Little Horse, “Waldorf style”

Actually, I am working on an African Flower blanket and a new cover for a footstool / ottoman (posts to be) but coming across an unusual pattern almost ALWAYS makes me put things on hold and start over … This is what happened when I discovered the homepage of a German Waldorf kindergarden, suggesting to knit farm animals. I instantly fell for the horse. The pattern is very easy, the outcome delightful. We have a band of wild horses now. And one zebra.

First, you knit the body according to the pattern. It’s all in one piece with a little increase and decrease. Quick and easy, done in an hour.

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Then you fold it …

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… and finally you join it (don’t forget to work in the tail).

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So far, all our horses have neither ears nor a mane as I don’t like the ears the pattern suggests and do not know how to do the mane. But isn’t it loveable even without?!

Warming Wool Worms

Our house was built in the 1930s. People in the 60s did their best though to hide its beauty … carpeting, wooden panels, and psychedelic wallpapers literally EVERYWHERE when we bought it. See the hallway before and after and you get the idea.

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However, to live in an old house has a lot of advantanges but it can be toublesome at times. Big issue until today are some of the windows … Old German houses have box-type windows (not sure about the expression), that is to say you have an outer and an inner window with a gap of probably 3 to 4 inches in between. After all I know, the air that is „stuck“ there is supposed to provide thermal insulation. And it does – but not in all the rooms. There are some windows that are always moist, even wet, and occasionally we had (beautiful) frost patterns … Until a friend told me to “seal” those windows by displaying knitted “worms” in between. That’s what I did and – SURPRISE – it works! The windows aren’t dry but there is no more water running down.

Wool Worm

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Honor to whom honor is due: My mom knitted those worms for me – originally they were meant to be door sweeps 🙂

You’re Awesome!

Yes, I am talking to you.

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You’re multitasking with a zillion things on your mind; you’re heart and soul, commander in chief, and confidant to the ones you love. You’re a driver, a photographer, art director, and a doctor; all at the same time. You have your share in the household income, you take over responsibility, and you work hard most of the time. You are crafty, clever, creative, you blog. And even though you do not have a genetic disposition to do household choirs you do them nonetheless – just like all the other stuff that needs to be done to keep things going.

The way you balance family, work and everything in between is fantastic!

You rock!

Have a great day!

 

 

PS Ally M. designed the lovely phrase.

7 things

Almost every Sunday the German Frau Liebe (i.e. Ms. Love), who lives up to her name with her lovely blog, posts 7 things she did with her hands that very same day. Regardless of what it was or how much time she spent on doing what she did.

Now let’s see what we did today: we finally made cookies! We meant to do this all through december but somehow never got around to actually make some.

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I spent way to much time ironing. 17 of M‘s shirts (in words: seventeen) as I needed the hangers …

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Even before breakfast, I sharpened every pencil I could find – I love doing that 🙂

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And – finally – I spend some time (not enough though …) writing a paper that I need to hand in on Thursday. But don’t you just love that little computer J made?

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That makes four. Cleaning J‘s shoes, preparing lunch, and finishing a (knitted) blanket not included. But you get the idea. So what have you been up to at your end of the world?

Flower Blanket

The weather is bad, it’s cold, rainy, NASTY outside and I feel the urge to repost the flower blanket. Here it is, together with J:

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Recently, I started working on a “summer version” (pure cotton) but the store ran out of red and pink … Not sure what to do next. Maybe I’ll arrange the squares randomly without any red or pink at all. I might as well wait for next summer hoping that both colors will be available again. Or I surf the net (why didn’t I think of that before?!) and find it online. It’s definitely a 2013 project …

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