willingly accept donations and use them for other Coastal Wildlife Refuges.

Fingerknitted Flowers

One thing I would love to have in my house is live plants or better yet, fresh flowers, but with two kitties it's just not an option. So, I had to improvise...

A bouquet of cat and kid friendly, all natural, homemade flowers. I found a video tutorial for these here. They were quick and easy to make - I simply fingerknitted the flowers and sewed them onto the branches from our wool tree.

James loves these happy little flowers and spends several minutes every couple of days rearranging them, always making sure they're all facing forward. :)

Just a couple of side notes:

::Big hugs and thanks for all of your Happy Birthday wishes to my newly 3 year old boy! We had such a wonderful weekend celebrating this very special occasion.

::Don't forget to enter my Mudpuppy Giveaway - the contest ends on tomorrow!

A Basket of Goodies

I'm so excited about James' Easter basket this year because much of what's in it is mama made. :)

Here's what's inside...

I found this pattern for Easter eggs and knew I had to at least try to make them for James' Easter basket. I had to learn a few new tricks (I *heart* the Magic Loop), and voila! a jumbo Easter egg was born.

The pattern mentioned above is for a very large egg, so I decreased it to create these little guys.

After that there was no stopping me. I found this pattern and made a cute little bunny.

And this pattern produced a wee chick.

I wet felted some eggs last month after I saw this post by Natural Kids.

I love the book The Sun Egg by Elsa Beskow, and thought it was a must for James' basket.

So were these little wooden animals made by Engelberger. We have a growing collection of his animals and we love each and every one. Beautiful craftsmanship. Ostheimer is another favorite of ours.

Lastly, I needle felted this sweet little "boysenberry baby" necklace. I'm 99% sure James will love it, but if he doesn't I'll have no shame in wearing it myself!


The finishing touches were a bag of fruit snacks, a granola bar, a big orange, and a yellow playsilk. For the record, I have nothing against chocolate bunnies or jellybeans; it's just that my boy is active enough without all that sugar!!

Tia is here with us for the holiday, so I whipped up a basket of goodies for her too, but I won't post a pic of it just in case she reads this post before Easter morning. :)

The Knitted Hat...

is finished! I am absolutely shocked that it a) actually looks like a hat, b) actually fits James' big melon, and c) actually took me very little time to knit!

So, we had a little photoshoot yesterday. You know those times when you have to snap like 20 shots so you'll hopefully get just ONE good pic? Well I was pleasantly surprised to see several cute pics in the bunch. Well, at least I think they're cute - although, I am a bit biased.

::Click on the collages if you want a closer look and my handiwork
(i.e. the knitting AND the kid)::

An excellent example of the classic "mommy/camera obsession", no?

What does James think of his pretty, warm, basket weaved, homemade with love hat?

Pfffft. A BIG thumbs down. :(

He wore it for about... 3 minutes I'd say and then he politely handed it to me and said, "I don't yike it!" Sigh.

Am I a horrible mother if I MAKE him wear it?! (don't answer that) Fortunately, the hat fits me, too! So it's mine now. No way I'm letting all that work go to waste!!

Mission Accomplished!

I interrupt this bloggy break because I'm excited to share something with you (also, I miss blogging... it's only been 4 days, but sheesh, seems like forever)...

It's finished! The Craft Hope scarf (and my very first knitting project) turned out to be a success!

I learned a lot while making this scarf - about knitting and patience. :) I made several mistakes and I had to start over a few times, but in the end it came together nicely.

I laugh when I look at the beginning of the scarf {note: I still have to weave the ends in}...This is when I was still concentrating on every.single.stitch and when my tension was all over the place.

Compared to the end of the scarf...
This is when my knitting needles were cruising with confidence and my tension was (mostly) consistent.

To be honest, I'm almost embarrassed to send this to the charity center. Hopefully the person who receives it will take one look at my rookie work, nod and smile fondly, and think of how sweet it was for a child to knit such a scarf for charity.

My knitting teacher, while a lovely woman, is not-so-great a teacher. That said, I have to admit I learned how to knit this scarf almost completely by way of studying a knitting book and watching several knitting videos on YouTube (Love YT). I figured out how to cast on, add a new ball of yarn and bind off all on my ownsome. :) Yay me!

I should be done with James' hat soon. Hopefully it'll still be cool enough that he can wear it once it's finished!

This n That

It really goes against my OCD tendencies to create a "mish-mash" post, but I'm quickly realizing that I have more things to blog about that I have the time, so mish-mash it is - here are just a few things I've been meaning to post about:

The Craft Hope Scarf...
Is (finally) coming along really nicely! It took me a while to get the hang of it, and I did have to start over from scratch a few times, but now I found my knitting groove. I'm about 1/3 of the way done and I'll definitely have the scarf ready in time for the deadline!

I just had my second knitting class yesterday and I started another project - a hat for James! This is going to be tricky and already I've had to start over. Knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one... ugh - it's stuck in my head!

Montessori Training...
Two words: love it. I get so excited whenever I "have to" study. :) I am learning so much already and it's only been 2 weeks! I keep meaning to write a post about the Great Montessori Movement going on in our home and about what brought me to Montessori in the first place (several of you have sweetly asked to know more). I hope to write up something soon.

Some Surprising Finds...
As you all know, I love thrifty shopping. I haven't done a Frugal Friday post in a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't found some new goodies! The other day James and I made a trip to the local pet store. My cats have been sorely ignored since James was born, and they're starting to show signs of mutiny. So, James and I bought a few cat toys and treats for them as a peace offering.

Now as any good Montessori mama/teacher would do, I scanned the pet store for possible Practical Life materials. Lo and behold I found some! Check it out...

Two little radish shaped dishes (presumably for some type of rodent), a nest (for a bird cage), and some plastic ocean shapes (for fish tanks). I don't need to explain to you how much fun these finds are or what I plan to use them for. You clever, creative ladies can clearly see for yourselves (that's what I love about you!). :)

My New Laminator...
A Christmas gift from my sweetie! For the whole month of December I kept singing, "all I want for Christmas is a lam-in-nator, a lam-in-nator, a lam-in-nator..." I guess he got the hint. :)

Look at this beast! Leave it to my Hubs to get the industrial strength machine. I do believe this thing could laminate my hand! Truth be told, I'm a tad afraid of it... ;)