waldorf mama

wip wednesday :: new projects

i'm slowly, ever so slowly, attempting to get back into my weekly blogging rhythm. and so today i bring you a few of my latest work-in-progress projects. first up is a new baby bloom tunic that i've just begun for a special little someone. the pattern is, of course, my usual hybrid version of georgie hallam's wonderful bloom and rainbow dress patterns - and it continues to be my favorite knitted garment for girls, big or small. i'm using two strands of fingering weight sock yarn held double for this baby size tunic - one strand of shivaya handpainted sock yarn and one strand of sundara sock yarn...

i was also recently inspired by soulemama's beach-inspired color palette and wanted to create one of my felted water bottle carriers using a similar color scheme...

and lastly, as you can see, i'm still collecting beautiful cottons and voiles for creating some fun and functional back-to-school things for my girl!

what creative projects are you working on this week?

knitting and felting and...

i've been continuing to knit and felt (making more felted water bottle carriers for gifts and for the shop) during these unplugged, slow, lazy summer days...

truly, knitting and felting is still my passion and joy. but i'm beginning to feel a slight shift in my creative flow and plan to be sewing some new fabric creations on my new machine...soon! i've literally been lying awake at night envisioning and planning combinations of fabrics to use for all of the new things i want to make...

ohhh, the possibilities!

a new kind of work in progress...

i missed posting for wip wednesday yesterday, but for good reason. there's a brand new (to me) baby at our house:

the pfaff lifestyle 2022...

i've actually been looking to purchase a new sewing machine for quite some time now, i just hadn't yet made the decision on which one...when, lo and behold, someone on our school's family listserve posted that she had a pfaff lifestyle 2022 for sale - gently used and for a mere fraction of the original cost! this was one of the higher-end brands i was looking at and i was lucky enough to be the first to respond to her post, so i got to bring home this little lovely shortly thereafter (btw, if there is anyone out there with experience using this same machine, i'd love to hear your thoughts on it!). i've recently been feeling the desire to get back to sewing, having learned from my mama when i was but a wee girl and sewing bits and pieces here and there though the years. in fact, the machine that i have now and have always sewed on is the original black mechanical singer that my own mama taught me to sew on! needless to say, it's quite old and now in a state of disrepair. so i'm absolutely giddy about acquiring this new-fangled computerized machine and looking forward to learning the ins and outs on all of it's fancy stitches and such.

for inspiration, beginning this spring, i began perusing and purchasing any yardage that i could from my favorite fabric designers and creating a sweet little stash of beautiful new material to work with. here are a few favorites for starters:

some of anna maria horner's new loulouthi collection...

jennifer paganelli's honey child...

and a couple of yards of anna maria's new loulouthi laminate...

oh my, i can't wait to get started! in the meantime, i'm continuing to knit multitudes of my felted water bottle carriers to restock the shop, give as gifts and to begin a stockpile for our waldorf school's winter faire...

here's to an especially creative week, and endless possibilities!

wip wednesday :: big knitting needle case

bear with me while i'm working on finding my new rhythm with posting each day. i hope to be able to prioritize these in the mornings again soon!

for this wednesday's 'work in progress' i'm featuring a bigger knitting needle case that i made some time ago, using the same quilted oilily material i used for my smaller sewing needle case and bag. i wanted to make a larger, matching case for the bulk of my circular and double-pointed needles so i constructed this very simple folded case with 'envelope' style enclosures on the inside to hold my needles and other necessities securely in place. then i added an easy velcro tab closure and voila...a perfect knitting needle case (10 x 5.5 inches is the finished/closed size) to carry around in my larger knitting project bag.

happy wednesday to you!

shelley

wip wednesday :: needle case for hannah

today's finished work in progress is this knitting bag needle case i made for my oldest daughter, hannah, as she had requested one like i had made for myself. i decided at the last minute to add a small pocket in front as a handy spot to keep a tape measure, stitch markers, etc (i may have to go back now and add one to my case, as well!). i also chose a button closure this time, as opposed to a snap, which i think will work out nicely. she chose the felt and contrasting thread and i filled it with a few of the things she might need in her knitting bag. i think it turned out lovely. and now we have matching needle cases! 

happy wednesday, everyone!

shelley

wip wednesday :: sunhat and needle case

i've got two new work-in-progress projects to share today, the first of which is a new sunhat for maya's first day of kindergarten....

maya's pinwheel sunhat

as i have shared before, it is traditional in the waldorf philosophy for all children to wear hats outdoors (in all seasons of the year) to 'keep the inner soul warm and protected'. and here in texas, one should certainly never be without a sunhat.

i'm also making a similar needle case to the one i made for myself...for my oldest daughter, hannah, who has taken up her knitting again after a long hiatus (she first learned to knit when she was 7 years old)! she chose this lovely blue/green felt combination and contrasting brown embroidery thread.

needle case for hannah's knitting bag

happy wednesday to everyone!

shelley

wip wednesday :: sewing needle case and bag

here is a handy little sewing needle case and bag that i made quite a while ago (using my parent's sewing machine - i really need to get one of my own!). i used some of my favorite oilily material (from a repurposed bag). i even sewed little oilily tags on the front of each.  :)

the needle case is 4.5" x 5.5" with a velco tab-type closure. and inside i attached two double-wide pieces of wool felt, sewn down in the center, to create four 'pages' for holding needles and pins...

the little bag is roughly 6" x 8" and this is where i keep all of the additional bits and pieces that i'm always needing and carrying around. i also included little snap-closing pockets on the inside of each end of the needle case to hold little items like buttons and such...

each fit nicely in my knitting/sewing bag and i can easily say i use them both on a daily basis. :)

happy sewing, everyone!

shelley