Thursday, December 16, 2010

Term 1: Handwork, Wool Felt

Pamela just finished her fourth handwork project. Even though she is almost ready to start finger knitting, we are going to work on the sewing needle case and the knitting needle bag on weekends. Three weeks before Thanksgiving, she put in a request to sew a turkey in honor of the holiday. I put the two projects on hold and found a pattern for a gobbler. Because our goal is sewing, I found ways to sew what the patterns suggested to hot glue.

I must put in a plug for Felt on the Fly, which sells pure wool felt in a wide variety of gorgeous colors as you can see in the finished products. Every order has arrived very quickly, wrapped in tissue paper, adorned with a hand-written note and a felt flower. The material feels wonderful to our fingers. We even placed a special order of specific colors we wanted for the turkey and it flew here in just a few days. I love the personal touch and customer service of this seller at Etsy.

Pamela learned many wonderful things this term. She sewed on buttons and did several stitches (whip, blanket, running). She grew more and more precise although I still sit by her side to make sure her work does not become slipshod. With a little bit of scaffolding from me (cutting and even stitches), these projects were within her compass. Everything she made has value and beauty, either serving a purpose or decorative enough to delight the eye. They meet the very brief requirements Charlotte Mason outlined in her first book (Page 315).

Grand Gobbler


Funky Fun Felt Pillow


iPod Cozy



Precious Pincushion

4 comments:

Phyllis said...

Wow, I am very impressed Pamela. You have done a wonderful job making beautiful things!

Stranded said...

How did you guys begin handwork, like what are some of the first things you did?

Bonnie said...

I love what you are making!
Hope all is well with you Tammy.
Handwork has a satisfied contentment IF you finish what you started!

walking said...

Stranded, it took a long time for her fine motor skills to kick in. We've only been doing handwork for the past seven years. Mainly, clay, watercolor (not really handwork, but artistic), and sewing.