Waldorf Inspired

Just in the knick of time, I finished the last 2 gnomes in our series, Big Gnomes for Little Hands, and was able to take them with me on my trip last week, and give them to The Little Lady. She was quite smitten with them, and spent half her time chewing on their hats (giving them a wonderfully unique look) and half her time holding onto the hat and swinging them around. And, yes, I can speak from experience, it does hurt when you are clobbered in the nose by a 7 month old armed with a gnomie :)

Next summer, Tim and I will be building her a gnome house (and, yes, the summer of 2012 we will FINALLY do a tutorial on how to make a gnome house!). She will then be old enough to play with the smaller gnomes without fearing a choke hazard. In the meantime, she has a set of 6 rainbow gnomes, perfect for little hands.

If you know of a set of pudgy little hands that would enjoy her own set of big gnomes, the tutorials can be found below:


Heart and Cloud Gnomes

Toadstool and Sun Gnomes

Lavender and Apple Gnomes

 

Here are the last two gnomes in our Big Gnomes for Little Hands series. For instructions on how to make these "big guys", check out the tutorial HERE. The actual pattern for our Lavendar Gnome and our Apple Gnome can be found HERE.

 

 

 

I know it probably seems like I just got back from visiting Drew, Meghan and the Little Lady in Wisconsin, but, to me it seems like forever! I've got another trip planned mid May, and since it would be impossible for me to go empty handed, I tried to decide what I wanted to make to bring. Although I really wanted to make her some our Waldorf Inspired Peg Gnomes, they still could pose a choke hazzard, so I decided to make bigger gnomes.

 

I am working on a set of rainbow gnomes for the Little Lady. Remember last year I made a set of rainbow gnomes for Pixie's birthday basket? Well, those gnomes are teeny tiny next to these! Basically, I took my standard pattern for the Waldorf Inspired Gnomes and enlarged the pattern 125%. Worked great! But I decided since these were so much larger, I wanted to embellish them with applique and embroidery. Today I am sharing the first two: Heart Gnome and Rain Gnome. Over the next couple weeks I will finish the other 4 and share the patterns as I complete them. 

The directions are very similar to the original directions with a few changes, which, BTW, could be used on the previous gnomes directions. Changes are typed in red. 

Materials:
Large People Body (wooden peg) 3 9/16" x 1 1/8"
Wool/wool blend felt - 2 main colors plus various colors for appliques
embroidery floss
crafting glue
favorite stuffing material
copy of pattern

Important Note: People turnings (wooden pegs) are not all created equal. Even pegs bought from the same company can be slightly different. I highly suggest you make a copy of the pattern, cut it out of paper, and “try it on” your wooden pegs. Make adjusts to the paper pattern before cutting out your felt.

Note: If you are making 6 rainbow gnomes, decide on the colors you will be using before you begin. Then, use only those 12 colors, plus white, when adding appliques.

Directions are the same for both gnomes:

Cut hat and cloak out of color A and body wrap out of color B. For the Heart Gnome, cut the hearts out of pink and the leaves out of green. For the Rain Gnome, cut the raindrops and cloud out of white. 

Glue body wrap to people turning. Match bottom edge of wrapping with bottom edge of turning.

Add appliques to the cloaks and hats using the pattern as a guide. Blanket stitch the outer edge of the cloaks using 6 strands of embroidery floss that matches the body wraps.

Using 2 strands of floss that match the cloak, sew a running stitch close to the neck edge on the cloak.

Gather the running stitch slightly to make it fit around the peg's neck. The back of the cloak should be centered with the back (the seamed edge) of the body wrap. Stitch closed at neck.
Using 6 strands of contrasting floss, satin stitch a closure at the neckline.

Using 2 strands of matching floss, sew the hat together using a running stitch or blanket stitch. (I used a running stitch.)

Blanket stitch the lower edge of the hat using 6 strands of embroidery floss.

Using your favorite stuffing, stuff the inside of the head stopping about 1/2" from the edge.

Place a line of crafting glue on the inside of the hat near the edge. Position the hat on the gnome tilting it slightly backward.

Give your gnome a name and introduce him or her to your household!

EDIT: The giveaway is now closed. A winner will be selected and announced tomorrow :)

Everyone has heard me talk about the love of my life, Tim. (The other day when I apologized to him for creating so much work for him... with programming for WFA and all the projects he does around the house for me, he looked at me and said, "It's nothing, sweetie, you are my hobby!" I ask you, who wouldn't love him?) Anyway... February 28, 2011 marked the 9th anniversary of when we meet. It was also the day Tim and I finally got married. After all the years we have spent together, it seemed a little silly to make a big to-do about it. So, Tim and I, along with my brother, Kipp, and his wife, Jennifer, went to an interesting little chapel, and got married.

Although the wedding was about as low keyed as you could get, we wanted to commemorate the day. After discovering Daria's Etsy shop, Art of Felting, in January, I contacted her. Daria lives in Rehovot, Israel . Here is the email I sent her...

