How to Make Worry Dolls

As part of our curriculum this year we are doing a wonderful geography program.  I stumbled upon it sometime last year and was so excited to use it this year with the kidlings in school.  They both love maps and globes and we have a fantastic time exploring the world together from our home.  While I hope traveling as a family is something we can do someday, for right now we rely on the vast media resources available to build a global perspective for two little souls in eastern MA.

Currently we are exploring Panama, which, for today, included learning about and creating worry dolls.  The legend, or idea behind these lovely little dolls, is to hand make them, tell them all your worries, place them beneath your pillow as you go to bed, and in the morning all those worries will be gone.  A beautiful thought.

We made our worry dolls with old fashioned clothes pins as a base.  I split tongue depressors and trimmed them to the right length to be little arms and attached them with a bit of hot glue. 

At this point I stopped to take a look at the sweet babe sleeping away on the bean bag. 

Okay…back to work!  Starting with a bit of hot glue to secure the end we wrapped embroidery floss around our dolls to create their clothing.  Becca opted to use a fabric scrap for a skirt, (attached with hot glue) which I think turned out darling.  The dolls worked up very quickly and easily…I’m thinking many more will be dancing around our home soon.  For, as it turns out, worry dolls are excellent dancers and for two little loves who don’t seem to have worries to share with their dolls, dancing is the next best thing to use them for.  Oh to be a child!!!

Fleece Lined Baby Hood

I know I’ve mentioned before in this space just how much I love Oliver and S patterns and designs.  Her work is just so classic and with such attention to detail!  Sadly her patterns are a bit of a splurge for me, but I jumped at the chance to buy her beautiful book a while back.  I’ve made several of the items in the book and am so impressed with the instructions.   I just loved a little wool and velveteen hood featured in the book and just had to make the same in similarly delicious fabrics that I had on hand.  I actually used the same fleece  and cotton that I used on the hooded car seat blanket.  It was a dream to whip up, simple and straight forward and just darling every step of the way. 

The only problem:::

The sizing is a bit off on the hood.  I made the extra small, which is said to fit most infants up to 12 months.  It is much much too big for her now, but will likely be just right for her next winter.  I was a bit disappointed that it didn’t fit, but it’s not a total loss, and is still so lovely to look at!!! 

A Monet Morning

Yesterday the littles and I…all three of them…set out for the very first time on our own for a doctors appointment and a few errands.  Yikes.  I forgot what it is like to bring an infant out and about, especially in the frigid New England air!   While in the car we listened to Linnea in Monet’s Garden.   My big littles (!) were completely inspired. 

This morning the big art books came out and they explored the work of Monet and Van Gogh (Spencer needed his own book after all!) in creative bliss.  Inspired by the beautiful glossy pictures in the books the “fancy chalks” came out and their own works began.  It fills me with such joy to see them carried away in a creative journey using the names of Monet and Van Gogh as if they are old friends.  Joy. 

Marlborough, MA Libraries :: A Review

With the birth of a new baby a bit earlier than we had been expecting I got a bit behind on a few things.  The library books were one of the neglected things.  So…one morning when things were finding their way back to normal we did a library book scavenger hunt and gathered all the library materials scattered about in our home.  Yikes.  Apparently (very obviously!!) the number of library book collections had exceeded our library book returns!!!  Whoops!  We’ll just chalk it up to the two beautiful excuses of late pregnancy and post-partum recovery!!!! 

Needless to say, we love the library, and depend on, and thoroughly enjoy the resources they offer.  In our current spot in the world there are several libraries within minutes of our home.  It’s a beautiful thing.  We frequent different libraries for different reasons, each having their own unique pros and cons. 

Though many of you are not local (sadly!) here’s a few of the reasons we love (or maybe don’t like) each of the children sections in the libraries in our area.

Marlborough Library

Pros:

• Excellent selection of books on CD, which we love to listen to in the car. 
• Museum Passes!  Discounted passes to many local museums can be checked out from this, and many other local libraries.

Cons:

• The parking is truly unfortunate. 
• Story times are uninspiring. 
• Children’s section is out of the way and downstairs (with only a freight elevator). 

