Easter Bunny

At first I embroidered a sort of pink nose and mouth on the felt, but changed it to the heart-shaped snout with whiskers after playing around with it. It was difficult to embroider the whiskers on the puppets after they were sewn. I should make sure I'm satisfied with a face design before sewing around the edges. But it's best to glue the eyes on after sewing as they can be a bit bumpy under the presser foot of the sewing machine. Don't forget pompom tails. Happy Easter!

In like a lion...

An old truism says that if March "comes in like a lion", it "goes out like a lamb": if March 1 is blustery, March 31 will be fine, and vice versa. Both March 1 and 31 were fine, if cold, in Nova Scotia, though March 2 and 29-30 provided wintry weather in various parts of the province. This year, the early daylight savings time change on March 11 meant we could bundle up for outdoor play (bikes, scooters, road hockey) after supper in the light. A great way to start spring.

I wanted to make a lamb to go with the lions on this theme, but I can't quite get the face and ears pattern in my mind. I usually look in books and at images on the Internet, but anyway, the lamb design eludes me for now. Maybe a reader can send in a design at some point. I really welcome posts about your own designs for puppets!

Blankets of Love

I read in Tuesday's Chronicle-Herald that volunteers around Nova Scotia make quilts and afghans, and send them to the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia where they are delivered to mental health patients in hospital. Over 250 blankets have been delivered so far. Kathy Higgins of the Mayflower Quilting Guild said, "We can't be with all of the patients to provide them with a hug... so this is our way of being able to do that." For more information call the Foundation at 902-464-6000. The Herald article was by Lois Legge. I have requested a photo for this post as I don't think I can legally reprint the one from the Herald.

Zucchini felt finger puppet

This zucchini puppet is pretty basic. I guess she could be called a little green person too, but I was thinking zucchini when I made her. If it was a person I might have added hair.

Any resemblance to a certain animated vegetable character involved in "Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun!" is purely coincidental though quite flattering.

The photo was taken on my front lawn.

Thanks for the contribution!

I haven't even launched my blog yet and already the love is coming in! My friend (my new friend and my sister's old friend) Patti looked at my blog. And then she outed herself as a finger puppet lover too, and waxed lyrical over the common crow. To quote:

"I wanted to let you know that I have made a great finger puppet. The crow. He is made much like your pig. Two pieces of black felt sewn together. Add googly eyes, and a V shaped gold nose and glue some great black feathers to his back rising up like a great tail. I also stuck a tongue depressor up inside (instead of a finger) and added a magnet to the back so he could rest on your fridge when he wasn't in use. I think crows get a bad rap in this world, they are very smart and help with keeping the earth clean. What is so bad about that?"

Patti claims to be retired from finger puppet construction, so she sent me her leftover supplies - a whole bunch of sewn bodies (or heads - I guess it depends what the puppet turns out to be) awaiting features , and lots of eyes and pompoms. Woo hoo, we're in business. Can't wait to make a crow though I can't quite figure the feather bit out.

I can tell where this is heading - soon I'll need to hold a Glue 'n' Chew party. You've heard of Stitch 'n' (you know what); well a Glue 'n' Chew is when you gather pals of either sex, assemble crafts with a glue gun, and of course, have snacks. My son's school has one every year to create Christmas ornaments for their Sharing Tree. When a child brings in a book to go under the tree, they take an ornament home as a souvenir. The books are sent to a designated charity. In 2006 it was North Queens Elementary School in Caledonia, NS. It was destroyed by fire the previous summer.

Anyway, maybe we'll have the Glue 'n' Chew to celebrate the launch of the Puppets for Kids Blog. Hey Patti, do you feel like coming to town and making puppets with us?

Wanted: Puppets

Atlantic Fabrics, Dartmouth Nova Scotia: the collection basket is decorated by some really amazing puppets! Dig the elephant.

Knitted puppets at Atlantic Fabrics

Here are the knitted/crocheted puppets donated by an anonymous crafter and modeled by a helpful shopper. Above: close ups of a few others.

Does anyone know - when using knit as an adjective, are they knit puppets or knitted puppets? I am using knitted for now, as "knit puppets" sound too much like a command.

