Toddlers on ice

Dancing on Ice has been on TV in the UK for a few weeks with Miranda and Timothy having their photos taken some weeks and featuring on the Sasha group on Facebook. 

Miranda and Timothy during Week 2 of Dancing on Ice

Harriet, Miranda and Timothy during Week 3 (Disco week) of Dancing on Ice

However our Gotz Sasha toddlers Edmund and Louisa started asking for skating lessons.  On the principle that the sooner you start children on the ice (once they can walk and run) the better, their big siblings decided they needed to find some skates to fit the toddlers little feet.

Lisa Hartley made the boots and after looking up a few methods online, my girl and I decided that making the blades with wood was probably the best solution when we don't have all the tools or materials needed to make metal blades.

So out came my stock of lolly sticks, we also ate had some ice creams of a certain brand which have shaped wooden lolly sticks for the blade mounts on the bottom of the boots.

I used the bigger Gotz / American Girl doll ice skate blades as a guide for the shape of the blades and drew onto a lolly stick to fit the size of the smaller boots.  Cutting individual lolly sticks with the slightly complicated shape was not easy if done individually (I split a couple when trying) so the portable bench vice was brought into the house and I set to work with a razer saw, fine carving chisels and sandpaper.

Four lolly sticks side by side in the bench vice were cut and carved to shape while clamped together to make the ice skate blades

The blades glued to the base plates to make the skates

Once the glue was dry, I sprayed many layers (over several hours to allow drying time) of chrome coloured paint to try and get the wooden blades to look like metal blades.

The spray painted skate blades

This morning, with the paint dry, I glued the finished blades onto the base of the boots.

The Toddler Ice Skates

At Christmas time I knitted Louisa the long tunic sweater with front pocket (number 18 in the book by Jane Woodbridge and Patricia Evans), I used 4 ply wool but smaller needles to scale it down to suit a toddler rather than a Sasha.  Today, on the car drive to and from a birthday celebration walk and meal with family, I knitted a hat to match.  Edmund is wearing the hat and cardigan I made for him when he arrived a couple of years ago.

Toddlers Edmund and Louisa take to the ice in their new skates

Now they need to have fun on the ice getting their balance and learning some basic moves.