A B-Day Tomorrow and My New Model Lorelei

My sweet daughter Julia is turning 12 tomorrow. As I was painting, painting, and painting the new studio space, I spent a long time thinking back to her arrival in the world and the years her Dad and I have spent with her since. The last days of July always make this happen. I'll save those thoughts for another day though. As any mother knows, the life of a child goes so fast when you look back on it. I will admit, when I was going through those early years, I wondered how I would ever get through it all - the different phases of baby, toddler, and childhood. But now it is almost over and we are on to other phases like summer crushes, lip gloss and the like.

To top it all off, my little girl doesn't want to model for me anymore! I have to beg and beg and I've got to face it, Julia is just too old to be darn adorable. I was lamenting this about a month ago to my friend Diane and she said she would love to have her daughter be a model for me. Yay! Early one morning in July, Lorelei and Diane arrived at the farm. We hopped in the truck and headed up the road to a field that I thought might make a nice setting for the shoot for Olympia's Felted Flowers.

Lorelei was such a trooper. She listened with intent, taking her modeling job very serious. I knew I was getting some lovely photos and that it would be hard to pick just one for the new pattern. When I downloaded the photos later in the day, I called Diane to let her know she would be getting some awesome photos of her little girl.

So today I am sharing some out-takes of that beautiful summer day in the field of grasses and wildflowers.


Lorelei is showing off the flowers she picked that day.


Then she climbed up the hill.


And walked down our dirt road.


I think the Felted Flowers on a basket would be the perfect choice for a knitter who needs a special basket for her Flower Girl, don't you?

This one is my favorite. I love her little smile....


Thank you Lorelei for doing such a great job! And thank you Diane and John) for bringing your beautiful little daughter into the world and sharing her with all my readers.

You can buy the PDF downloadable pattern for "Olympia's Knit + Crochet Felted Flowers" here on my website. Thanks to all of you who have already ordered it. I hope you are having fun making the flowers and leaves!

p.s. I have added Olympia's Knit + Crochet Flowers to Ravelry. Here's the link if you want to "favorite" it. Thanks.