Bowerbird Weaves
10 years ago
Showing posts with label crafty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crafty. Show all posts
15 August 2008
Birthday socks that don't fit
When we went to Panteria in May, Cait saw some striped knee-high socks she wanted. Unfortunately, we had spent the last of our money (and then some due to miscalculating on my part), but I mentioned she had a birthday coming up. She said she would like some in pink and army green. So I bought the yarn for these socks and attempted to get an entire pair of knee high socks knitted in secret in 2 weeks. I got one done and gave it to her on her birthday, promising to get the second one done as soon as I took a breather. She tried on the sock and the foot fit fine, but I had added too much for her calf (she doesn't exactly have curvy legs, my little bean pole) so it kept sliding down her leg. I made the second one up with this in mind. When it came off the needles, she tried it on and loved the fit. So I ripped the leg down on the first one and re-knit it to match the second one. I finished the first one again and told her to get the second one so we could see how they looked together. But she had washed the second one, so it shrank. My lesson: Only use sock yarn for socks. She finally pulled it on and of course the first one now fit well but was bigger than the second one. I suggested she wash the first so they would both be shrunk the same and we would see how hard it would be for her to wear them. Getting one sock on after that was a 5 minute ordeal. Sadly, we had Lauren try them on, and they fit Laurne like a charm. I only used half of the yarn I bought for the socks, so I have two choices: I can either knit them up again, but larger to allow for shrinking, or I can buy new sock yarn and knit them in the same size, and find some other project for the Knit Picks Pallette yarn. The colors are Petal and Clover. Christmas is coming up and I want to start knitting on all those projects so I have a hope of getting them done on time, but I want to replace Cait's sock, since that means she now has no birthday present.
23 June 2008
22 June 2008
Sockless Monkey Pattern
Sockless Monkey
See story here.
See pictures here.
Please Note: The yarn I used for the pattern did not wash so well. Poor monkey is now fat and *very* short.
Materials:
Worsted weight tweedy grey yarn (Dalegarn Heilo 0007) – 100 g
Worsted weight cream yarn (Daledgarn Heilo 0020) – 50 g
Worsted weight red yarn – 2 yards scrap (I had some Lopi leftover from another project, colorway # unknown)
Size 4 dpns (two sets if possible, though not necessary)
Stitch holders (if not two sets of dpns)
Slippery scrap yarn for crochet provisional cast on.
2 large buttons for eyes.
Yarn needle
Gauge: Not really relevant as long as it is relatively dense so the stuffing doesn’t poke out between stitches.
Abbreviations:
Dpns: double-pointed needles
CO: cast on
K: knit
Yf: yarn forward
Yb: yarn back
Slip 2 tog kwise: slip two stitches together knitwise
Psso: pass slipped stitches over
Legs:
CO 3 stitches in cream/white.
Knit front and back of each, dividing onto 3 dpns (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (4 per needle)
Knit front and back of each stitch (8 per needle, 24 total)
Knit 35 rows, switch to grey yarn and knit 40 more rows.
Transfer first leg onto stitch holders or scrap yarn if you have only one set of dpns.
Repeat for 2nd leg.
Body:
Leaving Leg 2 still on the needles, knit one round.
CO 3 stitches (27 total)
Knit all stitches of Leg 1
CO 3 stitches (54 total)
Knit 2 more rounds.
Bum:
Re-distribute stitches so that half of each leg is on one needle, and the other half of each leg is on the other two needles. Leave the half on two needles be, you will be working the half on one needle. This helps avoid a ladder up the center of the bum. Unless of course you wish to define the cheeks.
Using cream yarn, knit 27 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 26 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 25 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 24 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 23 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 22 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 21 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 19 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 18, turn.
Purl 19, turn.
Knit 20, turn.
Purl 21, turn.
Knit 22, turn.
Purl 23, turn.
Knit 24, turn.
Purl 25, turn.
Knit 26, turn.
Purl 27, turn.
Body resumed:
Using grey, knit 50 rounds.
Using cream, knit 1 round.
K25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.
If my instructions have been clear enough to follow, You will have a shape that looks like a sock with the ankle and cuff divided into two legs. Stuff the monkey from his crotch, then seam it.
