We met our little friend D when we first joined the Waldorf School Parent and Tot program. We live close by to each other and she connected really well with C. They've been great friends since. As have I and her parents. I've gotten to know them quite well and I consider them part of my community. I've had the pleasure of making her handmade presents for the past 3 birthdays now. It's been a real treasure that she enjoys them so much. This year at the Christmas Fair in the Market I caught a glimpse of little D trying on a felted princess hat. In true Suzanne fashion, I thought, "I could do that". And even though the felt was still drying in the birthday bag upon arrival, I did in fact do that.

The pattern is a free knitting pattern that is later felted that I found a very long time ago when I first joined Ravelry found here. I used Debbie Stoller's Full 'O Sheep for the knitting and some really special scraps for the veil. Each piece of fabric is from something of mine. The blue tulle is from a petticoat that I wore in a play, the velvet is from my princess costume this past Halloween and the lace is from the dress I wore to my friends wedding in the fall. It just worked out that way beautifully.
For this particular occasion though my knitting projects don't end there. As this was not only a birthday party but a Fairy and Gnome birthday party, C also required something to wear. My inspiration was your every day, garden variety, Garden Gnome.


So yes, the beard is knitted. I found this free Santa Beard pattern, also on Ravelry and knit it up with some random boucle type yarn that I had sitting around. It knit up in an hour. You'll see that I made modifications to the pattern as this beard is much smaller.
As for the hat, this pattern is from the book More Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I've been wanting to make this hat for a while. I bought some Bernat Roving in Cherry which turned out great for the Garden Gnome but as you can see authentic hand spun roving wool as pictured on the cover of the book make for a truly beautiful gift and hat. I will definitely make this one again in the future and will keep my eye out for exceptional yarn to do so.


My friend Jen did such a lovely job decorating. It was like walking into a Martha Stewart birthday party photo shoot. Very pretty and classy.
And as always after D's birthday, the countdown to C's birthday begins. I'm excited. It will be anything but pretty! XO. S