String/Yarn - French Knitting (Weekly Unplugged Project)
This week has been crazy for us with a school play, some gifts to make, my 7 year-old daughter’s book project (in addition to other homework), trying to peddle a few Christmas ornaments for Heifer International, etc., etc., etc. So our Unplugged Project fell a bit by the wayside, as did many of yours in this busy season I am sure!
So as to not appear totally lame (after all, the Weekly Unplugged Project is my idea so I can’t very well opt out can I?), I will post a String/Yarn themed project that my daughter has been continuously working on.
My 7 year-old daughter received a wooden “knitting mushroom” from Santa last year and really enjoys it. In case you are wondering about age-appropriateness, my daughter could manage all the knitting herself at age 6, although she needed my help to cast-on and off.
I recently reviewed a very nice one from Haba. The “knitting mushroom” creates a very simple, tubular, snake-like knitted strand that can be crafted into various objects, or simply knitted for the pleasure of knitting as ours have been so far, despite owning the inspirational book in the photo: Corking (Kids Can Easy Crafts)
. Ah well, we’ll get to it eventually.
My thoughts for this week had been: gluing yarn to construction paper to make designs or pictures with my 5 year-old, or trying finger knitting with my oldest. That will all have to be for another time however.
Next week I will be out of the country and most likely computer-less (AAAGHHHH!!! HELP!!!!!), so the following Unplugged Project will be due two-weeks from now - Monday, December 31st (New Year’s Eve? Time sure does go by fast!).
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New Year’s Unplugged Project:
Collage
Perhaps a collage of fun things remembered from the past year?
Or things that would be fun for the coming year?
Or, for children old enough to understand the concept of “New Year’s Resolutions,” a collage of pictures relating to their resolutions.
Or…a white collage for little ones…white like the winter snow of January.
Or…anything you want to do!
Have fun! I hope anyone who reads this and is interested, will join in and meet back here on Monday, December 31st to share posts. Happy Holidays!
Activity Ideas, textile/yarn/thread, travel, Unplugged Project
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arts and crafts, french knitting, knitting mushroom, spool knitter, string/yarn, Unplugged Project
Themocracy
out of the country? have fun!
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Hey I remember those when I was a girl. I get all warm and nostalgic looking at the photos. (Ours were more primitive of course, I even remember homemade ones.) But what can you make from them? I don’t remember making anything with them. So now I wonder what in the world we did with all those “things” we made.
Leaving the country huh? That must be exciting. Merry Christmas!
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I, too, had a type of knitting apparatus in about the 4th grade. We used it in our art class to make a scarf. I loved it! Thanks for bringing back fun memories!!
Have fun out of the country!!! We’ll miss you!
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Cool, we really like ‘french knitting’ as we call it. We have some Knifty Knitters http://www.rainbowsilks.co.uk/SubCategory.cfm?SubCatId=436
so we can make hats and bags and things in the same way.
Enjoy your holiday.
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I hope you’ll keep doingh these weekly things because every stinkin’ week I want to play and every week I forget. I am seriously thinking about making you a new year’s resolution! So you announce the project on Mnday for the following Monday? Is that it??
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So last night, while my husband was out grocery shopping, I decided to do the string project.
1) My first project idea was to cut up pieces of string and encourage my son to glue them to paper. 18.5-month-olds don’t always get projects like this — and I couldn’t convince him to do anything but stab the paper with the glue container.
2) Then, I thought - well okay I just make a friendship bracelet that I can give my daughter. I had sort of remembered a neat weave that I used to make 20 years ago — and wanted to try it again anyways. Well, I had embroidery thread - but no safety pin… but thought I could use a binder clip. I cut the thread and clipped it… Then, out of no where, my toddler came running up and wanted to get involved. So, I put away my thread…
3) When my daughter came home, I asked her if she wanted to help out… She was in. I took some embroidery thread and cut it into pieces. Then, I squirted some yellow and green paint into a bowl… My daughter tried to show my son how to dip the thread into the paint and guide it over the paper. Again, my son was more interested in doing his own thing. Before I knew it though, both of my kids were using the paint instead as hand lotion. Our paper looked less than lovely…
I’m not keen on posting the photos of the last project because it didn’t come out too well, but we did participate. Rather, we tried to…
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This looks like fun. Sam has asked me if he can learn to knit. I have no clue how to so maybe I should get one of these for him.
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I remember those knitting things too…I bet I have one somewhere..must go dig up. :-)
Have fun on your trip!
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Hi this is my first time joining in with your unplug projects. My children had a wonderful time doing this. I hope to add more of our yarn crafts from the week on my blog when my youngest children take a nap later today. I have dial up so picture loading is slow going for me. I do have a couple up from the other day. I forgot all about finger knitting. I think I might see if my children want to finger knit some simple scarves for Christmas gifts. Thanks.
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It’s a very interesting toy, funny for children (and their moms).
1kiss. Have a good time.
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I love our little knitting mushroom too!
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I’ve never seen anything like that but it looks really neat. I’ll have to look for one when my boys are a little older.
BTW, not to sound like a complainer, but your blog loads really slowly for me. Perhaps the problem is on my end but I thought I would mention it.
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Yes, a week in Mexico. Yeah!
Thank you all for joining in again. Sorry it didn’t work out well this week Jules. And welcome to Amber!
Tamara,
Thanks so much for the feedback on the slow-loading of my blog. I really appreciate it! It’s not bad on my computer, but I have heard a similar complaint from a few other people, so I am working on a much simpler blog. One day, you’ll arrive and see a big change (and a faster loading site I hope!).
Happy Holidays to all!
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I love the mushroom knitter. That reminds me of the fingerweaving I used to do when I was about her age. I bet you go through a lot of yarn in many pretty colors!
Enjoy your travels :)
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I hope you have a wonderful trip to Mexico- that sounds so exciting! Sorry I missed out again- I thought about it during the week and then forgot…again. I’m going to write the Collage deadline on my calendar this time!
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Thank you for including the glueing (is that spelled correctly?!) yarn to paper - I love unplugged ideas but many of them are too complicated for my 3.5 and 2.5 yo…glue + yarn = mess is perfect for them!
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