Fall / Winter Crafts Week 3: Gnomes

I've had the good fortune to attend handwork group with several other women from Helen's school. We spend a couple of hours after drop-off on Friday to make crafts that will be sold as a fundraiser for the school. The only problem with this is that if I bring home a project that's not quite finished, I'm sure to get a request to make some for Helen. A huge upside to this is that I'm often discovering half-finished projects of my own, and I've been inspired to finish some of them.

This little set of gnomes is the start of a growing collection. I'm planning on hiding them around the house in December as a game for Helen and Connor. I gifted the pink gnome, pictured below, to Helen after Connor's second surgery. Both Ed and I had to miss dinner with her while we waited for Connor to go into surgery. I figured she'd appreciate receiving something I made while waiting for Connor to wake up from anaesthesia.

The how-to is pretty simple.

1. Start with a little wooden peg, like the ones found here.
2. Cut a rectangular piece of felt that can be wrapped around the base of the peg. Glue it in place or sew the ends together to keep it in place.
3. Sew around the neck so the felt will fit snugly and not fall off.
4. Cut a cape to fit the gnome and stitch around the edges and add embroidery to the back if desired.
5. Add some sort of hat and you have a gnome!