Crafting and Handwork!
Anyone who knows our girls knows how obsessed they are with crafts and handwork. They have always loved to do crafts at home, and their school has a fabulous art and handwork curriculum that they love. They love to paint, draw, colour, and do anything involving scissors and glue, knit, crochet, sew, and so much more!
Since we were in York for over three months, we’ve allowed them to accumulate more crafting supplies than we typically would. They were able to spend plenty of time on these. One thing both girls are working on is crocheting an around-the-world blanket. We buy them a ball of yarn from every country, and they incorporate all the yarns from each country into their rugs for their bedrooms. They got busy crocheting Halloween costumes for all their stuffies, which were very creative and very cute! Katia also picked up a knitting book from the library so they could practice some new knitting patterns.
When we went on our walking holiday, we learned all about herbal medicines and tinctures at Alnwick Castle. What herbs were used for what ailments before modern medicine, what combinations went well together, etc. We also got to learn to make our own soap using some of these herbs. We each got to choose two herbs that we thought would work well together and for what we wanted… or that were a pretty colour and/or smelled good! LOL We had a great time learning to mix up soap and each got to go home with our very own bar we made.
They’ve also had the opportunity to expand their crafting horizons. Being an old city with so much history, there are still guilds that are around to this day.
The girls met people from the spinners, weavers, and dyers guild. They learned all about the traditional ways to spin wool into yarn with demonstrations of various types of spinners, as well as various types of looms and how to do traditional and modern weaving. They got to practice using a drop spindle to spin wool themselves. This experience tied in nicely with an exhibit we saw in Scotland for weaving, which kept the girls enthralled for a solid hour. We had to almost drag them away from this exhibit. While we didn’t get to try weaving in Scotland or York, they do want very badly for us to buy them a beginner’s loom so they can do some weaving when we go back to Canada.
We bought each of them a drop spindle and bag of wool, so they could work on these skills at our apartment. It didn’t take them long to spin all the wool into yarn. Their workmanship wasn’t the greatest at the beginning, but their nimble fingers picked up on it quickly and the quality of their work was impressive in no time. Thankfully we were able to buy more wool for them to spin since they went through the first batch so quickly. We shipped the drop spindles back to Canada, where they await our return. The girls are enthusiastic about going back to spinning wool again when we go back home.
York Minster is an impressive structure that requires a lot of upkeep and restoration. They have set up a full-time stonemasons workshop at the rear of the Minster that is open for people to watch them at their craft. The girls did not get to try any stonemason work for themselves, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t thoroughly impressed to watch and learn about this craftsmanship!
We went to another fair where they had big printing press machines and another person who was teaching the kids how to hand-mix paint to get specific colours. The girls loved the printing press. They learned how to roll paint onto the mechanical typeface. This had already been set up for them in advance, but they were given instructions on how they would set the typeface, including how it needs to be backward so that it shows up properly when they transfer the paint/ink from the typeface onto the paper. They then had to lay the paper onto the typeface and roll the giant roller over the paper to transfer the ink. There are probably more technically accurate terms for these components, but I don’t know them! The girls got to do two different colours, which meant two different machines. They found this process intriguing and also couldn’t believe how difficult and time-consuming it used to be to make prints of things. I told them to try to imagine what it was like pre-printing press when everything was written by hand! LOL
Speaking of writing by hand, the girls LOVE looking at all the calligraphy sets everywhere we happen to come across them. And the wax seals, where you get a little wax stick to melt down and a metal stamp to make a wax impression. There are some truly gorgeous calligraphy sets we have seen. In one shop, the girls got to practice writing their names with a calligraphy pen and ink pot. They thought it was great. I have a calligraphy set that Jon got me a few years ago, as I’ve always wanted to learn calligraphy. Unfortunately, we are so busy all the time that I just have never found the time to learn yet. I set it aside for when the girls were a little older and more independent and I had a little more time back in my life. But I might not need to wait that long after all. The girls are passionate about learning calligraphy together when we get home. We have been making sure they write in their journal each weekday for at least 20 minutes. I told them to keep working on that and their penmanship in general, as that will give them a stronger foundation to start learning calligraphy together. I’m excited to take on that craft together!
Speaking of journalling, I wanted the girls to work on journalling to practice spelling, grammar, and penmanship while we are away. I go through and correct their spelling and grammar mistakes. But also as a way for them to have a written record in the future so that they can look back on their favourite memories from our year abroad. However, they have been getting out of the journalling habit in favour of creative writing. They asked if instead of writing about what they’re doing, they could both write books, instead. They both want to publish some books this year while we are away. Given they are still getting in the spelling and grammar work that their teacher asked us to do with them while we are away, I had no objections to this. They have been diligently working away at writing stories. Their imaginations are impressive!
Through a combination of cookbooks from the library and looking up recipes online, we found quite a few new recipes, many of them more British-focused. We spent a lot of time trying out new baking and cooking recipes. We also spent some time learning to bake bread from scratch towards the beginning of our time in York. Baking was always my domain with them, while Jon would spend time cooking up new recipes and feasts!
At the tea and coffee social time after service at York Minster one week, we learned they needed 1,000 stars to decorate with for the Christmas crib service. The girls’ eyes lit up the second they heard this and they happily accepted the challenge! They gave us a link where you could watch a YouTube video to teach you how to make an origami star. They also gave us a demonstration at their table, as well as the templates we needed to make the correct size origami and regular paper stars. The girls spent the next week perfecting the art of making origami stars. They also made the traditional paper stars, spending time decorating them with stickers and markers. They ended up making 33 stars that were good enough quality to hand in the next week for them to use. We plan to hold onto the templates so they can make some origami star garlands next Christmas for our home!
They are determined to keep learning crafts and handwork of all types and have a goal to learn to sew their own clothes as they get a little more proficient with sewing. They can spend hours in yarn shops, fabric shops, button shops, etc. These two girls are definitely hands-on people who love learning how to do things from scratch and by themselves. We love to see them getting more and more proficient at all their crafting and handwork over the years.