It is truly amazing how a limited budget can boost one’s creativity!
This Sunday is Charlotte’s birthday. For the past couple of days I’ve been working on creating a family of gnomes. Utilizing the leftover wooden dolls from our Alphabet of Catholic Saints, I’ve also been handknitting little caps and other apparel, using very small needles and an exquisitely “fallish” sock weight yarn in a delightful shade of russet. I’ve been snatching little bits of time, here and there, and finally managed to finish last night. What an adorable little family! If only they had a suitable abode…
Yesterday, Gawain and I went to our local craft store to survey the materials available. We looked at ready-made dollhouses, birdhouses and even considered buying supplies to construct something from other natural materials. Then Gawain spied the ready-carve pumpkins and dried gourds. Eureka! The gourd was exactly what I’d been looking for. I had remembered seeing a very cleverly rendered dollhouse made from a birdhouse gourd and thought it would suit our gnome family just fine. Gawain picked out a few silk flowers and leaves to adorn our little cottage. Total expenditure: $9.35.
The results: adorable!! I think Charlotte will be very, very pleased…
The “Gnome Sweet Home” banner was created by Arthur using his feather-quill and iron-gall ink on parchment…a recent gift from a very dear friend:
A side view. The curtains are silk fall leaves and look just as cute from the inside as they do from the outside:
Rear view: a large opening to allow little hands to arrange furniture and play. The door knob is a hickory nut!
Mama and Papa Gnome…I’m contemplating a beard for Papa…
The siblings: brothers, sisters…who knows! Charlotte will decide. Don’t you just love those acorn hats?! We found those in the woods:
Arthur crafted this cradle using cherry wood twigs and a milkweed pod:
Mama and baby look so sweet together:
I’ve purposely left the interior natural. The “carpet” was made from silk fall leaves glued into place to even out the rough floor:
A family photo:
Rear view:
And that’s that. A sweet little gnome home ready to be loved and played with by the birthday girl. It was such fun working on this project. The best gifts are always the ones that we put our heart into…
I am a traditional Catholic homeschooling mother of 9 children, married for 30 years to the most patient and sainted man. As converts to Catholicism in 1991, our family has only recently discovered the beauty and full expression of our beliefs in the timeless liturgy of antiquity, the Extraordinary Form also commonly referred to as the Traditional Latin Mass. An avid knitter, I also enjoy gardening, reading and immersing myself in the everyday graces of my vocation.
© All rights reserved 
These are so cute!! I love the little gourd house and all the little clothes. I can imagine hours of play by a couple of my kids…awesome work and great photos!
Two years later, my girlies still play with them! And they are so very easily made…I’m glad you like them! Thank you for your kind words…
I love this!!! We don’t have very much money for Christmas this year, and I would LOVE to make this for my girls. Can you share your knitting pattern with us? I have some of the little people left over from my own Alphabet Path Saints
Thanks so much!
Amy: I didn’t really use a pattern…I kind of just knit on the fly. I did use sock yarn and #3 DPNs…just knit a tube for the body of the dolls, and then another tube, with decreases for the peaked cap. Not a very good description…perhaps I can do a stitch count a little later, and give you better information. Enjoy making your gnomes! My little girls still play with ours…