Arms:
Make the arms exactly as you did for the legs, but when you get to the 40th grey row, bind off. Stuff, and sew to side of monkey about half way along “foot” part.
Tail:
Using cream yarn, co 3 stitches.
Knit front and back of each, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns. (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (12 stitches total)
Knit 10 rounds.
Switch to grey and knit 50 more rounds.
Bind off.
Stuff if desired (I stuffed it as I knit it - every 10 rows or so I pushed some stuffing in there to just below my needles where it wouldn’t interfere with my knitting.)
Stitch to top of bum, centering it as well as possible.
Face:
Using a provisional cast on (I used crochet) and cream yarn, co 27 stitches.
Knit exactly the same as the bum.
Unpick the provisional cast on and transfer onto needles so you can work in the round.
Using grey, knit 1 round.
Using kitchener stitch, graft the mouth onto the face, with the bottom of the mouth about even with the top of the arms. Remember that this should be roundish.
Just before you finish grafting, stuff the mouth.
Finish grafting.
Using red, duplicate stitch a lip line across the mouth almost from corner to corner. I had only red yarn that was much bulkier than the rest of the monkey, so my duplicate stitch goes over two stitches at a time so as not to stretch out his mouth.
Stitch two large matching buttons on for eyes
Ears:
Using grey, CO 30 stitches, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns.
Knit 3 rounds.
Knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.
Stitch ears to sides of head above arms, just below the white part of the head.
It may be easier to bind off the mouth after the one grey round and just sew the mouth on, but I wanted to make it look as seamless as possible. I grafted my arms and tail onto the body, too. Unfortunately, it was my very first foray into grafting, so my monkey has obvious armpits if you lift his arms. With his arms down, his shoulders look seamless. Next time, I will graft the tops and bottoms of the arms separately
See story here.
See pictures here.
Please Note: The yarn I used for the pattern did not wash so well. Poor monkey is now fat and *very* short.
Materials:
Worsted weight tweedy grey yarn (Dalegarn Heilo 0007) – 100 g
Worsted weight cream yarn (Daledgarn Heilo 0020) – 50 g
Worsted weight red yarn – 2 yards scrap (I had some Lopi leftover from another project, colorway # unknown)
Size 4 dpns (two sets if possible, though not necessary)
Stitch holders (if not two sets of dpns)
Slippery scrap yarn for crochet provisional cast on.
2 large buttons for eyes.
Yarn needle
Gauge: Not really relevant as long as it is relatively dense so the stuffing doesn’t poke out between stitches.
Abbreviations:
Dpns: double-pointed needles
CO: cast on
K: knit
Yf: yarn forward
Yb: yarn back
Slip 2 tog kwise: slip two stitches together knitwise
Psso: pass slipped stitches over
Legs:
CO 3 stitches in cream/white.
Knit front and back of each, dividing onto 3 dpns (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (4 per needle)
Knit front and back of each stitch (8 per needle, 24 total)
Knit 35 rows, switch to grey yarn and knit 40 more rows.
Transfer first leg onto stitch holders or scrap yarn if you have only one set of dpns.
Repeat for 2nd leg.
Body:
Leaving Leg 2 still on the needles, knit one round.
CO 3 stitches (27 total)
Knit all stitches of Leg 1
CO 3 stitches (54 total)
Knit 2 more rounds.
Bum:
Re-distribute stitches so that half of each leg is on one needle, and the other half of each leg is on the other two needles. Leave the half on two needles be, you will be working the half on one needle. This helps avoid a ladder up the center of the bum. Unless of course you wish to define the cheeks.
Using cream yarn, knit 27 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 26 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 25 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 24 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 23 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 22 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 21 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 19 stitches, yf, slip one stitch, yb, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Purl 20 stitches, yb, slip one stitch, yf, slip stitch back onto left needle, turn.
Knit 18, turn.
Purl 19, turn.
Knit 20, turn.
Purl 21, turn.
Knit 22, turn.
Purl 23, turn.
Knit 24, turn.
Purl 25, turn.
Knit 26, turn.
Purl 27, turn.
Body resumed:
Using grey, knit 50 rounds.
Using cream, knit 1 round.
K25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 25, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 23, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 21, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 19, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 17, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 15, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 13, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
K11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso, k 11, slip 2 tog knitwise, knit 1, psso.
Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.
If my instructions have been clear enough to follow, You will have a shape that looks like a sock with the ankle and cuff divided into two legs. Stuff the monkey from his crotch, then seam it.
Arms:
Make the arms exactly as you did for the legs, but when you get to the 40th grey row, bind off. Stuff, and sew to side of monkey about half way along “foot” part.
Tail:
Using cream yarn, co 3 stitches.
Knit front and back of each, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns. (6 stitches total)
Knit front and back of each stitch (12 stitches total)
Knit 10 rounds.
Switch to grey and knit 50 more rounds.
Bind off.
Stuff if desired (I stuffed it as I knit it - every 10 rows or so I pushed some stuffing in there to just below my needles where it wouldn’t interfere with my knitting.)
Stitch to top of bum, centering it as well as possible.
Face:
Using a provisional cast on (I used crochet) and cream yarn, co 27 stitches.
Knit exactly the same as the bum.
Unpick the provisional cast on and transfer onto needles so you can work in the round.
Using grey, knit 1 round.
Using kitchener stitch, graft the mouth onto the face, with the bottom of the mouth about even with the top of the arms. Remember that this should be roundish.
Just before you finish grafting, stuff the mouth.
Finish grafting.
Using red, duplicate stitch a lip line across the mouth almost from corner to corner. I had only red yarn that was much bulkier than the rest of the monkey, so my duplicate stitch goes over two stitches at a time so as not to stretch out his mouth.
Stitch two large matching buttons on for eyes
Ears:
Using grey, CO 30 stitches, dividing evenly onto 3 dpns.
Knit 3 rounds.
Knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 12, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 10, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 8, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso, knit 6, slip 2 tog kwise, k1, psso.
Transfer stitches evenly to two needles, with each ending with the double decrease.
Using Kitchener stitch, graft ends together.
Stitch ears to sides of head above arms, just below the white part of the head.
It may be easier to bind off the mouth after the one grey round and just sew the mouth on, but I wanted to make it look as seamless as possible. I grafted my arms and tail onto the body, too. Unfortunately, it was my very first foray into grafting, so my monkey has obvious armpits if you lift his arms. With his arms down, his shoulders look seamless. Next time, I will graft the tops and bottoms of the arms separately
19 June 2008
Sockless Sock Monkey
See pattern here.
See pictures here.
I have finished knitting a sockless sock monkey for my son. I had to make up a pattern as I went, because all the instructions and patterns I found involved cutting and sewing an existing pair of socks (hence the name sock monkey). I didn't have any of the "right" kind of socks, but I had bought some lovely wool yarn with which to knit the monkey. Also, I didn't want to knit up a pair of socks just to cut and sew them. Too wasteful for me. So I started knitting and tried to make my monkey at least resemble the appearance of the proper style of sock. I read up on the differences between the authentic vintage sock style and the more modern one using an updated version of the same sock. I studied the cutting pattern so as to most closely simulate the proper seams. I also tried to size the "socks" to something a little bigger than my foot, but not as big as my husband's, the monkey would be approximately the same size as a cut-and-sewn monkey.
It took me about two weeks of knitting. I knit in the playground while I pushed the boy on a swing, while standing in the kitchen waiting to flip pancakes, or just sitting at the table to get it done. The hardest part for me, strangely enough, was the ears. I got the legs and body knitted up, and the girls stuffed it with woollen fabric scraps. I knitted up the arms and tail, stuffed them with more woollen fabric scraps, and attached them. I knitted up the mouth and finally liked how it looked on the fourth (or maybe fifth) time I stitched it on. I kept stitching it assymetrically, and I am a stickler for symmetry. Then I knitted up the ears and stitched them on. And I had a cat instead of a monkey.
