The Bit Inbetween

As the last mince pies are being nibbled on and I'm pondering why mulled wine is so irresistible, I just wanted to pop in to wish you all well and thank you for reading the blog this year. I'll be recording a holiday episode over this next week and then thinking about 2014 and all that it might bring. I've been tinkering around with my info pages as I plan to return a little more to regular scheduling (which means organising sponsors for the New Year) and work bookings (which means learning to juggle further still).

For us, this year's festivities have been about remembering the joy of Christmas when lights and wrapping paper and so many people bring the sweetest of smiles and the greatest of pleasures. Watching Christmas through the Playful One's eyes has been a delight. I'm so looking forward to watching the magic of Christmas unfold for her over the coming years.

More soon!

A Little Stocking Filler

Just in time for Christmas I received a lovely email from Clare Devine, the designer behind Sock Anatomy which I mentioned in the previous podcast. She would like to offer a discount code to all Playful listeners and readers. How festively generous!

'Flexor', (c) Clare Devine

To claim 20% off the cover price, enter the code 'aplayfulday1' when making your purchase on Ravelry. The code is valid through till 14th January 2014. 

'Planum', (c) Clare Devine

Happy Holidays!

A Song For Boo

Christmas is about coming together and thinking of friends and family and something happened several weeks ago that made me realise how important it is to nurture our relationships. We lost a beautiful person and I've not really found the words yet to express the way this saddened me. Somebody did and they've created a song, with all proceeds going to Diabetes UK, a charity very important to Boo and her family as she struggled to come to terms with her condition.

If you can find it in your hearts to buy the song, I for one would be very grateful as would her family who I know will find this particular holiday a very raw and painful one. The song was written by her former guitar teacher and his songwriting partner in her memory. 

It is a very beautiful song and I will always think of that Autumn day, staring at the stained-glass in Guildford Cathedral while surrounded by the many friends and family that came to show Boo how much we loved her. It hurt to listen to but it also gladdened my heart that her spirit lives on in all the many, many, many people she inspired. You can purchase the song through iTunes and download it here. If you make one holiday donation this year, I would be so grateful if it were this one. 

I wish everyone reading this the most warm wishes this holiday season and I hope 2014 brings many wonderful things into your life. 

Thank you 

Episode 45: Almost There

A Playful Day is kindly sponsored by NorthboundKnitting, uniquely hand dyed yarn, spinning fibre and modern knitting designs. Please show your support for our playful friend by clicking on the link above.

A Playful Day is proudly sponsored by Candy Skein, hand dyed yarns sweet enough to eat! Please support our playful friend by supporting the banner above.

Show notes:

There will be a Carol Feller -along in the Ravelry Group kicking off on Christmas EVE with some prizes from Carol, InnerYarnZen and Juno Fibre Arts. The thread is here and there will be an extra prize in the chatty thread just for playing along. 

I recommend Sock Anatomy by Clare Devine. 

Off the Needles

Tube Socks using up leftovers Malabrigo Rios in Purpuras colourway. 

On the Needles

Nangou by Melanie Berg using Wollmeise 100% Superwash Merino in the Cassis colourway and The Uncommon Thread Posh Fingering in the Plata colourway

Evernia by Tori Gurbisz Fyberspates Vivacious DK in 'Sunshine' colourway.

Future Knitting
Knit Night by Louise Zass-Bangham
Julissa by Vanessa Smith
Pyrite Socks by Carol Feller 
I debated between a Rosamund Sweater and Twenty Ten Sweater for my next cast on. 

Holiday with the Stars
Stacie and Steph from the Must Stash video podcast guest star in this festive segment.

Songs:

Fly, Fly, Fly by Adrina Thorpe, available on Noise Trade
Present Face by Garfunkel and Oates, available on their website. 

Christmas Crafting for EVERYONE

A few weeks ago I noticed the Playful One was no longer impressed by certain textures and will do her best to avoid any contact with some. A plastic dinosaur toy that she was gifted for her birthday produces the most deepest of shudders and when we attended a messy play session recently she skirted suspiciously round all the wet and mess and sat playing happily with the Duplo, casting a wary eye in the direction of the cornflour from time to time. A well meaning play supporter tried to coax her over and she instantly burst into tears. 

This was somewhat disappointing as getting good and messy is often half the fun of play and learning but I remembered working in various settings around this time of year where some children just did not want to play. At all. Either the glitter freaked them out (seriously, it just sticks, I totally understand this reaction) or the noise and expectation is all a bit much. I invariably was the one who volunteered to sit in the dark with the little ones who just wept when we went to the panto or to see Santa. I kinda got it. It's all this huge pressure to DO and ENJOY, right?

So I thought quite a bit about how to present some of the activities I had come up with for little one to start the tradition of holiday making. I wanted to make some gift tags and maybe some ornaments for our closest loved ones and a little souvenir for future years to come. However, the last thing I wanted was for her to scream in horror at the touch of glitter paint or just lose it mid hand print. 

We started slow and I let her explore the tools I thought she might enjoy working with in the paint. Some were more of a success than others but with no mess and paint in the way, she was quite content to at least try and touch everything in front of her. The scrubby was her least favourite and the green top to the sponge was also only brushed gingerly. 

Next we tried a little mark making, just to get the idea with some chubby crayons. I had no expectation for her to hold or grasp anything and we took it in turns to hold them and watch the colours as I brushed them onto the paper. This caused much whooping and chatter as she spotted the colours on the page forming and instantly, we were creating!

Then I stuck down some paper, added a little paint, a few tools and waited. It was all up to her. No pressure and no expectation. As she pointed inquisitively, I demonstrated a few moves that made some paint smear which, after much deliberating, she joined in with. Slowly but surely we produced a few pieces of art and no tears or shudders were produced. 

Supplies! (note the bowl and cloth ready for wiping!)

I had clean up stuff and everything we needed ready to go so when she started to look like she'd had enough I quickly wiped down and handed back the crayons to play with one more time while I finished cleaning up and hung the paintings up to dry. We sat chattering and looking at our masterpieces and it gave me lots of opportunity to practice some signs with her which she's also highly motivated by right now. The whole social aspect of the session was a big positive as far as she was concerned. I'm really hoping this leaks into other areas and next time the play supporter tries to lure her over to the paints, she doesn't cry but is a little curious. 

A success!