Blessingway - Rhythm of the Home

Our article about having a Blessingway is featured in the Winter 2012 issue of Rhythm of the Home magazine! http://rhythmofthehome.com/2012/11/creating-a-blessingway/

Autumn Gardening!

Gardening in the Autumn can be tricky in Northern California. Sometimes, the heat continues through October making it hard to pull out the tomatoes, peppers and basil. Other weeks, it is cool and crisp and feels like time to plant greens and root veggies.  Here we are back in early September, planning the garden plots after pulling out most of the summer veggies.

We select a garden plot each year to fill with a cover crop, like fava beans, to provide nutrients to the soil.  Hopefully, the beans and peas will grow up into our handmade tepees from branches that our neighbors cut down. Grow, little fava beans!

Adding sweet soil from the bottom of our compost pile helps revive the raised garden beds. Our compost pile is hidden by the fence near our meditation spiral.  The spiral is filled with new golden leaves each morning!  This is the view from our bedroom window each morning.

We have learned that certain crops just do not grow well from seed here, so we plant some seedlings -- broccoli, onions and cauliflower.  The garden gnome watches over our progress.

We are going to add some flowers for beauty and color to invite the elementals to stay! Sometimes, we do better planting in pots and barrels like this one, filled with celery, strawberries, pansies and nasturtiums.

Time to sing as we garden!

I dig, dig, dig

And plant some seeds

I rake, rake, rake

And pull some weeds

I bend and watch

And soon I know

My garden sprouts

And starts to grow!

Homeschool Kindergarten

The Waldorf Connection is celebrating “Kindergarten Month” during October. They are offering simple & practical ways to bring this method of “learning” into your home. Giveaways, contests, video tips and a community forum- all FREE!

Click t

he link below and immediately get a free audio on the senses in young children. On Monday, October 15th there will be a free workshop with Christine Goodale about the benefits of letting our children "play".

http://thewaldorfconnection.com/dap/a/?a=8&p=www.thewaldorfconnection.com%2Fkindergarten-month%2F

Gnome Doll Giveaway!

Lindpen the Gnome

This little gnome loves children. He loves to play with them, soothe them, and whisper quiet stories only they can hear. Like other Nalina's toys, this gnome is open-ended toy. It supports your child's growing curiosity, and imagination, giving her great tactile experience. She can touch it's warm body, smell it, even taste it.  He is about 7.5 inch tall (15 with his cap on). Cap is sewn on.  Lindpen will have a winter-themed outfit.

Receive up to six chances to win this adorable gnome by any or all of the following:

1. "Like" our Facebook page: www.facebook.syrendell.com 

2. "Like" Nalina's page: www.facebook.com/nalinapuppen.  

3.  Follow our blog: www.syrendell.blogspot.com

4.  Follow Nalin'as blog:  www.nalinapuppen.com 

5.  Visit and heart our Etsy shop: www.syrendell.etsy.com

6.  Visit and heart Nalina's Etsy shop: www.nalinapuppen.etsy.com 

Email us at info@syrendell.com and let us know what you did and we will enter your name!  Drawing will be held on October 20.  Winner will be announced in our November newsletter.

Boosting our Creativity - Reorganizing the Craft Room

This past month, we took all of our craft supplies outside and reorganized our craft/music room! A daunting task, but one that has freed up space and created an energy flow, giving us a "boost".

On a daily basis, we are in this wonderful room, filled with art supplies, fiber arts tools, musical instruments, and a work table that Rick built years ago.

There is even space for a silk fort!

Now, our craft magazines, music, patterns are in files. We can quickly locate yarn by color. Art supplies are organized and easy to reach. 

We can find what we need for fiber arts workshops, lessons and sales. The room has a sink and a door to the backyard...both practical elements for painting and dyeing.

To keep from spending a fortune on this endeavor, we spent $30 at the local thrift store, getting baskets and magazine holders. We pulled out old food jars and wood bowls. We did splurge on chalkboard labels from Bradens Grace on Etsy to label the nooks, baskets and jars, and love that we can reuse them over the years.

We love this hanging fruit basket that we found at the thrift store.  Perfect for little balls of yarn!

Bits of leftover roving get their own space and baskets and can be used for felting or carding batts for spinning up Junkyard Fairy yarn.

And, we finally have a place to put our works "in progress".  It is much easier and neater to grab a basket full of supplies for the doll that we are sewing or the gnome that we are knitting when the supplies are all together.  

Space for the drum set and keyboard, various guitars, as well as our work desk and computer was carved out. There was space for one spinning wheel, but not our floor loom or second wheel.  So...perhaps the ultimate room would need to be an entire house for just crafts, music and art?  

September Newsletter is Out!

Come and visit our September Newsletter, and sign up to receive our free monthly e-newsletters.  We feature resources and a coupon each month for homeschoolers, Waldorf schoolers, fiber artists and more!

Indoor Shoes - Felting Wool Slippers

Taking off our shoes at the door and putting on cozy felted slippers inside is a wonderful tradition to add to the home or school day.

We love to felt our own "indoor shoes". We make new ones or mend old ones each summer.

Three summers ago, mommy made herself an elfin sunflower pair from plant dyed wools while at a handwork conference at Steiner College. Then, Joey made herself a taller pair, wet felting and needle felting designs on them. Two summers ago, Wilson made a pair with just two layers, and they only lasted the year before getting holes.

Last summer, Wilson and mommy made a new pair with more layers. They are still in great shape, so we mended the leather bottoms and needle felted "W"s on the sides to spiff them up!

Next, we need to make a pair for Daddy for Christmas! Wet felting takes time and effort, but the end result is so rewarding. For more details on how to make these indoor shoes, click here for our Etsy shop to purchase our eBook.

Our Blogs on Kindle

Our blogs are now available on Kindle! Click on the blog name below.

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!

Global Waldorf Expo!

Come and listen for free this weekend June 1-3, to The Global Waldorf Expo! Jennifer will have an audio/visual presentation on handwork. Kim John Payne, Sharifa Oppenheimer, Jamie York and more!