small wonders

Woah. is it really January 10th already? I feel like we are just getting back into step after the holiday- finally catching our breath and getting back into our daily rhythms. I am going to do a quick catch up (or two- there are some photos yet to take,) of our handmades from the holidays and then get on with this new year! 

The kids were really serious about making things for each other this holiday- they had big plans- Ari especially- and just needed some help in making their ideas come to life. Ari really wanted to make Dorian a horse that he could play with. He needed some help with some of this, but mostly he made this lovely horse on his own. He is so proud of it and it is a favorite toy for them both now.

I don't have a photo of it yet, but there was a horse theme for the boy's gifts to each other. Dorian made (with a fair bit of help from mama) horse reigns for Ari that he can wear to be a horse. I sewed a simple tanktop sort of shape from an old blanket and sewed some reigns on the back. Dorian helped to cut the fabric and to decorate it with cut out felt pieces glued on. It is a hit, though it already needs some repairs. That horse can sure gallop at top speed, and the rider is often left tugging on the reigns to try and catch up! 

The boys had asked me some time ago if I would make them soft robots to snuggle. I found this pattern (Knit Picks lovebot pattern) with what I thought was plenty of time to spare, but these took me forever to finish! I spent many a night knitting like a mad woman. I don't usually watch many movies, but I watched a lot before solstice! I learned a lot making these- it was my first time using the magic loop method, and my first colour work attempt (with several froggings and still a bulky bulge of heart design on the front!) But they are are on constant bed-duty in both boys bed, so I think they are a success.

The boys made Perry some little pouches. The top one was Dorian's wallet for Papa, and the bottom is Ari's paint-brush-holder. Ari really wanted to make Papa a basket, but I have no basket-making experience and our attempts were a bit of a failure, so this was something easy to fall back on. The gift making was all rather last-minute (surprise surprise...) but it all worked out.

All, that is, except poor Perry's gift from me. That sweater I have been working on for him for awhile is still in 3 pieces, and he got an IOU for solstice. If those darned robots hadn't taken up so much of my knitting time... oh well, everyone needs a good mid-winter gift to lift up the spirits, right?



Santa brought these fairies to the boys on Christmas with a little tree-lodge. I'm guessing Santa's elves used something like the bendy-doll forms sold at Bear Dance Crafts to make them. They look like they were quite fun to make- I might give it a try sometime and make a few more of these little characters!

Pillows are rather hard to photograph, especially after they have been slept on and wrinkled up, but my other solstice gift to the boys was these castle themed pillow cases. The edging is from a dragon sheet I've had in the wings for awhile. The dragon itself is still waiting to be turned into something else- castle flag maybe?

There are still some unphotographed objects that I will add when I get the chance.
And in the meantime, there is some terrific snow outside for building- the mix of rain and snow we've had has frozen the snow so that you can cut out perfect snow bricks for building. There is an ever growing castle and courtyard in our front lawn. The boys played royalty for hours out there today. I did some building and the boys referred to me as "Queen Divine" the whole time. The name comes from a Rumpelstiltskin story they have, but who is going to argue with a title like that?