The Connections Bridgewater Somerville Edition November 2020

HOME & DESIGN PAGE 18 theconnectionsnj.com And what a year it has been! Do you nd yourself tracking everything? Steps, days of isolation, days until next summer? I nd myself counting down the days to a BIG EVENT. I have one coming up in the spring of 2021 and decided to mark the countdown by making a Temperature Scarf. A Temperature Scarf is a fun project popularized a few years ago with the in- creased awareness of global warming. It’s meant to track the temperature and/or weather over a period of time; usually a year. It’s a fun stash buster where you partner with Mother Nature; you choose the colors and she controls the design. Here’s how it works: First, create a chart with a different color for each 10-degree spread. Make a second chart if you want to record the weather. My charts range from 100 to 0 degrees (10 colors) and the weather cho- sen include: snowy, rainy, cloudy, hazy, and sunny (5 colors). Feel free to use a larger temperature gradient or more or fewer weather conditions. Assign one color to each temp band and/or weather condition. Next, select a city or favorite location. Let’s say Paris or Warren. Paris, because your trip was canceled and you are waiting for the green light, or Warren because we love it here. Then, go to timeanddate.com, select Weather, and search for your chosen city (Warren Township, NJ). Select Yesterday/ Past Weather. Go back as far as Sept 2009, and identify the high temp for each day and the weather at that time. I chose Warren and decided to start with May 1, 2020. [If you would like to make a 2020 scarf, contact me for the full chart of temps and weather from Jan – Oct. I’ll post the remainder after Dec 31. FYI: In 2020, Warren’s daily highs have uctuated between 30 and 93 degrees.] For the yarn, choose colors that work well together. They do not need to be the same weight. Plan ahead; the colors in the mid-range will appear more frequently than the extremes. If you want to include both the temp and weather, choose any yarn weight for the temp and a thin yarn, e.g., silk mohair or ngering yarn, for the weather. When using 2 colors, you will be holding 2 colors throughout. One -two rows represent each day. Work on it daily or plow through. Any pat- tern or design will do. Other ideas: season- al placemats or baby blanket. For Knit or crochet pattern ideas, here are a few links. Knit: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/ library/my-year-in-temperatures--scarf and https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ zickzack-scarf Crochet: https://www.ravelry.com/pat- terns/library/groovy-ghan An idea for children: Fold a sheet of lined paper in half vertically. Create a col- or chart to represent the temp ranges and weather. Color one line on one side of the fold for the temp and the other side for the weather. To make a lesson, pick the same month from 10 years ago and make anoth- er drawing. What do you see? How are they different? How are they the same? Hope you enjoy your unique project. I’ll share mine in the spring. Can’t wait! An idea for children: Fold a sheet of lined paper in half vertically. Create a color chart to represent the temp ranges and weather. Color one line on one side of the fold for the temp and the other side for the weather. To make a lesson, pick the same month from 10 years ago and make another drawing. What do you see? How are they different? How are they the same? TRACKING A YEAR IN COLOR How to Make a Temperature Scarf? A trip to the Emerald Isle just before the pan- demic grounded veryone, introduced me to the Irish belief in fairies. The even place littl fairy doors in- side their homes. (Think Tom and Jerry cozy mouse hole.) I was en- ha ed a d envisioned a fairy door that could be fashioned to a tree as an imag- inary fairy hous for my granddaughter. I reach out to a friend with full wood- working shop, sent a photo and asked if he could make a little do r in a door jam th t could open and close. I was blown a ay when he sent photos of his vision. Now I needed fairies! Turning to Pinterest, my favorite rabbit hol , the search began, starting with fai y dolls and land- ing upon peg