This knit ball is as easy to make as it is fun to play with.
A very simple ball made from a knit rectangle. It’s the perfect first project for a new knitter.
You could also make a similar ball by crocheting a rectangle and following the sewing instructions.
Continue reading “Ball from a Simple Knit Rectangle Tutorial”
A very dear friend asked if I could make her daughter a little girl version of the Bumble Bee Superhero. While looking for material for her costume, I was excited to find the old golden colored silk pants I’d recently bought at a thrift shop. We wanted her to look childlike instead of sexy, so I decided a romper would do the trick. After talking back and forth a bit, this is what we came up with.
I can not tell you how much I enjoyed the process -especially since it was only my second needle felted fiber art doll face. In fact, I had not even heard the 
name “Fiber Art Doll” yet. I just wanted to see if I could make one 🙂 After breaking a dozen needles and stabbing myself as many times… This little one was born. Truly made with love.
The clothing was also very fun. The undergarments were made from a very soft cotton shirt. Her wings and boots are wool felt. For the sweeter I found bamboo and silk yarn. It was so soft and easy to knit, I keep looking for excuses to make new doll sweaters out of it. I’m not the most efficient patten maker, so there were a few do-overs -but in the end, I love the result. 
Shipping her off to North Carolina I felt closer to my friend. It’s lovely giving something meaningful to a person who has spent her life fighting for justice and spreading love. It warms my heart knowing she is now a mother. If ever there was a lucky baby girl, it is the one. She is being raised by parents so passionate and kind. I feel blessed to be a part of their lives. All these many miles away, I am happy knowing her daughter is playing with this little doll.
What a fun experience! This little baby boy is a gift for my son. He’s my first attempt at a Waldorf inspired sculpted art doll. The face is made in a similar way to a more traditional Waldorf doll, but then the face is sculpted using thread and wool felting. Once the skin fabric was sewn on he really came to life! Given how enjoyable it was to work on this face, I know there will be many more to come
I will prepare tutorial to help you make one as well. Hope to have it ready soon 🙂
In Kindergarten my teacher made us all these lovely Angels made from wool. It was such a magical treasure for me and defiantly something I’d love to include in my family christmas tradition now.
Here is a link to the free tutorial on how to make them from Educator 101. There are a lot of other lovely craft ideas on her site.
This project is the one I always use when teaching people how to knit. It is so simple and fast. All you need to do is knit a square 🙂 Then with just a few stitches and a little stuffing you will have a very snuggly and cute bunny.
Here is a link to the website I got this tutorial from, but it is not in English! Luckily, the image is the tutorial.
I would work in all knitting making about a 3 to 4 inch square. The size and amount to stitches to cast on will depend on how thick your yarn is. The thicker the yarn, the larger your square will need to be. If you are a good knitter and can work with very fine yarn, you can probably make quite a tiny one!
For other toys from simple knit squares follow these links:
Another great animal to make with a simple knit square. My daughter is not a very fast knitter, so we are still working on simple projects.
Here is a link to the Sheep Tutorial By Just So and Sew
For other toys from simple knit squares follow these links:
These little animals by Small Means are so wonderful to make. Plus they are free 🙂
The first one took a little extra work for me, because I had to remember how to read a knitting pattern! But her directions were easy to follow and the little guys turned out great. My kids wanted Kittens at the end, so I had to modify the ears and add tails… but they turned out great.
This link takes to directly to a free PDF file where you can print the directions.
Enjoy!
This is a lovely little Felted Bendy doll tutorial from Wilodel.
I haven’t made this style of bendy doll yet, but I am looking forward to making them soon 🙂
Soon I will make a tutorial on Waldorf Dolls. They are magical to play with and very therapeutic to make.
Oobleck is a wonderful and very messy activity. You can grab it fast and it seems solid, then let it turn into a liquid and drip between your fingers. In a warm climate like ours, we let it dry outside and rehydrate it the next day. In cooler areas it might mold if you leave it out.
It has always been a dream of mine to find a source for past-its-expiration-date cornstarch so that we can fill a small kiddy pool with Oobleck and walk on it! A girl can dream.
Ingredients:
1 Cup water
2 Cups cornstarch
a few drops food coloring
Mix together and play!
This is an old photo. I was still pregnant with our littlest when these were taken. We were making him gifts 🙂
Recently I put together a random art bin for the kids to use anytime. It defiantly needs to be organized better, but for now it is working wonderfully. I just put some supplies I don’t mind them using anytime, including some scraps and even recyclables.
I highly recommend it.
I love this little cup cozy idea so much, just had to share it.
It’s from the blog We Bloom Here,
http://webloomhere.blogspot.com
I hope to make a few as gifts soon.
We decided to dye our new play silks using natural dyes. We used a lovely golden turmeric, berries for the pink/purple color and our beautiful pink was from beets. 
Continue reading “Using natural dyes to color play silks”