It took me probably half an hour to figure out why I had a cat instead of a monkey. See, I had done something strange with the top of the head, (which would have been the toe of the sock) and used adjacent paired single decreases instead of a single double decrease to shape the toe and I ended up with ladders between the pairs. I had then knitted ears just the right size to cover up those ladders, and of course, putting smallish ears on the top of the head gave me a cat instead of a monkey. Once I realized my mistake, I knitted up new, bigger ears, but then I had to figure out what to do about the unsightly ladders. So, after having stitched on the eyes by sewing in from the back of the head and anchoring my thread knots in the fabric stuffing deep inside the head, I frogged the whole top of the head, snipping the monkey's stitched on eyelashes as I went. I had to set it down to put Eirik down for a nap, and when I came back downstairs, Moira asked me if I was doing brain surgery on the monkey. I said I supposed I was, and gently picked up all my stitches onto my needles again and started the toe-top all over, this time using one double decrease on each side of the head. The result was a much better looking head. I stitched the ears to the side of his head, and voila, I had a monkey.
I gave the monkey to my little punkmonkey son and we went out to the swing. He had much fun throwing the monkey on the ground while swinging and making me rescue him. He then would coddle the monkey for a few moments before throwing him down again. Finally, at one point I picked the monkey up off the ground and put him in the next swing over, which was empty. He left it there. We got down and went and played at the slide where Monkey was hurtled headlong down the slide. Eirik and Monkey returned to the swing where the coddle/rescue cycle began again. This time, Rowan was swinging right nest to him, so I put Monkey next to her. This time, he climbed down out of the swing and walked right under Rowan to get Monkey back. She was on her back swing and he got kicked in the head and went sprawling on the woodchips. Poor guy. Being only 20 months old, he was resilient and was soon playing Throw the Monkey again. He seems to really like it, which makes me very happy. There is little that is more disappointing than spending so much time and effort on an unappreciated gift.
I will try to post some pictures here if I can get my camera to work. I suppose I should also try writing out the pattern, too.
See pictures here.
I have finished knitting a sockless sock monkey for my son. I had to make up a pattern as I went, because all the instructions and patterns I found involved cutting and sewing an existing pair of socks (hence the name sock monkey). I didn't have any of the "right" kind of socks, but I had bought some lovely wool yarn with which to knit the monkey. Also, I didn't want to knit up a pair of socks just to cut and sew them. Too wasteful for me. So I started knitting and tried to make my monkey at least resemble the appearance of the proper style of sock. I read up on the differences between the authentic vintage sock style and the more modern one using an updated version of the same sock. I studied the cutting pattern so as to most closely simulate the proper seams. I also tried to size the "socks" to something a little bigger than my foot, but not as big as my husband's, the monkey would be approximately the same size as a cut-and-sewn monkey.
It took me about two weeks of knitting. I knit in the playground while I pushed the boy on a swing, while standing in the kitchen waiting to flip pancakes, or just sitting at the table to get it done. The hardest part for me, strangely enough, was the ears. I got the legs and body knitted up, and the girls stuffed it with woollen fabric scraps. I knitted up the arms and tail, stuffed them with more woollen fabric scraps, and attached them. I knitted up the mouth and finally liked how it looked on the fourth (or maybe fifth) time I stitched it on. I kept stitching it assymetrically, and I am a stickler for symmetry. Then I knitted up the ears and stitched them on. And I had a cat instead of a monkey.
It took me probably half an hour to figure out why I had a cat instead of a monkey. See, I had done something strange with the top of the head, (which would have been the toe of the sock) and used adjacent paired single decreases instead of a single double decrease to shape the toe and I ended up with ladders between the pairs. I had then knitted ears just the right size to cover up those ladders, and of course, putting smallish ears on the top of the head gave me a cat instead of a monkey. Once I realized my mistake, I knitted up new, bigger ears, but then I had to figure out what to do about the unsightly ladders. So, after having stitched on the eyes by sewing in from the back of the head and anchoring my thread knots in the fabric stuffing deep inside the head, I frogged the whole top of the head, snipping the monkey's stitched on eyelashes as I went. I had to set it down to put Eirik down for a nap, and when I came back downstairs, Moira asked me if I was doing brain surgery on the monkey. I said I supposed I was, and gently picked up all my stitches onto my needles again and started the toe-top all over, this time using one double decrease on each side of the head. The result was a much better looking head. I stitched the ears to the side of his head, and voila, I had a monkey.
