FAIR CRAFTS (37 down)

(Here we are sharing/counting UP Forty Days and Forty Nights of our lives, our last on the inner-west side of town and, eventually, some of our first on the other (far) side of town, where we envisage some big changes coming our way. Thanks for joining us as we remember, celebrate and experience gratitude for our time here, and sometimes feel completely overwhelmed and exhausted by the changes underway!)

Today, I'm feeling completely over everything related to moving and am longing to do some crafting, knitting, sewing, ANYTHING (other than pack boxes!). My fingers itch from looking at these pictures. Oh, poor me! It won't be long before we're in the new house and I can do all of the above to my heart's content (kind of) but for now, I look back to a Spring fair and plan ahead!



This is a post I drafted months ago but only just completed. Hopefully it's a nice 'home-made reprieve' from all move-related entries here of late.

A few months back now, I set about making a contribution to Elsa's preschool/playgoup Spring Fair knowing it would be my last opportunity to do so, as a parent of a child attending at least. I volunteered to make the 'Mrs Pockets' apron and engaged the help of a friend in doing so - thankgoodness! Often called 'Lady Pockets' at Steiner fairs/fetes, Mrs Pockets is a different take on the 'Lucky Dip' theme. Someone, in our case the class teacher, moves about the fair wearing an apron covered in many pockets and for a small sum a child can choose a pocket in which they find a little gift. In the past, the teacher has borrowed a Mrs Pockets Apron from another Melbourne Steiner preschool/playgroup. Now she has her own and I hope it will bring joy for years to come!

With fabric contributed by families from the preschool, including some from my our stash, I covered a piece of fabric (a calico skirt for the apron) in little pockets, which were also lined in calico. Elsa and Rafa helped of course! Then, a friend brought together the overall apron, adding the skirt piece to a bib-like top and ties around the waist. Three additional pockets were placed across the bib-like top to the apron - I'm guessing some older and/or taller kids were able to access those upper pockets! I hope to have photos of the complete apron soon; you see, we took of to Sydney before it was fully constructed so unfortunately, I haven't seen the completed apron yet.

And what about the little gifts to fill those apron pockets? Well, my contribution was some little dolls inspired by the smallest doll found in this book and made, again, with fabric supplied by parents (including me) and the preschool's 'craft basket' stash.

And then, some wee gnomes. The wooden base came from here, along with much of the felt, with the exception of these garments made from an old cardigan.

And some walnut dolls snuck their way in...I had been holding onto a ball of walnuts for months and intended to make little dolls to pop into the shells. When the fair crafting got underway, I hoped to squeeze the smallest of wooden dolls into the shells to use in Mrs Pockets but, they were slightly too large. My co-fair-crafting friend came up with a wonderful little dolls using a pipe-cleaner and wooden bead (for the head) and there we were making sweet little dolls over and over again. These ones came to Sydney with me and were posted back for the fair.

And then, some crowns using the pattern from here, some fabric from various stashes, including my own, the school's craft baskets and Dana's stash of retro fun.

After a day of fair crafting, this is how Elsa ended up and I desperately wanted to join her! But it was worth it to have contributed to this lovely event one last time. Soon enough, we'll be involved in whole new school fair.