Kelly Casanova Weaving Lessons

Kelly

Easing into unschooling?

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This year has been quite a happy one for me personally and for my family too. Pondering over this recently led me to realise how drastically my approach to the home education of our children has changed.

Although I think of our style as “classical”, in my heart and mind I’ve been leaning towards what some have termed “unschooling”. I guess the term can apply to anyone who chooses not to send their child/ren to a typical school, but it does seem to receive a bad rap.

Does unschooling mean that Mum flits around doing what she pleases while the kids languish in boredom and nothingness? Of course not! To me, unschooling is living a lifestyle of learning, having the time to follow your own learning pursuits and build skills independently as well as together.

Now, I don’t think of my family as unschoolers. But I do know this. Since I relaxed our formal learning schedule things have changed for the better. We all have more time and we all use our time effectively (for the most part). We appreciate not being tied to a strict schedule that dictates what we do and when we do it. Isn’t that one of the reasons I don’t send my children to school anyway? It sure is!

Yesterday a few events highlighted the positive changes. My husband is usually home on Mondays, so we use it as a day off rather than a “school work day”. In the morning the two older girls (6 & 7) read books about dinosaurs together and had discussions about the same, then the older girl worked on her knitting and stitching projects while the younger one played with Lego. Meanwhile, the littlest in our family (4) was in her room setting up a “farm”. Our son (13) went out with his Dad to run errands the spent the larger part of the afternoon formulating and testing mathematical equations that I’ve never seen before! A year ago, this boy hated maths. Other parts of the day are used for art and craft work, writing, exercise, playing (individually and together), reading (lots of!), prayer and family activities. There is always plenty to do.

I was asked the other day whether we are unschoolers. My reply was “can we be in-betweeners?” We’re not throwing our “school” books away, there is a lot of value in sitting down to do bookwork, especially from a self disciplinary aspect and ensuring that basic education is covered. But I do find it truly amazing what a child can achieve when given the space to breathe.

*If you’re interested in reading more about unschooling, Sue’s blog is excellent and truly inspiring.

3 ways to save money today – volume 2

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1. Make food from scratch. Not only will this save you a lot of money but it will be healthier for you and your family. How often do you use a packet mix to make a meal? Or heat something from a jar? Yes, it will take extra time to cook from scratch but it is worth it for our family.

Here are some things I make from scratch rather than buy pre packaged.
Yoghurt
Bread and rolls
Pasta sauce
Casseroles or stew
Beans and lentils
Cakes and biscuits
Pizza
Hot chips

2. Buy in bulk
If there is a food item (say flour) that you use constantly and fairly quickly, see what the bulk prices are like – for most things the savings are significant.

3. Make ahead and freeze.
If you manage to get your hands on some cheap minced beef, why not buy a few kilograms and cook it all up at once, divide into freezer bags and freeze. You only have to deal with the meat once and all at one time. This means you don’t have to do the dishes for that particular meal over and over, you don’t have to turn the gas or electricity on and off as you would if cooking each meal separately and best of all your freezer is stocked with some heat and serve meals! (By the way – I’m not suggesting you eat this meal repeatedly, stretch it out over a couple of months so that you don’t all get tired of eating the same thing).

Wishing you all a happy and holy weekend, God bless you!

Shop update

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I’ve been working on my Etsy shop a little and must say, I’m pretty happy with how it’s looking at the moment – it really reflects what I do and the different skills I have, plus the things I love.
 I wanted to get a full screen shot but as I’m possibly one of the least tech savvy of people, I could only get half!

Why not pop over and have a look for yourself (then you’ll get to see the whole thing!)

Silkies and soap making

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I have to show off Mary’s new silkies, they are so gorgeous! If you have ever considered having them, I do recommend them, especially as children’s pets. Don’t those feathers look soft, they’re more like hair than feathers. Look at those comical hair styles šŸ™‚

I’m not sure how old they are (forgot to ask!) but they’re not laying yet, so still young.