Southborough Library

Pros:

• Great staff!
• Excellent selection and organization of Non-Fiction
• Amazing reading chairs!!! 
• Small, which makes it easy to keep an eye on children while still doing your own searching.
• Themed kits to check out with books and activities.
• Great parking.
• Drop in story times two days a week with crafts. 
• Museum Passes! Discounted passes to many local museums can be checked out from this, and many other local libraries.

Northborough Library

Pros:

• Beautiful!
• Lots of activities, games, and toys to explore and enjoy at the library.
• Museum Passes! Discounted passes to many local museums can be checked out from this, and many other local libraries.

Hudson Library

Pros:

• FINE FREE FRIDAY!!!!!  Every Friday materials can be returned free of fines…no matter how late they are, or what library they are from.  It’s a beautiful thing!
• Great children’s play area.
• Gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pigs for children to watch.
• Excellent story times…but they are register only and fill up very fast. 
• Wonderful staff
• Museum Passes! Discounted passes to many local museums can be checked out from this, and many other local libraries.

Cons:

• Parking is tricky.  There’s enough of it, it’s just hard to get in and out of, and you still have walk a long way to get into the library.
• The layout in the library makes the circulation desk out of the way and easily congested. 
• Because of Fine Free Friday, Friday is truly chaotic at the library.  The morning is especially loud, crazy, and un-library-like.  We have found right after lunch to be the best time to visit on Fridays.

*As a side note, I just love the Hudson library website banner.  It makes the library look like it sits in an idyllic setting by green trees and a beautiful river.  The perfect inspiring site for a library.  In reality it is just off the rotary in the middle of town, feet from the fire station on one side and  church on the other.  Which is just fine!  But I do dream of frequenting a library such as the one on the sites banner! 

 

Nesting 3.6 :: Chenille Blanket

Months and months ago…and what seems like a lifetime ago…I happened upon this beautiful blanket and instantly fell in love.  I’m  not one for buying kits for making things, or even following plans exactly, preferring instead to use what I have on hand, improvise, and add my own spin on things.  I do like a good launching off point though!  This blanket was a definite exception.  If a kit had been offered I would have ordered it without a second thought.  Well, maybe I’d pause to reconsider…but by that time it would be in the mail so what are you going to do!!!  I just loved the colors, so luscious and perfect for a beautiful little girl. 

As it was I collected my own flannels, and fell in love with my own fabric choices and had a marvelous time creating this blanket.  The process was entirely new to me, which provided a fun challenge and a great reward!  I just love it!  The “chenille”  will continue to soften as it is laundered, which I am looking forward to.  The blanket is pictured after just one washing, there’s enough laundry in this house (that I often fail to keep up with to be perfectly honest!) that I just couldn’t stomach washing a clean thing several times!!! 

Here’s another link to the tutorial if you’re wanting to give the blanket a go.  It’s very clear and well written so have no fear if this is a new technique for you! 

This Moment

The tradition is not to add words to these friday photos…and sometimes there really are none that can be added!!!! Sweet sweet love.

Nesting 3.5 :: Hooded Car Seat Blanket

And…we’re back! 

There is nothing better than the first few days with a velvety soft, delicious baby.  We’re still in family hibernation mode around here, but will be venturing out in this space (and to the park since winter isn’t quite “winter” around here lately!!!). 

So, for a bit longer, (though the nest is already filled with a little one), we’ll be nesting!

With the car seat done over to our liking, I moved on to another of the three car seat projects I had in mind.  The second project was a snuggly blanket like the one seen here.  Winter in New England is no joke (usually!) so I wanted something super warm and snuggly for our little lamb.  The blanket shown in the awesome tutorial is much lighter than I wanted for these winter months.  Though I think I might make a light-weight version of the same blanket for spring and summer.  I used a beautiful thick white fleece for the inside of the blanket and a heavier cotton…almost denim weight, but softer, for the outside.  I followed the tutorial exactly…then I saw this!  I loved the hood idea, so immediately cut into the completed blanket to add the hood.  Love.

Here’s our little lady using the car seat blanket for the first time…heading home from the hospital and out on her first outing…a walk in the park on a 55 degree January day in New England!!!

 

Here’s how the blanket works….

All spread out the blanket looks like a sting-ray! 

We are all thrilled to pieces with it.