Greetings! My name is Farida Dowler, and I write a song and story blog called Saints and Spinners. Half of the blog name derives from my appreciation of stories in which textiles are somehow involved. The name of this site comes from a spider's silk-spinning organ, and is my informal nickname for the regular readers of my blog.
This site is a gallery of some of my textile creations. You may find me on Flickr and Etsy as "Alkelda."
E-mail: saintsandspinners [at] gmail [dot] com
(Will be forwarded to my primary account)
In the Waldorf tradition, a nature table is a spot in the house dedicated to representing the changing seasons. Flowers, pine-cones, rocks, shells and other items are brought indoors and displayed. Often, dolls made out of natural materials such as wool or wood will be part of the display as well.
Books by Elsa Beskow and Sibylle Von Olfers have been influential in the creation of many nature table figures. Beskow's The Flowers' Festival and Olfers' The Story of the Root Children are particular favorites.
A moonbow (a rainbow made with moonlight) is embroidered on the cape of the Night Queen.
Seven Ravens princess has sun, moon, stars and raven footprints embroidered on her cloak in keeping with the motifs of the fairytale.
Seven Ravens princess has sun, moon, stars and raven footprints embroidered on her cloak in keeping with the motifs of the fairytale.
Early creation for my daughter's spring nature table.
One for my daughter, one for the school auction.
Three dolls for the school auction 2009.
My first custom order!
Doll created for our nature table.
Doll created as first prize for a blog contest.
Doll created for my daughter's kindergarten nature table.
Created for the school auction 2009.
Created for the school auction 2009.
If I make more "Goth Waldorf" dolls, this Black Rose will be in a different section.
Created and modified from a kit by Atelier Pippilotta.
Created and modified from a kit by Atelier Pippilotta.
Created as a gift for a friend who wanted a bat theme!
This little doll looks like a boy dressed up as King Winter as opposed to the personification of Winter himself.
St. Rose of Lima with embroidery box
The two white animals are meant to portray baby seals.
Aether, Air, Earth, Water, Fire
Aether, Air, Earth, Water, Fire
Fog is a water elemental, Sand is an earth elemental.
Bird children.
Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Aether were created for my storytelling gigs. They are in a variety of sizes in order to portray different family members.
Several books have been key to my instruction:
Making Flower Children, by Sybille Adolphi
Feltcraft, by Petra Berger
Mary Thomas's Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches, by Mary Thomas
Wool felt can be hard to find in the stores. The craft stores often carry the synthetics. In Seattle, Washington, Clover in Ballard carries wool felt and Weaving Works in the University District carries wool roving for needle-felting. If you know of others, please let me know. For the most part, I order my wool felt (including wool/rayon blends) online. Here are my favorite online resources for wool felt and roving plus the cotton interlock/tricot used for six different skin tones:
Embroidery floss can be found at almost any craft and/or textile store, and chenille pipe-cleaners for the arms, legs and flower staffs should be readily available at craft stores as well. Stitches in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood carries both embroidery floss and chenille pipe cleaners.