These two are classic, they’re totally inseparable, even though the dark black one is much younger. They spend their days roaming our backyard and the best part is they don’t scratch up the garden and make a mess like the Isa browns do!

Soap making revisited. My second attempt – a different recipe this time. While the last batch of soap was nice it was nowhere near what I expect in a bar of soap. Too slimy and soft. This time I’ve opted for a castile recipe using beeswax and palm oil (sustainable of course!) to hopefully make harder, long lasting bars.

Looks like custard, the beeswax gives a beautiful golden glow and a really lovely, honeyish scent.

And finished! After resting overnight I’ll be cutting bars tomorrow, then curing for 4 weeks (that’s the worst part – waiting).

Felt food and wrist warmers

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It’s cold. It’s wet. It’s the perfect weather for working with wool! I knit these wrist warmers for myself originally, but they fit my eldest daughter better. In fact, the morning after I finished them they had disappeared from my sewing table and were seen on the wrists of a smiling lassy šŸ˜‰
These were a really easy knit from leftover yarn. The pattern is in “Learn to knit love to knit” by Anna Wilkinson.

Today is also our youngest daughter’s 4th birthday and I found myself in a bit of a panic 2 days ago when I realised I didn’t have any hand made gifts for her and my sewing machine is still being serviced. It’s a bit of a tradition now for me to give at least one Mama made gift.
I went through my wool felt drawer and thankfully found some pieces big enough to make some donuts. Since my eldest daughter started sewing and embroidering, my wool felt stores have been seriously depleted!

What’s your favourite flavour, strawberry?

Choc?

Or vanilla? 
Once again, if you would like a tutorial on how to make these, just let me know. I don’t mind doing tutorials and sharing patterns but I mostly only do tutorials nowadays if somebody asks.

Wool felt playscape

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I made this playscape for my animal loving Mary’s 6th birthday next week, but it’s turned out so well I had to share it early!

I dyed the wool felt myself to get the depth of shades I wanted.

I needle felted, then embroidered a nest that fits either kitty or Mother Duck and her 3 ducklings.

It took a lot longer in the planning than in the making, I was so indecisive about what to do.

But I’m so happy with it and I think she’ll love it!
The patterns for the knitted animals came from “Knitted Animals” by Anne-Dorthe Grigaff. I used either merino or alpaca yarn.

Chocolate crunchy slice

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I suddenly remembered this recipe yesterday. It is one of my Mum’s old recipes and now that she is gone I have her recipe book which is largely hand written.
As a girl I would make it for my Dad while he was working – I’d take him a cup of coffee and some slice and his most common response was “Goody!” while rubbing his hands together.
It’s really easy for kids to make too, my 5 year old made this one with me.
2 cups dessicated coconut
250 grams butter
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 cups self raising flour
1 cup sugar
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees. (C)
Melt butter and add to the dry ingredients. Mix well. If mixture seems a little dry add a little milk.
Press into a lightly greased slice tray. Bake for 25 minutes.
When cool you may ice the slice if you wish. I make a simple icing with soft icing sugar, cocoa powder and milk. Spread this on and sprinkle with extra coconut.

Busy, making

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I’ve started on the felt play mat for an upcoming birthday. I hand dyed the wool felt and it came up a bit blotchy, but doesn’t really matter seeing as it’s grass.
I’m not sure what else I’ll add in at this point, I tried some trees but they looked silly. Some mushrooms may be my next attempt.

Needle felting a nest for Mother duck and her ducklings (also in progress, nearly finished).

I’ve also turned some of our screen prints into cushions and bags.

I love the way my hobo style bags came out so I’ll probably sew more in this design.

More updates to come, and if you’re interested in a tutorial or how to for how to make the play mat, just let me know šŸ™‚

Gossamer Dreams tomorrow night

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I’m a guest with Gossamer Dreams this month and have some special Winter treats up for grabs. You can see previews of my items and all the other beautiful handmade goodies from some very talented artisans tonight from 8pm. This gives you time to “window shop” before the listings open. 
The shop goes live at 8pm Saturday 15th June, tomorrow night.
I hope you find something you love and happy shopping!