I think it's about time I reveal K's special project. There are many, many reasons why I love this little project of hers. Too many to name here but I'll give you my top two:
1.) It's K's first ever sewing project that she made all by herself from start to finish (plus - following instructions and me teaching her along the way which means bonus time together).
2.) The project is from a new favorite book of ours by a much loved author.
Where should I begin?
We found out last winter, I believe, that Joanna Johnson and her husband at Slate Falls Press were coming out with a new book entitled 'Phoebe's Birthday'. Their first book Phoebe's Sweater is without a doubt one of our all time favorite books (and the sweaters I knit from it are also my favorite knits), so I am sure you can imagine we were waiting with bated breath for the new one to come out.
I had been chatting back and forth with Joanna Johnson about the new book and then one day she posted a picture on her site of some of the projects from it. I instantly spotted the mermouse in one of them. It was hard to see though, so I was thinking it was a knitting pattern. Then Joanna shared with me that the new book had knitting AND sewing patterns in it, one of the sewing patterns being the mermouse. She said it was a simple pattern a child could make. Right then I knew exactly what K and I would be doing together over the summer. I ordered the suggested fabric in preparation and then anticipated Phoebe's Birthday arrival.
A crowd gathers
The book arrived in early July. The story, as well as the patterns, exceeded our high expectations (I look forward to making many more things from it). Phoebe learns to swim which is very timely for us. Reading it about twenty times the first day prompted K to work on some of her swimming fears. After that, K and I instantly got to work on her project. The way children learn is through imitation so I decided I would make a mermouse for C while K made her own. Because K is only 6 and we follow Steiner's teachings, I opted to have K hand sew her mermouse (sewing machines are not used in Waldorf teachings until later in the grades). This meant the project would take a bit longer than if we sewed by machine but that gave us extra Mama/K sewing time and I loved every single minute of it.
K worked ever so diligently on her mermouse from the moment we started. I have to say I truly enjoyed teaching her, there were quite a few new things for her to learn. She quickly became addicted and wanted to sew every chance she got; she is her Mama's daughter, after all. Our days became consumed with sewing our mermice (is that even a word?!). C was a little sad that she was too young to help with her mermouse so I made sure to include her and let her stuff her doll herself. After less than a week had passed, our projects were completed. Sewing seems to be one of K's hidden talents. Her mermouse came out much cuter than the one I made for C.
At the end of the pattern Joanna says to complete the mermouse with a child's shell bracelet around her neck as a necklace. So we brought our newly finished dolls to our local craft store and I let the girls loose to pick out their bracelets. They spent a good hour deliberating over their options. Once they came to a decision I told them each to pick one more so that they could have their own bracelets to match their dolls'.
In their bubble dresses
Phew! I was trying to keep this post short but this was such a big thing for us, I just can't seem to stop gabbing about it!
K is very proud of herself and her special doll,(Can't you just see it in her face?) but who can blame her?! I am pretty darn proud of her myself! She brings her mermouse everywhere and let's everyone know she made her all by herself. I do believe this doll will be a treasured heirloom, and rightfully so.
Now do I have all of you wanting to create a mermouse of your own with your child? Then I have some good news for you. Slate Falls Press is generously offering one of you very lucky readers your very own copy of Phoebe's Birthday!
Phoebe's Birthday tells the charming story of beloved Phoebe mouse, who spends the summer at the beach with her family and overcomes her fear of learning to swim as she prepares to celebrate a very special birthday.
The book includes a lovely set of photographs of the knitting and sewing patterns from the illustrated story, including Phoebe's Party Dress, Sun Tunic, Sun Romper, and Headwrap. It also includes sewing patterns for Phoebe's Spool Quilt and the Phoebe Mermouse Doll. This book is an heirloom gift for any child, especially one who is special in the life of a knitter.
For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!
If you would like additional chances to win:
-Follow Slate Falls Press on twitter : https://twitter.com/joanna__johnson
-Like Slate Falls Press on Facebook : www.facebook.com/SlateFallsPress
-Post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog
-Check out Joanna's designs and tell us which is your favorite : www.ravelry.com/designers/joanna-johnson
-Let me know you are a dear follower of Frontier Dreams
and please make sure to come back and leave separate comments letting me know you've done so!
Comments closed.
The winner is: Jes -
Love the Mermouse! The book sounds wonderful.
Congrats! Please contact me at farmergopi(at)yahoo (dot) com
Thank you Slate Falls Press for this incredible opportunity. Good luck everyone!!