doll . Peg dolls are m de of wood, commonly stand about 2.5” tall by .75” wide and are shaped like a round peg with a head on top. They come in a vari- ety of styles and shapes, and can b dec- orated easily with paint, felt or markers to resemble any characters you can imagine. (They also t nicely into the classic Fish- er-Price Little People spaces, so perfect for little hands). Inexpensive blank peg dolls can be found on-line and at craft stores. The other supplies used include: • Small 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint in a variety of colors to mix and match; • Fine point brushes or just cut down a kid size watercolor brush; • Fine point paint pens; • A pencil; • Felt for accessories; • Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating to seal painted designs. • A glue gun for attaching felt details. Start with letting your imagin tion go wild. What fun making a menagerie of ani- mals, fairies, and characters from my grand- daughter’s favorite books! Here are the steps: 1. Draw the design onto the peg doll with pencil. 2. Use a plastic lid to place small amounts of paint and an area for mixing color. Paint the main sections and let dry. 3. Use the paint pens to edge the paint- ed areas and add details. 4. Spray the pegs with Crystal Clear to set the work. Test to make sure that the paint and paint pens do not run. 5. Use felt to add accessories like hats and clothing Pinterest will provide an endless view of characters to create, hairstyles, facial ex- pression, on and on. Think about the Harry Potter characters or other characters from your favorite children’s books. Now, during this time of COVID, I can read The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown over Facetime while my grand- daughter holds the peg dolls of the playful kittens, Brush and Hush. My daughter got into the fun and created the main charac- ters from Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, the gures of Madeline and Miss Clavel were easily rendered from illustrations. Halloween is on the way. Try making a few pieces. It’s kind of addicting. I was enchanted and envisioned a fairy door that could be fashioned to a tree as an imaginary fairy house for my granddaughter. Start with letting your imagination go wild. What fun making a menagerie of animals, fairies and characters from my granddaughter’s favorite books! FAIRY HOUSE AND PEG DOLL FUN By Carolyn Hanson tri t t r l I l j t f r t - i r e ry , i tr u d e t t Iris belief i fairies. Th e en pl e littl ir r i - sid t ir h . (Thi k Tom a d Jer m e le.) I a - h t isione fairy d or t at l f hi to a tr i a - i r f ir ho f r y gr nd aug t r. I r ac t t frie it f l w o - working o , s t a ph t ked if h c ld lit le r i d or jam th t c uld p nd cl . I l w a ay w n e t h t of is i i n. I e f iri ! r i t i t r t, f orite r b it ol , r , t rti wit fair l n l n - i po peg l . P ll re m d f woo , ly t nd o t . t l .7 ” i a r li r it he n t p. i a vari- t f styles e , and c e - r ted asil ith p i t, f lt r ark r t r m le any c aract rs o ca i gi . ( y al t ni ely int t l s i i - r- ri Little P ple , rf t f r littl ). I e i l l f -li e t craft st r s. li i l : l t l f r li i t i ri t f l r t i t ; i i t r r j t t i iz w t r l r r ; i i t i t ; il; elt for ac s ri ; Cr t l l r r li ti t l i t i . l f r t i f lt t il . t rt with let ing r i agi ti ild. W t f a i g e ri f i- l , f iries, nd chara t rs fr m r - t r’s f rit ! : . r w t de i t t l it il. . l ti li t la l ts f i t nd n rea f r i i l r. ai t t e i e ti s l t r . . t i t t t i t- r a detail . . r t it Cr t l l r t t t r . st t m e re t t t ai t a p i t t r . . Us felt t d s orie like at l t i g Pi t r t wil ro i e e le s vi w f ar cter t r t , ir t l , f i l - r s ion, on. T i a t t arry tt r c aract r r t er r t r fr r f rit il r ’s . Now, during this time of COVID, I can r ad e Color it en rg r t is r r ti il r - ht r l th l s f th l f l it s, Bru d sh. My a ter t i t t f r t t i r - t r fr m Mad li e y i B l a , t r f li i l l re asil r dered from il tratio . l o e n i t way. r ma i a f i . It’s i f i ti . I i i i l i i i i d g t . i l i i i i ild. t i i n al , i i , d rac e om y ’ o it b o s! US a By Carolyn Hanson