Family Sunday

Well today Hazel and I went to  church.While blog hopping the other day I found a neat blog which for some reason I didn't bookmark, follow, or whatever so I can't find it again. Ugh!! The author is a minister's wife and she was talking about a study that showed children taken regularly to religious services were more confident and other things (which I can't remember and thus why I want to find the post again). Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Hazel's school, Cape Ann Waldorf School, is hosting a holiday fair on November 19th. One aspect of the holiday fair is a wee folk shop and I have been trying to participate in some of the handwork times to get ready for it. The first one fell when my parents were visiting, so we took the opportunity to show my parents the school. My father stayed with Hazel in her classroom (with her teacher as well) and my mother and I knitted. We made gnomes. They were fairly easy to knit once we understood the handwork instructor's pattern. She wrote it down from somewhere, I'm not sure, but it was more a picture than anything. To make him you cast on 28 stitches then knit 6 rows. In the next row you bind off the two middle stitches and then in the next row yarn over 2 stitches in the middle to get them back (this creates the hole for the head). Then you knit 6 rows and then in the next row you bind off 9 stitches on each end. Then you increase on each end until you end up with 22 stitches. Then you knit 10 rows. Then you put half the stitches on a stitch holder and knit half the stitches for 18 rows and bind off (one leg) then knit the other side the same length (for the other leg). Then you sew it together. The top becomes the arms and shoulders folding it down and the rest gets folded sideways. Then you make an appropriate sized head from stockinette and for the hat you cast on 22 stitches, stitch 4 rows in stockinette and then make a ridge (5th and 6th rows are purl) and then stockinette 3 more rows. Then you gather one of the long ends to make the hat. Sew the hat (and the head) on after the body and head are stuffed. Pretty easy.

I'm off today for another craft time. I believe today we are doing needle felting, so I'm rather excited. I hope to learn some new things since I'm more or less self taught at needle felting. I'll let you know what I make.