good

Tuesday 26 February 2008, 9:03 pm
Today was a good day. Not only did I manage to finish the first draft of the translation I'm currently editing, I also took the sewing machine for a ride and made a whole doll's body! I'm feeling very accomplished now. :) I even did the fiddly little thumbs on the machine and they don't look half bad! I can't believe how much time I'm saving as compared to doing the sewing by hand. Love it. I used Simmy's pattern for this one, and I think I'll be making a long haired wig. I've got this lovely Manos Del Uruguay yarn that's just waiting to be used. :) Next step: finding suitable fabric and making a dress!! Wish me luck. :)

Imaginative play

Monday 25 February 2008, 10:10 am

Someone in my Ravelry Waldorf Group posted a link to this article:

Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills

You know what? I could have written it. Straight from the heart - I couldn't agree more. After reading this, I felt - and still feel - strengthened in my belief that children do NOT need all that plastic junk that poses as toys these days. Just the other day, I observed Olivier, playing with two simple cars and a piece of string, having the time of his life. For a whole hour! Come on people, they don't need plastic. They don't need beeping or flickering. All they need is something that triggers their OWN imagination. Same for television - nothing wrong with it now and again, and hell yes, it's the best babysitter when you're cooking, but the rest of the day? No way. Let them play! Teach them to be imaginative again! Because the rest of the world sure as hell won't.

Which makes me want to add - what is it with the sweets at school anyway? Why do people think it's okay to have their children hand out all that junk when they're celebrating their birthdays, even though the school rules say not to?! What's that all about? I'm seriously thinking of writing a letter of complaint - I mean, Olivier's been at that school for precisely two months now, and you wouldn't believe the stuff that he's been given. Lollipops, sweets, crisps, you name it. It's completely ludicrous.

Right, I'll get off the soap box now. Enough is enough - but I just feel very strongly about all this.

birthday coming up

Monday 18 February 2008, 09:39 am

The house is quiet. The kids have gone to daycare & school respectively, there's a Vivaldi CD in the CD player and I should really, really start working now. I'm delaying the inevitable instead, telling myself that the grandparents need new pictures on Flickr a.s.a.p. Sigh.

I've been working on a new doll this weekend; it's Nynke's first birthday next week, and as Olivier never wanted a doll, I figured this would be my best chance of ever making one for my kids. I hope Nynke will grow up to be a girly girl, so I can make her many more! :) We've bought her a doll's pram to go with it, so I've colour coordinated the doll. :) Although I think the pram will be redundant for a while yet, as Nynke is showing absolutely no promise of walking or even standing up / sitting up yet. It's a bit of a lazy girl, this one! Not that I mind too much - life's just much more relaxed with her not grabbing things yet!

Ok, and now I really should get a move on. Have a nice day!

swamped

Monday 04 February 2008, 10:22 am

There's so much I have to do today that I just don't know where to start.

I've got an editing deadline to make, the house is just filthy, I'm full of snot and all I'd really like to do is knit and make dolls. That, or browse Ravelry all day. Speaking of Ravelry - I've started a Waldorf Dolls group there, so if you knit or crochet and make Waldorf Dolls, join us! We're here: Waldorf Dolls on Ravelry. (Ravelry's still by invitation only - there's a waiting list)

Also, I'm spending an inordinate amount of time just looking at other people's dolls on Flickr. My oh my, there's so much I still need to learn, and there's so little time in a day! What I would like to learn most is how to make my dolls tidy and symmetrical. Mine are always just a bit lopsided, I'm always fudging this or that. Maybe that's just the way it should be, they're handcrafted after all, so they're not supposed to be perfect, but still. It irks me! I've ordered Maricristin Sealey's Making Waldorf Dolls, maybe that'll help. It seems to be out of stock at the moment though. :( At least - Amazon hasn't got it. Maybe my Dutch online bookstore will be able to get a hold of it - 5-7 business days it says on their website. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Sigh. Back to my book. A bad translation is just not what you need on a day like this. It's the second reading, and still I'm fixing mistakes that I didn't even notice the first time round. Ugh.

it's a boy

Sunday 03 February 2008, 7:25 pm

I was working on a new doll this weekend and I wasn't happy about the way it was turning out, not at all. Too big, too coarse, too... pudgy, is what springs to mind. Whatever I did, nothing worked, it would just not turn into a sweet little girl doll. And then suddenly it struck me - this one wants to be a boy! Eureka! And the more I look at him, the more sense it makes. My first boy doll, just like that. :D I'll start on the hair this evening, and then I'll need to get him some clothes. Erm. Well. That's not going to be easy. I'll have to knit him a sweater, I guess, and some pants. I think I'll manage the sweater ( I hope). But pants... I've never done pants before! Anyone know where to get some patterns?

P.S. The doll's underwear in the picture, I'm almost ashamed to admit, wasn't knit by me... I really, really would like a book with Waldorf-sized knits!