Last fall Tim and I were sitting side-by-side at our computers just surfin'. It was a leisurely Saturday evening, we were staying in, and we were playing a little game we often do where we take turns sharing songs, usually songs that have meaning to us, or songs that we grew up listening to. One of the marvelous things about marrying a man your own age... we both graduated from high school in 1972... you sang the same songs, watched the same movies, and experienced the same social and cultural phenomena. All-and-all, it makes for many delightful conversations... but I digress! Shocker, right?

Anyway... songs like You're So Vain, Super Freak, Knights in White Satin and Dreams by the Cranberries were filling the air (btw... totally extraneous info for the true story, but I'm setting the mood ;) So, in my surfin' the net, I stumble upon these a.dor.able egg cozies. I have never owned an egg cozy, as a matter of fact, I've never owned an egg cup BUT I now NEED to, if only to own these cute cozies. While reading about the cozies, the writer spoke of "soldiers". Now, I know she's not talking about people in uniforms, it has something to do with soft-boiled eggs. I ask Tim about it. He knows EVERYTHING. Truly, this man is amazing... the amount of trivial info bouncing around in his cute head. But, shockingly, he comes up empty.

I forbid him from Googling soldiers. Instead, I hop on Wee Folk Art's Facebook page and ask our readers about "soldiers". As I expected, lots of people knew about "soldiers" and I was delighted to learn about them from "friends" rather than just off a search. (For those of you that have no idea about what I'm talking about, you'll find out soon :)

So, Tim and I spent the rest of the evening looking at egg cups and egg cozies, egg spoons and egg cutters. By the time the evening drew to a close, I felt like a bit of an authority on soft-boiled eggs, and gave sufficient hints, knowing full-well I'd be receiving egg paraphernalia as a Christmas gift. Although my Christmas stocking... actually, my Christmas shopping bag... was filled with many "squealable" delights, I was rather surprised that there were no egg cups, cozies or cutters amongst the gifts. It wasn't like Tim. He ALWAYS picks up on those kind of things. But, we shared a perfect Christmas together, so it was soon forgotten.

HOWEVER, Michelle had not forgotten about my continued intrigue with the whole soft-boiled egg experience. And, this Mother's Day, I received 4 adorable chicken egg cups and spoons, a handy-dandy egg snipper AND (drum roll please) 4 felted GNOME HATS that she knit to keep my eggs cozy while waiting to be ate! How exciting!

So, this morning, I set out to make my very first soft-boiled egg. As I said before, I had read all about them, so I was ready. I decided to steam my eggs. It was simple:

Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a steamer. Add eggs directly from the fridge. Steam for 6 1/2 minutes.

When you remove the eggs from the steamer, run directly under cold water to stop the cooking process.

While the eggs are cooking, make your "soldiers". (Told you I'd get back to them!) Soldiers are simply a piece of buttered toast, cut into long strips, so you can easily dip them in your egg. Brilliant!

Now, the fun part... place your egg in an egg cup, and cover with an egg cozy to keep it warm until you are ready to eat. 

Use your spoon or an egg cutter to remove the top of the egg, removing any little pieces of clingy shell. If you like, you can salt and pepper your egg. (I found the buttered toast added enough flavor without condiments.) If all went well, you have a perfect soft-boiled egg. The white should be thoroughly cooked, but the yolk should still be runny.

Now, dip your soldiers in and eat up! Note to self: when using the wide toast, make sure to cut into 5 pieces instead of 4 so they fit in the egg better!)

Yum! For a first go at making soft-boiled eggs, I'd say it was a major success. 

Note: Make sure you check your eggs before you steam them. If there are any little cracks, the steaming process with cause them to crack open while cooking, and you have an egg that develops this globby thing that looks like a goiter! BTW... the dogs said it tasted just fine :)

If you are interested in knitting some gnome hats for your eggs... and if you are a regular reader at Wee Folk Art, I'm going to assume you've got your yarn and needles out already... Michelle found the pattern for the hats over at  Silver Lining Knits. You can visit them to get the complete directions. 

Thank you so much, Mich. I love them AND you :)

Photos 5-14-13

Here is our latest applique block. I love doing hand sewing, so all these lines were right up my alley! As always, they were designed to fit a 6" x 6" block, but you can enlarge or reduce the pattern to meet your needs.

I'm often asked what to do with the completed blocks. First off... I only sew them to blocks because it makes them all uniform. I haven't used the blocks for anything other than display purposes. But, you can use our appliques in any way you'd use any appliques. I designed this block to use in a panel of a quilted knitting project bag I was making for a friend. I forgot to take a photo, but this is basically what it looked like:

It turned out lovely! How will you use this applique?

The pattern for the Yarn Ball Applique Block can be found HERE.

The tutorial on How to Enlarge and Reduce can be found HERE.

The tutorial on How to Cut Out Felt can be found HERE.

The Stitching Glossary can be found HERE.

DIRECTIONS - Refer to pattern and photo for applique placements and cutting instructions.

Make a copy of the pattern.

Cut out felt using the photo and pattern as a guide. Transfer any embroidery markings.

For this applique, stitch pieces to the block following the lines on the pattern. Use a running stitch and 3 strands of floss.

Make sure when piecing together the yarn ball, you do it in the following manner, making sure to cover the overlap lines:

Piece "A"
Piece "B" 
Piece "C"
Piece "D"
Piece "E"

PHOTOS: 6-26-11
 

You've heard of Snowflakes... well, get ready for what we have termed "Flowerflakes"! This past winter I did a blog on creating traditional snowflakes. The post can be found HERE.

Besides adding beauty to the house, it served a purpose. Our bird feeders are right outside this window. Our feathered friends can mistake the glass window for "sky" and fly into the window. We discovered that when we put up the snowflakes, we had far fewer mishaps! We decided that we'd need to do something similar in the spring when the snowflakes came down.

