Waldorf Gnome Tutorial

I've had a blast this week end making these Waldorf gnomes out of some recycled wool sweater scraps I had stored away and some large wooden beads from a bag of craft odds and ends my mother-in-law gave us. They are super quick and easy. If you're interested, check out this tutorial I wrote on hubpages.

Peg People

We've been working on some Christmas crafts today. If you recognize these two families, please don't let on to the two little girls who they might be for. :)

My First Waldorf Doll

I started this doll last winter, hoping to make three of them for the three older kids, but ran out of time, then got burned out with crafting (I don't have a long attention span). So I decided to try and finish this one in time for Reuben's 3rd birthday next week. Most of it is hand sewn, but I cheated with the sewing machine a little. It is made with organic cotton jersey and stuffed with eco-wool. The clothes are made with felted wool from recycled sweaters.

Scrubby Tubby Bunny Buddy

This bunny was sort of an accident today. I was trying to figure out a pattern for something else, but I made it too big and decided to try one of those bunnies in Grace's fantastic book, Creative Play For Your Toddler by Christopher Clouder and Janni Nicol.
The instructions are very simple. The whole bunny, except for the ears, is made from a knitted woolen square, or in my case, a crocheted cotton one. First, the four corners are folded into conical shapes and sewn up into legs. Next, the edge between the front legs is gathered up by weaving the yarn through, pulling gently and securing. Stitching is then continued down the belly. A firm stuffing, especially for the head end, is next in order, after which the bottom edge between the hind legs is stitched shut. To form the head, a piece of yarn is tied tightly where the neck should be. The eyes are made by stitching through both sides of the head and tying firmly to form indentations at the correct spots. For the ears, I did about 4 rows of 2 single crochet, followed by a decrease half double crochet, and one last single crochet at the tip. They are stitched to the head folded in two at their base to give them a little firmness. And lastly, instead of following the directions for a pompom tail, I opted for the same method as the head, weaving yarn in a large circle at the rump end and tying it tightly. I also decided to stuff it with polyester filling instead of wool, partly because the wool I ordered hasn't arrived yet, but mostly because I made it to be used in the tub. I couldn't believe how simple it was, and it was so amazing and fun to see it magically take shape. Try one!