I gave the monkey to my little punkmonkey son and we went out to the swing. He had much fun throwing the monkey on the ground while swinging and making me rescue him. He then would coddle the monkey for a few moments before throwing him down again. Finally, at one point I picked the monkey up off the ground and put him in the next swing over, which was empty. He left it there. We got down and went and played at the slide where Monkey was hurtled headlong down the slide. Eirik and Monkey returned to the swing where the coddle/rescue cycle began again. This time, Rowan was swinging right nest to him, so I put Monkey next to her. This time, he climbed down out of the swing and walked right under Rowan to get Monkey back. She was on her back swing and he got kicked in the head and went sprawling on the woodchips. Poor guy. Being only 20 months old, he was resilient and was soon playing Throw the Monkey again. He seems to really like it, which makes me very happy. There is little that is more disappointing than spending so much time and effort on an unappreciated gift.
I will try to post some pictures here if I can get my camera to work. I suppose I should also try writing out the pattern, too.
19 October 2007
Funky funk
What a funk I have been in. I figure it is a combination of several things. First, PO sucks. Being aware of it sucks. Knowing that within 5 years, it is quite likely that die-off will have started sucks. Knowing there is nothing you can do to stop it really sucks. I should have taken the blue pill.
Another factor is that where I live sucks. I live in a project, and it is filled with negative people. Everywhere I turn, my neighbors lead very negative lives and it is contagious. I fought it for a long time, but it is finally catching up to me.
Thirdly, one of my neighbors is a friend. She and her boyfriend split up earlier in the year, and he took their two boys. They are in a legal battle for custody and it is very reminiscent of the battle I went through 10 years ago for my daughter, which I lost. By being friends with her, I am reliving my custody battle, and all the agony and pain that goes with it. I am trying to help her all I can, giving her the knowledge and tools I didn’t have when I went through it. She is very much like me, and it pains me to see her go through this. I guess I have felt like if I can help her get her boys back, then my losing Cait and all its associated pain will not have been for nothing.
And so I find myself in a funk. I get through the day and hope I don’t yell too much at the kids. After they go to bed, I play WoW for a few hours, finally signing off when I start to fall asleep in front of my screen around 11 or 12 at night. Eirik wakes up at 6:30 or so, and my day begins. Not enough sleep hasn’t helped my mood any. I know it is ironic, to be aware of the causes and effects of PO and global warming, and yet playing WoW each night to numb my brain from that awareness.
On the other hand, I have started a productive new hobby. After reading this post by Sharon http://casaubonsbook.blogspot.com/2007/09/knitting-for-apocalypse.html, I picked up my knitting needles. So far I have made a couple pairs of mittens, a pair of socks for the baby, a “mug rug” that I am going to felt up for Rowan, one for Terry, and next on my list is to start slippers that I am going to felt. It is good to have wool between my hands. Until just the last couple of weeks, I have been very impatient with the whole knitting process. I work to make a project, and it takes forever. But I was shocked at how quickly Eirik’s socks came together when I just knitted while sitting outside on my porch watching the kids play since they aren’t allowed out of the house without an adult. I swore I would never turn into a porch monkey, “hanging out” on my porch waiting for some juicy gossip (which is more than abundant here) or just doing absolutely nothing. Then when I had to start accompanying my children every moment they were outside, I needed something to do. I picked up the needles and started clicking away. I’m hooked now. (That was a better pun for crocheting, but it is my feeble attempt at humor right now.)
20 September 2007
Fun Lessons
This week we took a field trip to a local PYO apple orchard. We got ½ bushel of apples and promptly made apple pie. Yummy! I decided to include some of Moira's work this time, so here are the two fables from this week.
Very beautifully done
Unfortunately, you can see the first attempt she made on the other side of the paper through the writing side.
The format we have been following has been to read or tell the fable and draw the picture on day 1, then she retells it to me and we write a sentence about it on day 2. She already knew The Tortoise and the Hare, so she told it to me on day 1.
The after school program here started up yesterday, and the ladies who run it asked me what they should have Moira do during the homework time. So today I made up some "homework" for her. I made up some spelling words for her to copy. She is now very excited to have some homework.
I also realized that I need to be a bit more fair with Lauren's lessons. Moira whined today that Lauren always gets the fun lessons, and as I thought about it, I can see her point. Moira desperately wants to be independent in the kitchen, yet to whom have I given the kitchen lessons? To Lauren. The banana bread, the corn bread, the apple pie have all been supposedly Lauren's lessons, even though all the kids have helped with them. So I need to try to be less specific about what lesson is whose and let Moira have some "fun" lessons. Now that we have playdough (from one of Lauren's lessons) she has been more willing to play with that instead of begging for her own lesson. I think I will structure it more so that the activity is for every child, Moira gets the fables, and Lauren and Rowan's lessons are to make things out of playdough.
