(at the workbench) - the apprentice

 last week ended unexpectedly with a sick kiddo, but here they are finally finished toy tool sets for the young woodworker's apprentice .  I've listed a couple sets today and will probably be able to finish of two or three more sets with the remaining beautiful walnut that i've been working with.

i'll also have another finished project to share later on this week too... hope you're having a great week and enjoying gorgeous spring weather!

(at the workbench) - shake me

 

 

simplicity is often best...

here is one of the couple projects I've been working on this week. 

I love the native hardwoods I used and the beautiful contrasting wood grainsand the playfulness of the maple and cherry wood spots against the recessed holes that masquerade as spots as well 

and how all together this detail conceals where the shaking rattles sound is coming from!.....This is one of the things I like most about rattles.... 

that they create a bit of a puzzle for the little ones. I can remember when my daughter was young how she amused herself by making wonderful little sounds as she moved through the house. How wonderful it is to be a little noise maker!

I've combined the classic wooden toy with another everlasting childhood toy: stacking blocks

what better fun than to stack, tumble, tip, shake and of course general happy baby noise making!

(at the work bench) - anna's very curious

well it shouldn't have come as a surprise ...

 that anna would take interest in a little fish,

 how could she know, it wasn't made for her ....

but for other curious little hands of baby, after all anna's pretty little paws can't shake a little rattle ...


while the little fish tell about the undersea adventures and other such fishy tales,  today I'll have a few new toys to finish for the little ones again ... though that's not likely to make our dear anna any less curious ....

(around the table) - parts of the whole

.... with the piece of a puzzle, the whole is formed....














on one of those quiet weeks  .... just beginning to feel right after days home sick ... and ready for a little something special .....

my daughter picked up this project.... made from the most simple of templates found in this book  ....she set out on her own to make several felt balls.

 as she sat quietly .... picking up pieces ....arranging the parts this way and the other ....making shapes and stitching together the little felt diamonds .... she began to see ... little star pockets one way and rounded balls another ....

happy chance encounters with the softest of geometry (sometimes to the count of 6 and other times to the count of 10) ...

the shapes and pieces that form the whole though simple ....

.... made from a wonderful afternoon full of discovery.

(process) - from lands long ago

I have been wanting to add a weekly process feature to "Whither Will I Wander" for a long time ... sharing traditions of woodworking,  toy making, and of old and perhaps forgotten artistry .

Hope you enjoy today's post sharing a still living history of the the handmade wooden toy in three far away workshops....

at the workbench - At Baby's Farm

Baby finds his first toys ... his own little hands are great discoveries ... and just beyond those little hands, baby goes on to reach out to his world beyond ...


by taste and by touch ... baby learns .... grasping and holding, turning and even biting ... a baby's world is learned closeup.







... at the workbench this past week  ... I have been at work on a *Farm for the littlest people....

... little creatures for even littler hands  ... I love these simple wooden toys that grow with the youngest child ... little toys that gain in character as baby learns his first words

...a first pretend play set ...where a little wooden bunny teether learns to hop along a trail and a little wooden chick can build a nest and speak and snuggle with other farm yard friends.
Even the simplest toys are ever changing in a young one's world.

(at the workbench) - the woodcutter's story

i love a good story... even as my daughter grows tall ... we love reading stack upon stack of old picture books and fairy tales...

hidden in these stories are truths so old and deep that their meanings continue to reveal themselves as we grow older. if you are not familiar with this lovely site- SurLaLune Fairy Tales-  take a look. you will find a beautiful collection of fairy tales, illustrations, annotations and similar stories found across cultures.

here are a couple of favorite stories about the brave, and honest woodcutter's journey:
~ the golden goose 
~ the honest woodcutter

 
and of course there are these old folk tales:
 ~ brave Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk"
~ little red riding hood



my sick little girl woke up early this past wednesday morning and from another room I heard:  "Wha-ching, watching, wha-ching". there in her hands was the happy discovery of the woodcutter's ax - a new tool I made late the night before while she slept. perhaps this may sound funny, but some how wooden toys feel honest; they are earthy and wonderful to touch and hold. Because wooden toys have this quality they become tools for the imagination.

this woodcutter's ax - as quickly as it was finished, made it's way to a little boy's hands for his fifth birthday. No sooner was his present unwrapped and there he was "ka-chink, ka-chink, ka-chink"!  It's always so wonderful to see a child at play!

well, I am back to the workbench to finish today's many projects - there will certainly be a couple more wooden axes in the works. one that will have to make it's way back to my daughter's hands!

PS. If you or a friend are a lover of fairy tales - I would love if you could share a comment about your favorite woodcutter's story. Thank you!

at the workbench - Months Gone By

september ...

october....november .... december

 

 at work ... a mountain of friendly faced toys, wood scraps, shavings and saw dust ... coming to the end of this year's work at the bench... then some short days at rest with twinkling lights and silent nights.

Thank you for sharing in a beautiful and busy year and wishing you a lovely New Year!!

(at the workbench) - folk flowered pinwheels

Sometimes ideas are persistent - a bit like young children .












My new Folk Flowered Pinwheels and Summer Quilted Pinwheels just happened to be this way.

As much as I like visiting my local lumber mill or the hardware store, I do love a visit to the fabric store. Aisles and aisles of such pretty colors, prints and patterns - little by little, a beautiful yard or so of this or that fabric comes home with me. They sit neatly stacked -looking so inviting- and waiting for project of their very own.

I never took home economics in school. Sewing becomes a needed skill when an idea or project is in process. In the end a sewing machine might not be so different from a bandsaw!

I love that with simple materials, an enduring classic plaything can be remade. These pinwheels are eco-friendly, wind-powered, stitched and quilted, modern folk flowered, calico fabrics, fun.


Who doesn't love seeing a twirling , spinning pinwheel on beautiful summery day.

(at the workbench) - a fanciful flock

A new flock takes shape with the welcome return of wintering birds.

the golden goose story rattle, originally uploaded by prettydreamer.workshop.

As windows open to bring in spring air, the silent waving of a pines boughs at my window is replaced with the voice of a living woods. Above the spring peeper's persistent jingle, there is a growing jungle of sound.

Robins are warmed in the renewed sunshine as they search for dinner in the soft earth. Canada geese call to each other announcing "we're back". Crows and songbirds both add their voice as the world comes alive.


In the workshop a flock of fanciful birds takes shape.
Cutting, shaping and hollowing - look for birds with wooden feathers .

Musical wooden toys and rattles to sit in baby's lap.

Come visit the new flock - they'll be quite a few more wooden birds to watch for.