Atlantic Fabrics in Dartmouth

I found out about the IWK Auxiliary puppets for kids project at my local Atlantic Fabrics store. They have a basket of wool near the checkouts (presumably donated by someone) and an appeal for puppets to be made and dropped off at the store. When I was in the other day there were quite a few knit or crocheted (I can't tell the difference) puppets there awaiting pickup.

By the way, you can get lots of craft stuff at Wal Mart and dollar shops but we need to patronize our dedicated fabric/craft/wool shops too, because they carry such a good selection, and have knowledgeable staff. Crafters and seamstresses / seamsters need these stores.

After cooing over them, I am now keen to learn to knit or crochet these puppets as well as make the felt ones. My last attempt at wool craft was in Grade 9 Home Ec. at ARHS, when I took a whole term to crochet a pink yardstick cover, a really useful item, eh? I think I was at the stage of "I am so embarrassed to be in Home Ec." that I didn't try very hard!

Now, working away with wool in front of the TV is appealing, if there is anything on TV that I actually want to see. The felt puppets involve sewing on the machine and hot-gluing so they are not as TV-friendly though good for listening to the radio or MP3. I think if one had a good, even blanket stitch, one could sew the seam on the felt puppets by hand in front of TV, but my blanket stitch isn't at that level. Any advice from readers as to whether I should attempt knitting or crocheting first?

Knitted finger puppets

In August 2006, Ariannah posted about the finger puppets needed by the IWK. She provided a photo of adorable puppets knit and crocheted by her and her daughter. Check out her adorable puppets at

http://ariknits.blogspot.com/2006/08/smiley-happy-people.html

Read to Me program

Something else I have recently learned about the IWK Health Centre is that they have volunteers reading to kids. This quote is from the Winter 2007 Newsletter on the Read to Me Website:

"A hospital waiting room can be a stressful place for children and their families. In January 2002 Read to Me!launched a reading program at the IWK Health Centre for children who are awaiting treatment. The program runs in the Emergency Department, Outpatient Day Clinics, Same Day Surgery and has recently expanded to the Perinatal Follow-up Clinic. The simple act of sharing a story with a child can bring comfort and joy and help make the time seem to fly by."

The Read to Me program gives a literacy kit containing books and other literacy materials to all 10,000 babies born in Nova Scotia each year. What a great way to start a lifelong love of books!

Banana felt finger puppet

Bananas are shaped like fingers so this seemed a natural for a finger puppet. It's a prototype and I am not sure if this design will be a keeper.

Viking felt finger puppet

Vikings are cool. Dig the uni-brow.

To make this Viking, I sewed two colours of felt together, then pressed the seam down and cut 2 of the basic shape with the seam in the centre. I cut the horns of contrasting felt and just laid them out with about 1/2 cm extending inside the puppet. You can pin it, but I find felt sticks together pretty well as it is being sewn. Though perhaps they would have turned out symmetrical had I bothered to pin... next time.

I sewed around the top curve and hot-glued the other features on. You can't see it in the photo but the stitching is beginning to come undone at the bottom. This was the prototype on which I learned the importance of back-tacking (aka back-stitching).

Pig felt finger puppet

It's Year of the Pig (started February 18, 2007) for those celebrating Lunar New Year. This felt finger puppet is easy to make. I cut the two main pieces and sewed them together, being sure to back-tack to make the two bottom corners durable.

The ear details, snout and eyes features are glued on with hot glue. You can use white craft/kids glue for felt if it is just for a decoration, but not if it will be handled and used; we tried that and all the features fell off quickly. The two nostrils are detailed with my silver Sharpie marker.

Welcome to Puppets for Kids!

You can do something to help children in the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This fine hospital for children, women and families, serves its community well. The IWK Auxiliary oversees a project to provide finger puppets to kids at various places in the hospital, including when they have blood tests. Oooh, a pinch. Oh, a puppet!

You can create puppets from yarn by knitting, crocheting, spool knitting or weaving. Or you can make puppets from felt by sewing and gluing. Note that puppets with parts that can fall off, such as googly eyes, will be used for children over 3. They can be dropped off at locations of Atlantic Fabrics or to the IWK itself, more details to come.

I welcome posts and photos of puppets you have made (either for the IWK or otherwise) and instructions or patterns!

Linda