Had Enough

To all my friends, family and kind strangers - I want to thank you for your support of my blog. I had such a difficult time with previous web hosts and thought Blogger was the answer with it's ease of use. Unfortunately, I spent hours crafting my web pages only to find that Blogger has major technical issues - the worst being that bloggers cannot view their Followers. Gaining subscribers is a major part of keeping a blog - they are an inspiration. I am told that I have quite a few following me currently, but I don't know who all of you are! It is inexcusable for a web host with the reputation of Blogger to prevent it's users from seeing who is following them. I had nearly paid for a service to help me advertise, and am grateful that I learned of this problem before doing so, as I never would have seen if the service worked for me. That said... I will not delete my blog for the time being, hoping that perhaps this issue will be resolved, but neither will I continue to post. When, and if, the situation changes, you will be notified that a new post has appeared. Instead, I will focus my efforts on opening my Etsy shop (under the same name: waldorfpunkin). Please wish me luck and send your prayers as I figure out how to fund Lovey's education amidst all the apparent obstacles and despite my whole-hearted efforts. "Where there's a will, there's a way" but Lord, "THY will be done".

with love and thanks,

waldorfpunkin

Sewing Lesson

It's been a stay-at-home day today. Lovey wanted to "embroider", so I brought out the necessary supplies for some quiet time while I mended a lovely vintage child's top I purchased long ago and which should fit Lovey just fine. I keep a bag of supplies ready for embroidery: wooden hoops, cut pieces of burlap, a variety of colored wool yarn cut in 12" lengths and loosely knotted for storage, and large plastic or metal blunt-tipped needles.

I knot the yarn right to the needle to prevent slipping out. The burlap weave is so loose that the knot will easily pass through. And I make a larger knot at the end of the yarn as well. 

Then comes the reminder lesson: Start by holding the hoop in your non-dominant hand, and with the other hand pass the needle through from the back to the front and pull until the yarn is tight. Next, repeat to yourself: "the needle comes up in the front, then goes down in the front; the needle comes out in the back, then goes up from the back". Continue stitching, then tie off in the back when finished. 

And, voila! There you have a nice sample of kiddie embroidery and a mini-sewing lesson to boot.

Following this I tried out the new Janome - only to find I'll definitely need to take advantage of the free lessons offered by my dealer soon. Oh well, Etsy will have to wait awhile longer.

We had a light lunch, then headed outside for some giant bubble-blowing and a game of chase before settling down for some stories and a nap. Lovey is tuckered out from the exercise and snoozing - and mommy is not far behind...

Good day, all!

Finally!

I cannot tell you how happy I am after weeks of frustration trying to get this blog going. A lot of time and effort I wasted at two other hosting sites that posed one challenge or another. That is, by the way, the reason my three previous posts appear below, and post-dated. So, to say that I am thrilled that I finally chose Blogger is an understatement! 

Please feel free to comment on the layout I have chosen, specifically regarding navigability. I don't like cluttered blogs, and I think I finally got mine in a good place. I have chosen to use static pages for topics like recipes and crafts; hopefully that was not a mistake. I'd like that info and pics to be readily available and accessible for a longer time than they would be on the Home page. Of course, I'll add to the pages and remove dated info regularly.

Have a great day!

We're Back!

NOTE: Originally published June 7, 2010

I have a dear college friend to thank for the inspiration to start up this blog again after months of frustration with a couple of hosting sites. I'm very excited!

So… here we are in the first week of June, with the last days of class at Waldorf School approaching. A busy week, unfortunately, as we still have to make butter and pick strawberries on Wednesday in order to bake breakfast breads for Lovey’s class picnic on Friday. Heading to a local park with kids and parents, so hope it won’t rain. Again.

We’re a bit ahead of the game, though, since we assembled the gift baskets for Lovey’s teachers this morning. Lovey woke up sick today so we laid low and got them done. Used some lovely baskets as containers for our handcrafted gifts. One was made by my brother years ago and sat filled with silk flowers in my mom’s living room; the other was from a gift she gave me.

Lovey filled them with shredded paper and we stamped some muslin bags to hold our homemade playdough/finger-knitted necklaces. An egg-wash really made the color on the charms stand out.


Lovey carefully “wrote” out her thank you notes. I attached my favorite photo of her to the front.

Friday morning we’ll load up the nasturtium and zinnia peat pots we planted and the baskets will be complete!

Little one is nearly up from her nap, so my time is up. Catch you all later in the week…

Just Chillin'

NOTE: Originally published January 29, 2010

Literally. It is downright cold today. Dressed up our little Waldorfian for some sub-zero windchills as she headed to class this morning. Braveheart brought her today and was asked to share in a touching celebration of Lovey’s birth. He surprised her by arriving at circle-time, where Miss Katherine told a story of a special girl who came down from heaven to live with her parents. Lovey didn’t realize it was for her until her name was mentioned at the end! She was presented with a bouquet of fragrant paperwhites and a new felted ball. She couldn’t wait to tell me all about it upon arriving home; she really felt extra-special today.

My crafting effort for today was a finger-knitted bracelet from the wool yarn ribbon on Lovey’s gift. We’ve been crafting a lot less, lately. Christmastime was a different story, when we made beeswax candles from my neighbor’s harvested wax, felted acorn pins, cinnamon-applesauce ornaments, and such. The bracelet was a nice treasure, nonetheless. Recently I’ve taken to modeling beeswax; I’ve found I’m pretty good at it and it relaxes me. Really need to spend sometime practicing wet-felting; just not getting it right. Ok, I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Good night folks!

Namaste

NOTE: Originally published January 23, 2010

Greetings to family, and to friends old and new!

Through this blog I hope, primarily, to keep a diary of our daughter’s educational journey. I also strive to share a bit of info about the theory behind Waldorf Tradition and how it is exemplified in our home, to spread the word about the fastest growing educational movement in the world! So, with no further adieu... on to my first post!

The last two years have been very difficult year for me due to several personal losses including, but not limited to, the deaths of my mother and feline friend. Thankfully, 2009 ended with a peaceful Advent season, followed by a festive Christmas celebration. Lovey kept busy decorating our Advent tree with homemade ornaments, made from natural objects collected on our many excursions. The tree, itself, was a treat to display, having made it myself about 20 years ago using a wire tomato cage and concord grape vines collected in my mother’s backyard. Mom saved everything and it decorated her hallway each winter through 2006. Cleaning out her belonings, I nearly tossed it as “useless” until something spoke within me compelling me to use it in this way (Mom, was that you?). It's white lights often provided the only illumination during the evenings of Advent, as we observed our nightly ritual of lighting a candle and opening that day’s window on the Advent calendar. With traditional Gregorian chant playing in the background, we were all able to fully relax and appreciate the meaning of the season. I actually only removed it from our living room yesterday!

The candle was crafted at Lovey's Waldorf-inspired daycare

Santa was very kind and clever this year, delivering a set of traditional pine playstands to Lovey. How he ever got those down the chimney, we’ll never know… They currently function as her “castle” and she spends most of her day playing near them, and dragging me through them while we dance. We were all a little sick at the beginning of January, starting the week before my birthday on the 10th and ending just before Lovey’s 3rd birthday on the 16th. We hosted three little friends for a Cinderella-inspired surprise party. Mommies Judy and Juliana watched the kids, helped in the kitchen and took the bulk of the photos – thank you both! It was a very fun morning for us all!

A few of Lovey's holiday gifts, including a recycled 

mink coat "rug" belonging to my aunt - and Lovey's namesake!