I was so delighted yesterday when I discovered your site. My readers seemed quite taken, too :) I have a question about a custom order. I am going to be married soon... the 2nd marriage for both of us. We are in our 50s, so not babes :) We do want something to commemorate the day since it will be very subdued. (We've already been together for 9 years.) When I saw your wool paintings, I thought this would be perfect! I love your new piece with the poppies, but I would like something bigger... more like the 13" x 17". I'm kind of thinking about a woodsy scene with poppies, and maybe a Mother Earth gets married kind of theme :) Let me know if this is possible.

And here was her reply...

It was a real pleasure to receive your input. The work I put into my creations gives me joy, but it is even more pleasurable to hear good words from others. I truly enjoyed your Wee Folk Art plus and think you are very talented. Your wonderful idea and the matter inspire me to start working on the project right now. I would be glad cooperating with you.

We were delighted when we received it last month. It is beautiful. Daria titled this peace "Mother Earth Gets Married". Perfect, right?  A lovely reminder of how blessed we feel. As it turned out, my mom wanted to get it for us for a wedding gift... thank you mom. As soon as we decide what we want, we will have it framed.

Now... for some exciting news... When Daria shipped us our tapestry, she included a lovely little framed piece to share with our readers. Fantastic, right? The tapestry measures 5 1/4" x 3 1/4", framed 7 1/4" x 5 1/4". It is absolutely lovely!

Daria also sent photos of the fairy tapestry in process! I had asked Daria if she worked from a sketch. This is what she told me:

In Waldorf art is no place for a sketch or a previous plan. It’s like to give birth. This is by some means an opposition to photography. The target is not to show nature, but to discover what is conceived in. That’s why the right mood is necessary, which can be achieved through good music or other inspiring things. When I succeed get into right mood I start. First I place different wool pieces on the felt. Then I let the drawing leading my hands. The next step is to define details and only then the turn of a great finish comes. Billions strokes of needle.

If you would like a chance to win this sweet little Waldorf inspired needle felted wool painting, simply pay Daria's Etsy shop, The Art of Felting, a visit, look at all her lovely things, (taking a drool cloth is highly advisable!) then come back here and leave a comment telling us what your favorite creation is. The giveaway will run from today, Wednesday, April 20, to Easter Sunday, April 24, at 9:00 p.m. EST. A winner will be drawn at random. So, head over to Art of Felting, pick a favorite, come back and tell us about it, then cross your fingers.

Thanks so much, Daria. It will be hard to give up this lovely little tapestry... but I will :)

Hair, like the face itself, is how you personalize the doll. I chose to use a thick, natural organic yarn, but pick yarns and colors that suit your fancy. Also, I chose a very simple face, with little crescents suggesting eyes and mouth, but if you prefer a more detailed face, or chose to add no facial features at all, it as all a matter of choice. No matter how you decide to personalize your doll, here are the general instructions for adding the hair and facial features.

Materials:
yarn - you can make it all one color or any combination. You can use a chunky yarn like I did (Lion's Organic Cotton) or use 2 strands of a thinner yarn.

embroidery floss or pearl cotton - in colors of choice

disappearing marker

crochet hook to match yarn

yarn needle

ADDING THE HAIR:
Begin by marking the airline of your doll with a disappearing marker.


Cut yarns in desired length. I cut the yarn 4" for the golden haired doll and 6" for the rust/green haired doll. My next doll will have long hair and I think I will cut the yarns 20" long!

Beginning at a neck edge, from the back of the head to the front, slide your crochet hook under 2 strands of yarn. Fold a piece of yarn in half and place the fold/loop on the hook.

Pull the loop through the 2 strands of yarn. Use your crochet hook to grab the 2 loose ends of the yarn and pull them through the loop.

Gently pull on the ends until the knot you just created is secure against the doll's scalp.

Continue adding yarn in this manner until the airline is filled in.

Working from the back to the front, begin adding another row of yarn hairs, staggering their placement with the row you previously completed.

When you come to the center where the head is tied together, it is almost impossible to get a crochet hook through. In those spots I used a yarn needle. To do that, fold a piece of yarn in half and thread the loop through a yarn needle. Slide the needle through a couple pieces of yarn.
 
Pull the needle and loop through. Slide the needle off the loop, then thread the 2 loose ends through the loop and gently pull on the ends until the knot you just created is secure against the doll's scalp. Use this method on the top of the scalp when you cannot get a crochet hook through. 

Continue adding the individual hairs... and boy are there a lot of hairs to add... until you have the head filled in completely to the back hairline, right above the neck. DON'T scrimp on hair. The denser the hair, the more "realistic" it will look. You should not see "bald" patches. BTW... it takes me about 3 - 4 hours to do a head of hair.

ADDING THE FACE:
Using the disappearing marker draw on the doll's facial features.

Using 6 strands of floss or pearl cotton, back stitch the mouth. Then using the back of the needle, start at one end of the mouth and begin sliding the needle under the back stitching, "wrapping" the mouth. (You will probably need to wrap it 10 - 12 times to cover the complete length.) This should accentuate the mouth and give a smooth appearance. Do the same for each eye.

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