Pocket Meerkat Factory

 My grandson really likes meerkats. He and I have that in common. We made a bunch of meerkats out of paper in January. There were never enough. His parents wondered if the house would be filled with meerkats.

His birthday is coming up. I knit 4 pocket cats for his sister, so it stands to reason that I should make 7 pocket meerkats for him. Seven felt like a big number while I was working on this. Here is the factory:

And here are the kats. They are about 7 cm (3 inches) high.

You might have a hard time guessing what his birthday number will be. 

The Making of a Faerie House

 On a rainy Sunday, we pulled out the faerie house kit. We went out to the site and did some trimming on the roof and the side walls so that the house could fit snuggly up against the trunk. Then we got very busy with sticks, pine cone "shingles" and the glue gun. 

Then we had to wait for the sun to shine, or at the very least, for the rain to stop. 

A few days later it was a perfect day for an install.

We added things that sparkle and some flowers to attract a faerie:

And best of all? A faerie left messages in the mailbox for the children, so we know someone moved in. 

Faerie House Kit

 I have put a faerie house kit together for assembly with my grandchildren where they live. I have tried to anticipate what I will need. This is tricky because the way I usually work is a bit hodgepodge; as I make something, I just look around in my eclectic mess of supplies for what might work.  I can't do any more house assembly because I need to know the environment it will go into, most particularly, how the base of the tree -- trunk and roots -- is shaped. 

These parts are just balanced together to give an idea of where this is headed. The stairs might not be needed at all; I can cut off whatever is not needed. I can't finish the roof until I know what shape it will be.

Details: 

William Morris wall paper

flooring

mailbox with some wee letters

Supplies: leaves, sticks, pinecone spikes, shiny things, star fish

Ready to go. I hope the weather is easy to get along with. Spring has given blizzards and other deluges.  I wonder if I should find more sticks?

Happy Easter from the Faerie House

 

Palm Sunday

 I was asked to make a 'Station of the Cross' related to Palm Sunday. I accepted because I could make whatever I chose to do. 

In its fullest extension, this is about  12" High, 30" x 20 " ( 30cm high, 66cm x 50cm) and it is cut out of a book. 

Katharina #9: She Joins the Red Cross

 When I started the Katharinas in early January, I was thinking about how this quiet, serene photo of a beautiful young woman was taken when difficulty was to be followed by disaster - WWl  and the Russian revolution. In the war years young Mennonite men had done alternate service as medics. The women struggled to keep everything going at home. 

When Katharina was much older -- a grandmother with grown-up grandchildren -- she knit long, long bandages. I imagine her envisioning the needs of the medics of her youth. 

With Katharina #9, I have reimagined Katharina as a Red Cross worker, helping in a way that was not open to her in her lifetime. 

My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine. 

 

A little review of the other Katharinas:

Ramadan Calendar

 I made this for some young Muslims who are dear to me. It is like an advent calendar: each day the children can cut off the envelope for the day. There is a wee treat and a little nugget of learning in each one. 

As the envelopes are removed, the moon will become more visible.