Fixing up an old Waldorf Doll

Many of us think about either making or purchasing a Waldorf doll for our children. Another option to consider is accepting a hand-me-down doll and fixing her up!

Our niece Sydney had a much-loved Waldorf doll named Kiki for years. She had a beautiful wood wardrobe and a variety of clothes sewn and crocheted. Sydney is now 13, so the doll was passed down to her cousin, Linden.

The body was in great shape. There were dark spots on the face and hands that were cleaned by hand with soft soap and a wet wash-cloth. We let the doll dry and lighten up in the sun for a day.

The hair was ratted and removed easily. Instead of blonde, we made her brunette. The hair was first created by crocheting a wig cap, and then looping strands of wool, silk and mohair boucle along the edge.  The hair is long enough to put into a ponytail or two pigtails.

We then sewed new olive green eyes over the previous blue embroidery threads.  Thus, her new name, "Olive"! We also sewed some darker pink threads over the light pink mouth.

We are enjoying playing with Olive and crocheting her new shoes.  She is so loved!

(knitted hat and sweater by Mama Judes on Etsy)

Making a Gnome Calendar

It has been a crafty summer here at Syrendell!  

We spent an inspired weekend at the Griffin Dyeworks Dye and Fiber Retreat in Castaic, CA.  Camping, spinning, teaching Tunisian crochet, weaving, dyeing, coppersmithing and so much more!  Truly a treat for all people interested in learning more about fiber arts in a relaxed setting. 

Next, we spent 4 weeks teaching, leading and assisting at the Davis Waldorf School Summergarden camp.  Week 1: Knitting, crochet, lucet; Week 2: Spinning, weaving, kumihimo; Week 3: Plant-dyeing, wetfelting, needlefelting; Week 4: Papercrafting and sewing.  Children also participated in gardening and wholesome food preparation.  


Now, we are enjoying crafting at home.  Joey is spinning yarn to earn $ for her upcoming 8th grade trip.  Her yarns are available at www.syrendell.etsy.com and by custom order (email: info@syrendell.com).  Ricky has been helping get our craft/music room reorganized (a thrilling and scary task!).  

Wilson and Mommy created a calendar with gnomes.  This was inspired by one that we had seen made by Mama Roots a while back, one of our favorite Etsy shops.  First, we ordered a wood ring from Joshua Rutherford of Honoring Fallen Trees.  He makes them out of beautiful hardwoods in different colors.  We chose maple.  Next, we selected 12 special little wood people.  We talked about the 12 months of the year, the 4 seasons, and the colors and symbols that represent the seasons.  


Next, Wilson chose colored pieces of felt for each month and matching embroidery threads.  With some embroidery assistance from Mommy and sister Joey, little gnome hats were sewn.  

Wilson painted the gnomes the color of each season and then sealed them with beeswax polish as they dried.  Hats were glued onto the gnomes.  Now, we will play games, tell stories, create math problems, and talk about the months of the year in Spanish and English with our beautiful gnome calendar!

Peace Flags on Flag Day

Flag Day in the US is a special day for us to honor the American flag.  We usually talk about what the red/white/blue, stars & stripes mean in the flag, and enjoy looking at pictures of old American flags.  We also like to take time looking at flags from around the world. The colors! The shapes! So beautiful.  This year, Ricky showed us his own drawing of the American flag from his 8th grade Main Lesson Book.

Recently, we went through a nice pile of old clothes where the material was still good, but quite not in shape to give away.  Joey & Wilson went through the pile and selected colors that they liked.  Joey cut out triangles and squares.  Mommy cut strips from old white jeans and sewed them together, then sewed the little flags on. 

With embroidery thread, we sewed little stars at the top of each flag.

Today, we will hang up our peace flags in our new meditation are in the back yard and talk about ways that we can encourage peace on Earth.  Over time, we might embroider symbols and shapes on each flag.

Little Ones - Magical Waldorf Dolls

"Little Ones" are small Waldorf dolls, made for all children in Grade K at Davis Waldorf School.  The classroom angel lets children know that the Little Ones will arrive, and when they do...it's magic!

Our son Wilson, along with other children who did not attend Grade K at the school, had the opportunity to receive a Little One in Grade 1 or 2.  The amazing K teacher made the cloth body out of tea-dyed cotton with a blessing flower petal inside.  Parents secretively met each week late at night to sew the clothes, felt the hair and make the hats out of cloth, felt or yarn.  The Little Ones look similar to the child, and the colors and designs are chosen to match or balance the temperament.  They come from "Little Land", and children hold them often while at school and home.

Wilson's "Little One" appeared this morning in his room.  His name is "Elf Star", and Wilson wants to call him "Elfie".  We are going to make a sleeping bag out of naturally-dyed felt for Elfie so that he may sleep close to Wilson at night.

Making a Hat and Shrug from a Cashmere Sweater

What to do with our favorite sweaters that not longer fit or have holes?  Felt them and turn them into new clothes!

Directions
1.  Wash your sweater in the machine with hot water.  Leave a pair of jeans inside to help the fibers felt well.  Dry in the dryer.


2.  Lay your sweater on the floor.  Look at where the seams are, and if there are any holes that need to be worked around.


3.  For a hat, the ribbed bottom will become the headband of the hat.  If you are making this for a child, measure the circumference of the head where the headband of the hat would hit. Make the width an inch larger than this.


4. Cut the hat piece from the back or front of the sweater.  In this picture, we chose the back because the front had a pocket on it.  Always make the first 4 inches or so straight, and then curve (or upward to a point for a gnome hat) as you cut.  Better to cut it too big and sew/trim down later.

 
















5.  Sew inside out, creating the shape of the hat that suits you.

6.  For a shrug, cut the front and back up to where the arms begin.  Be careful not to cut the seams that hold the arms together.  In this picture, our sweater has a hood, but you can make a shrug without a hood.  Or, you can sew on a fabric hood if your sweater doesn't have one.  Turn cut ends under and sew or surge.

 
Now, make some lavender/cedarwood sachets and put them with your new items to prevent more holes from appearing!  Keep the extra cut scraps to make doll clothes, finger puppets, felted balls or cat toys.

Summer Handwork Projects

Summer is the perfect time to do handwork.  We take our time to finish each project.

Ricky's clarinet teacher is about to have his first baby!  Ricky crocheted a warm blanket for the new little boy out of a thick wool yarn.  His teacher loved the blanket.

Joey found a container of "scrumbles" (aka, crocheted or knitted pieces) and crocheted and sewed them together into an artistic capelet for herself and Mommy to wear.  This style of crocheting is called freeform crochet (see more freeform at http://www.knotjustknitting.com/).

Wilson has been knitting up squares to make a blanket for the new house our of organic, naturally dyed, cotton yarn from Babetta's Yarn (they will ship...just call!).

Next, we will be felting slippers and knitting socks in anticipation of Fall!  Our Etsy shop has some new naturally dyed and handspun yarns, as well as handwork kits with yarns and needles or a hook. 

And...here is a peek at the progress on Rick's classroom for Grade 6 at Davis Waldorf! 

Sewing Family Aprons

In preparation for the annual Griffin Dyeworks Dye & Fiber Retreat, we purchased aprons from Dharma Trading Co. for the whole family. Joey found bits of material, including fabric from some old clothes, and she customized the design for each person's apron based on their favorite colors and what they wanted.

Joey talked to each family member, selected material, measured, cut and sewed onto the aprons, and voila! We now have our own custom aprons. Daddy's even has a water bottle holder! We can't wait to use these at the retreat, as well as at home when we do watercoloring, baking and crafts. Thank you, Joey.