Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,lydia grace rogers
Date: 23 May 09 - 09:37 AM

"I say you should show pictures too!!!! But every thing else is good !!!!!!!!!"

Thank you.

Subject: RE: Anyone here make hand-puppets?
From: GUEST,SharonA - computer won't let me log in
Date: 24 May 09 - 10:14 AM

"Seems to me that the papier-mache heads would be rather heavy for small hands to maneuver if the puppets are glove-type puppets. However, if the head were to be mounted on a rod, with a loose cloth body attached to the head, then the child could hold the rod and work the puppet that way."

Interesting you should say that. In the meantime, I've more-or-less decided to go this route.

Sadly, the children seem to have lost interest in music lessons, at least for the present. The nearly-eight-year-old loved the knitting fork, said she liked it better than her knitting dolly, and knitted and knitted with it for a long time on Friday. The six-year-old liked it, too, but didn't get much chance to use it. I started showing them how to knit on two needles: the six-year-old couldn't manage making the first stitch for starting the cast-on, but the eight-year-old managed a couple of stitches successfully (I cast on for her).

They like making strings of beads so I looked up how work beads into crochet and have made a couple of samples. I taught myself how to crochet a few years back, but never made anything. I've now started a garment for a puppet. I was going to make it a hand puppet, but I decided I wanted the garment to be symmetrical with set-in sleeves, and I think that will work better with rods. I think I'll put in a rod and cast a plaster base so that it can stand on a table. I may try to find a source of joints for stop-motion puppets --- animation being something I've always wanted to do.

I'll ask the eight-year-old which she'd rather learn, knitting or crocheting.

The store where I've bought the various tools for knitting, weaving, etc., has wool that's been washed and combed, but not dyed or spun.   It has nice long fibres and is quite a bit cheaper than the wool sold for felting. Felting has become very popular here (in Germany). They have at present one hand carder, but the owner will order a second one for me and also try to find some unwashed wool for me. I'll just spin it and wash it and worry about dying it in the fulness of time.

Not many sheep in the immediate vicinity anymore and I don't know where the next hedgerow is. The university has a few for research and/or teaching purposes. It gets rural very quickly here once you leave town, but I don't think they're big on raising sheep or on hedgerows around here.