Since we liked the airy look of the snowflakes, we decided to make traditional snowflakes using colored computer paper, add a few leaves, and wah lah... our indoor flower garden was created! It works much the same as the snowflakes, giving our birds a visual barrier. Plus, it looks lovely :)

Directions for cutting out snowflakes can be found HERE, plus, if you Google cutting out snowflakes, you'll find tons of patterns. We like to just start cutting, but sometimes it's nice to gather ideas, too :)

The PDF for the leaf can be found HERE. Begin by making a template out of a heavy paper like cardstock. When it is cut out, fold a piece of green paper in half and place the leaf template on the fold. Using a pencil, press lightly, and trace the leaf on the paper. NOTE: I used marker to trace my leaf for purposes of the tutorial. If you use a light pencil, you won't see any leftover marks.

With the paper folded, cut out the leaf, cutting away the "X"ed sections.

Using fishing line or invisible thread, randomly hang leaves and flowers in your window.

 
A lovely Spring decoration, and a safety feature for your backyard birds :)

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.

Photos 4-28-13,4-30-13

If you've been following me for any period of time, you'll know that over a year ago, we needed to move my dad into a home for dementia patients. It was a very hard decision, but, fortunately, the right one. He is happy there. He thrives in the routine and quiet. And, my Mom can visit with him daily, without being his primary caretaker.

A few days ago, when I went to see him, he was vacant. I couldn't get a response from him... no hint of recognition... and he seemed deep in his own world. I came home and wrote a blog... one I intended to share today. It made me cry... you would have cried when you read it, too. But, yesterday, when we went to visit him for his birthday, it was a wonderful visit. Michelle's children were able to snuggle with him, and there was pure joy on his face. It was a wonderful day.

I know that there will be more and more days when we won't be able to make my dad smile. I know it will continue to get harder and harder to get through to him, but yesterday WASN'T one of those days. Yesterday, if even for a minute, we had a part of "Papa" with us, so no tears today.

EDIT: Just for me... Just for the record... these are photos I took of Dad 2 days ago. A very mysterious disease, indeed...

Whether there is a dragon that needs taming or a kingdom that needs protecting, you’ll surely want a knight, or better yet, several, to keep the lands safe. And, it’s very important to have a supply of squires, willing and eager to learn the skills necessary to become a knight.

This tutorial has 3 parts:
Part 1 - Getting Started
Part 2 - Crafting the Knight
Part 3 - Crafting the Squire (below)
 
A NOTE ABOUT MATERIALS: Since we closed our shop, I have many people ask for my current suppliers. I usually send people to A Child's Dream. Debbie has a wonderful online shop (and an actual brick and mortar, too) that has most of the crafting supplies I need for children's toys. For this project you can find wonderful 100% Wool Felt and the Rope Dolls to make your Knight and Squire. AND, if you buy materials from there (any items and any amount) through April 21, 2013, A Child's Dream will take 10% off your entire order. Simply use the coupon code WEEFOLK at check out! Awesome, right? For more info, check out my previous blog about supplies HERE.

Part 1 - Getting Started - Can be found HERE.
In Part 1 you get the pattern and supply list, along with instructions for cutting out the felt and how to add the optional face and boots/gloves.

Part 2 - Crafting the Knight - Can be found HERE.
In Part 2 you learn how to make the knight.

READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PREVENT MISUSE OF MATERIALS

IMPORTANT: When sewing pieces together, whether using a running, blanket or whip stitch, seam should only be 1/8”. If you make seams larger, the clothes will not fit. The small seam allows the clothing to lay better on the dolls. If you want to make the seams a little larger YOU MUST CUT THE PATTERN PIECES OUT A LITTLE BIGGER. You might want to experiment by making a pair of pants out of inexpensive felt and try sewing them on a doll before you cut out all your pattern pieces. 

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING THE SQUIRE
Read Part 1 - Getting Started
Read Part 2 - Crafting the Knight

PANTS:
Follow the directions in Part 2 for making the pants.

SHIRT:
Follow the directions in Part 2 for making the shirt.

HOOD:
Pin the 2 pieces of the hood together. Using a blanket stitch and 2 strands of floss, sew together along the 2 seam lines. NOTE: The scalloped bottom and circular opening for the face are not stitched together.

Using a blanket stitch and 3 strands of floss, stitch along the inner circular edge. 

 
BELT:
Pick 3 different colors of floss. Holding them together and working them like 1 piece of yarn, make loop 4” from end.

Make a chain on your finger or using a size E crochet hook that is 5" long. Pull through the end when 4” remaining.

Using a square knot (right over left, left over right) tie the belt to the squire's waist, pulling tight enough that it slightly gathers the shirt.

Tie off the 2 ends individually, leaving 1" of unchained floss between the chain and knot. Cut off extra thread below the knots. 

   
SATCHEL:
Using pattern as a guide, fold and stitch up 2 sides using a running stitch and 2 strands of floss.

 Fold over flap and sew a running stitch close to the fold using 2 strands of floss. This will keep the flap closed.

Blanket stitch along the flap of the satchel using 3 strands of floss.

Fold the strap lengthwise and using a running stitch and 2 strands of floss sew the strap together lengthwise.

 
Using the pattern as a guide, position the strap on the satchel, and sew in place using a whip stitch and 2 strands of floss. Note: Just sew to the back of the satchel. You want to keep the inside of the satchel open for tiny treasures!

Your Knights and Squires are now ready to head off on wonderful adventures. Be on the lookout soon for a tutorial on how to make wooden horses for your knights!

http://www.weefolkart.com
Copyright © Wee Folk Art 2008 - 2013. All rights reserved.

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.

Photos 8-25-12, 4-5-13, 4-16-13