Beautiful autumn day in the ZOO

It is still summer in our country. It gets very warm during the day. Sometimes it is to hot in the classrooms to work with wool.

We went to the ZOO to observe animals. The task was to draw one animal that the pupil chose to sew later in the year and one more. Some pupils like this girl in the picture really made great drawings. 

Can anyone guess what this is? It is not an animal :)

I told you it is hot. Birds share the same opinion.

My sunflower

Felting course for waldorf teachers and kindergarten teachers III

Here you see the process of making beads out pf the rope.

Felting the soap.

The beginning of felting ropes.

Felting course for waldorf teachers and kindergarten teachers II

This is example of a very beautiful felted ball, warm colors and the right hardness.

Here are some felted ropes.

A picture taken on the exhibition.

Felting stones and soaps.

Decorating the rope.

Felting course for waldorf teachers and kindergarten teachers

Almost 70 people were learning to wet felt in the school yard. We had three lessons during the weekend and we made a ball, a rope (which can be cut and felted again into small beads) and either a felt soap/felt stone or a puppet (made on a ladle).

We tried our own patience while making the ropes. Working slowly centimeter by centimeter proofed to be the best way to make a beautiful rope. And making the whole rope at once was not the best idea. But this is how we learn. By experience. Words of an experienced felting teacher can be heard only after the personal experience :)

And teachers who wanted to learn more have stayed late at night and we made a felted bag, either pure white or decorated with colored wool. Our hands were busy felting while we talked and exchanged our experiences and were eager for the results to come out.

This is a lovely example of a felted stone and a felted bead = sheep. So simple and so effective. I love it. It can be beautiful winter decoration, it can be a part of the Christmas crib together with a shepherd...

This is an example how to make felted beads easier: one cuts the felted rope and rolls them in one's palms until they are round and beautiful.

Butterflies

Chestnut spider's webs

Wet felting

felted "rope"

felted balls

felted soap bar

All of this is a part of my preparation for felting with grade 8 tomorrow. And for the workshop for the teachers seminar during the weekend.

More pictures will follow ...

MICHAELMAS

Stoji, stoji tam beli grad,

pod gradom jezero je zad;

pa v jezeru je čudna zver,

je zmaj, ki tac'ga ni nikjer.

Ga dobro pasti morajo,

so dali že živinco vso.

Je vrsta na ljudi prišla,

storijo kmalu sklep le-ta:

"Mu dajmo le Marjetico,

Boga zvesto služabnico;

z Marjetico nič zgube ni."

Kaj pa Marjetica stori?

Gre v izbo svojo pisano,

obleče suknjo višnjevo,

pasico vzame si zlato, 

gre pred globoko jezero.

Pa srečal jo je mlad junak,

oj mlad junak, srčan junak;

junak je sveti Juri sam.

Ji pravi: "Kaj ti sveta dam?

Greš pred globoko jezero,

brž tudi zmaj priplaval bo,

pasico vrzi mu na vrat,

še stori sveti križ; takrat

je zmaj ponižen in krotal,

da ni še bil nikoli tak;

Pohleven ves jo uboga rad,

pa pelje ga pred beli grad.

Pa prejde velik strah ljudi,

veliko, malo, vse beži.

Pa sveti Juri govori:

"Nikar ne bojte se zveri;

končal jaz z Bogom zmaja bom,

od sile te vas rešil bom."

Pa sveti Juri vzdigne meč

in mahne zveri glavo preč. 

Wet felting

I have actually tried this: Easy way to make wet felt balls

you can do it while cooking or doing some other work. Just grab the glass container, twist it, swirl it and leave it for some minutes. If it gets cold you just add some drops of boiling water and start again.

I was amazed how beautiful the balls are and how quickly they are made! You must try it too.

My camera was without power so please take a look of the photos in the link :)

Grade 8

First we made beewax shoes/slippers/boots,

the second step was making paper shoes. It help children to understand how the pattern is made.

Here are the best results:

And the next step is to make felt. I hope the weather will be serving us, so we can make felt outside in the school yard ...

Video about stitches convention

STITCHES MIDWEST 2011 

I wish there is one convention like this in my neighborhood ...

Physalis

Physalis is very beautiful autumn decoration. It grows in my father's garden and we bring each year lots of it to the kindergarten. Today they made bracelets ...