Next week we will take a break from fables to learn about St. Michael and St. George. I plan to bake a dragon bread with them. That should be interesting.
Very beautifully done
Unfortunately, you can see the first attempt she made on the other side of the paper through the writing side.
The format we have been following has been to read or tell the fable and draw the picture on day 1, then she retells it to me and we write a sentence about it on day 2. She already knew The Tortoise and the Hare, so she told it to me on day 1.
The after school program here started up yesterday, and the ladies who run it asked me what they should have Moira do during the homework time. So today I made up some "homework" for her. I made up some spelling words for her to copy. She is now very excited to have some homework.
I also realized that I need to be a bit more fair with Lauren's lessons. Moira whined today that Lauren always gets the fun lessons, and as I thought about it, I can see her point. Moira desperately wants to be independent in the kitchen, yet to whom have I given the kitchen lessons? To Lauren. The banana bread, the corn bread, the apple pie have all been supposedly Lauren's lessons, even though all the kids have helped with them. So I need to try to be less specific about what lesson is whose and let Moira have some "fun" lessons. Now that we have playdough (from one of Lauren's lessons) she has been more willing to play with that instead of begging for her own lesson. I think I will structure it more so that the activity is for every child, Moira gets the fables, and Lauren and Rowan's lessons are to make things out of playdough.
Next week we will take a break from fables to learn about St. Michael and St. George. I plan to bake a dragon bread with them. That should be interesting.
28 June 2007
Living life
Originally posted 5/24/07
I haven 't posted in a while, in case anyone had noticed. I went from posting 2-3 times a week to maybe once a month. What happened? I got a life. We have had a lot of beautiful weather so I have been spending more time outside with the kids. I also made a real life friend just up the road and have been spending time with her and her kids. I am trying to kick my internet addiction, so I took up a project. I decided that I could do better things than spend 6-8 hours a day on my computer. My house now looks a lot better (though it is still far from perfect), and I have been making a rug. Today Rowan is sick, so we are inside, and I thought I would post a picture of my rug and my two youngest kiddos. So as of today, here they are.
And now my little helpers...
I am making the rug out of some old worn out sheets, which I thought was a pretty clever use for them. It is plaited. I have never seen a braided rug like this, but I really like it. I already made one out of washcloths to use as a mat for beside the tub. I decided that 150-200 washcloths in the house was too many and we needed a bath mat. That came out pretty cool. This rug is going to be much bigger and go in the living room. I really like that this one is completely interwoven. It isn't one long braid that is then sewn up into a rug. That will make it more durable, I think. I also love that I will be able to just throw it in the washer and dryer when it gets dirty.
So that is what I have been up to lately. I will write again when I am stuck inside for some reason. :)
I haven 't posted in a while, in case anyone had noticed. I went from posting 2-3 times a week to maybe once a month. What happened? I got a life. We have had a lot of beautiful weather so I have been spending more time outside with the kids. I also made a real life friend just up the road and have been spending time with her and her kids. I am trying to kick my internet addiction, so I took up a project. I decided that I could do better things than spend 6-8 hours a day on my computer. My house now looks a lot better (though it is still far from perfect), and I have been making a rug. Today Rowan is sick, so we are inside, and I thought I would post a picture of my rug and my two youngest kiddos. So as of today, here they are.
And now my little helpers...
I am making the rug out of some old worn out sheets, which I thought was a pretty clever use for them. It is plaited. I have never seen a braided rug like this, but I really like it. I already made one out of washcloths to use as a mat for beside the tub. I decided that 150-200 washcloths in the house was too many and we needed a bath mat. That came out pretty cool. This rug is going to be much bigger and go in the living room. I really like that this one is completely interwoven. It isn't one long braid that is then sewn up into a rug. That will make it more durable, I think. I also love that I will be able to just throw it in the washer and dryer when it gets dirty.
So that is what I have been up to lately. I will write again when I am stuck inside for some reason. :)
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