Dolls for My Girls (from their drawings)

I need to write about these dolls.  I had planned them for a very long time and finally finished them this spring.  They now live in Brooklyn and I hope they are well taken care of.  It was truly a labor of love.

They are modeled after drawings that my girls did when they were about 3 1/2 years old.  I saved the drawings...they are in a frame on a shelf in my bedroom.  Some time ago I saw...maybe on Etsy or some blog or somewhere...dolls modeled after children's drawings.  

I had no idea how to start...so I just did.  I enlarged the pictures at home on our printer/copier.  The entire pattern fit an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper.  I used Sulky Sticky Fabri-Sollvy (a self-adhesive, fabric-like, water soluble stabilizer...magic stuff) to transfer the pattern to linen cloth (an old pair of my pants).  I still wasn't sure what to do next.  So I just started.  I did the long-legged guy first.

I used whatever embroidery stitch felt right.  There is a lot of chain stitch.  It made a bolder outline and I love filling in with it.  I hadn't planned on the hair but I love it.  You can't see it well but the drawing does have a tuft of yellow-gold hair.

The back of this doll is made from Dad's old t-shirt....I included Jo's (the artist) initials, the date the picture was drawn, and my initials.

I used chain stitch again on the second doll.  The skirt is made from a scrap of batik that Cara brought back from her study-abroad in Ghana.  The circles are stitched with a running stitch to give it more texture.  My friend, Karen, gave me some pointers on this one as I was making it.  The back of this doll is made from a skirt that I wore to Cara's graduation from Guilford College.

I have plans to do this again.  My mentee, Meosha, drew a snail that I hope to finish some time soon.

Like the dolls, I will just start stitching.

Bat Season

For seven years this was Bat Season at our house...last two weeks in June through the first week in July.  Bats came to visit...in our house....just for a few evenings.  But that is quite enough...or should I say too much.  They would usually visit two or three nights in a row...then go away.  Sometimes there were only three or four and one year there were about two dozen.  There may have been more.  Sometimes Bill would not tell me about them.  He became quite good at getting them out of the house.  Either the ceiling fans would knock them down to the floor or he/we would use a broom.  Then with a gloved hand he would escort them out the door.  I have been home alone a few times and had to do it myself.  I don't like it.  Nor do I like him to be out of town during the season.  But he is...right now.

They didn't visit last year.  And they haven't been this year....yet.  We don't know why they were ever here in the first place so we have no idea what happened to them.

But, just in case, I am going to honor Bat Season by sharing pictures of a couple of my favorite bats.

I made this bat pin last fall for a young friend.  Easy and quick to make and a nice Halloween touch.

And on Christmas Eve I found this on my front porch....a gift from a neighbor.  He still hangs on the porch protecting us from his friends...I hope.

Happy Valentine Week

We used to make a big deal of Valentine's Day....not in a romantic way at all....but as an excuse to buy treats for the girls.  We decorated a little tree with hearts (wonder what happened to those?) and the Valentine Monster visited with fun things.  Some day I want to revive the Valentine Monster in the form of a softie...why didn't I think of that a few weeks ago?

I have been working on a Valentine project as a way to practice embroidery.  And I have been using this project as a way to stay awake while watching television in the evening.  It is another Wendi Gratz pattern.

You could do a lot with these.  The pattern shows them as a mobile.  You could make them into sachets or brooches too.  For now these will just reside in the Valentine bowl with a couple of knitted, felted hearts that a made a few years ago and a couple of Wild Olive hearts that I made with my mentee, Meosha, 

Elephants and Bears

Actually the title should be Elephant (singular) and Bears.  Hopefully there will be more elephants and there  will definitely be more bears.  We have been accumulating old t-shirts for years.  Both of my girls have quilts made from their t-shirts.  Cara made her own...with a little help from me...and I made Jo's several years later.  I have also made scarves, reusable grocery bags, and aprons from t-shirts.  But one can only gift so many aprons, one only needs so many grocery bags, and I don't think the scarves were much of a hit.  I decided it was time to get a little more creative.

This elephant is made from the same pattern that I used for a red fleece elephant last spring.  The pattern is by Wendi Gratz of Shiny Happy World.  Fleece is definitely easier to sew than t-shirt fabric.  The t-shirt fabric curls and puckers and crawls.  I use a lot of pins.  He is pretty soft and cuddly...sort of marsh mallowy.

The bears are also from one of Wendi's patterns.  The pattern is what I would call baby-size but you could easily enlarge it.  But this size is great for showcasing interesting bear bellys.  I have already found and cut out more bellys for more bears.

Christmas Slowly

Thanksgiving was late this year.  I am busy at work this year.  I probably have some other excuses for not being ready for Christmas...I never really am.  But slowly some things are getting done and what doesn't get done just doesn't get done.

I wanted to buy more presents for the girls but I have waited too late.  They really shouldn't mind getting surprises in January and February, should they?  After all they are awesome mature adults who understand that their mother is a little overwhelmed :).

I started with wreaths and then got stalled.  I have made some cookies and I have finally decorated the tree.

This wreath is new this year.  My friend, Kathleen, made it from tin can lids and vintage balls.  I think it is beautiful and that she is really talented.  And I am a little jealous.

I did make a few new tree ornaments.  It is one of those things that I like to do...that keeps me from doing those boring mundane household chores.  These ornaments were made from patterns from Betz White.  They are all fairly easy...the instructions sometimes said to glue but I decided to sew....glue didn't seem to hold.

There is more to do....presents to wrap, cakes to bake, and a few more gifts to buy.  Getting busy!!!

Stitching

A couple of years ago I decided that I needed to work on my stitching...embroidery...skills.  When I was in high school...many, many years ago..I was pretty good.  My Navy issue bell-bottom jeans were covered with every stitch imaginable.  Unfortunately, the class at the Visual Arts Center that I signed up for was cancelled.  So when I found an online "Autumn Stitching Club" at Wild Olive (for only $5) I decided to sign up.  The patterns are really not my style.  Cute would be the description.  But it forced me to  practice and I now have a finished product.  I love finished products.  And I now love hexagons.

So what in the world will I do with this?  Well, my younger daughter, Joanna, is a preschool teacher in Brooklyn.  And I think it would be the perfect addition to a preschool class.  What a great conversation prompt and what a great way to introduce the seasons.

So I have also signed up for the Winter Stitching Club.  Jo, look for more stuff for your classroom!!

Finished Stitches

Several weeks ago Wendi Gratz of Shiny Happy World started a project that she called Finished Stitches.  In the course of years designing embroidery patterns, she had accumulated quite a few finished projects.  So she offered to give them away to her loyal blog followers.  The only thing that she asked was that recipients make the piece into a  "finished something."  For the cost of shipping I nabbed one of her projects.  She plans to award prizes and one of the prizes will be for Fan Favorite.  The voting started on Wednesday and so far I'm not doing too well.  So if you love me and want to vote for my project this is the link.  And no matter how cool you think that baby mobile is, be strong.

I made my piece into a tote bag.  I know, not that original.  But I gave myself a challenge...no new fabric.  So this tote is made from corduroy and upholstery scraps that I had in my stash.  The only thing that I bought to finish the project was fusible fleece...cool stuff.  I used this pattern.  The first time I used it I received a compliment...and I am quite fond of it....so all is good.

Jonathan LivingInSanFrancisco Seagull

The last pattern for the Six Months of Softies was a seagull...really, a seagull?  It was bad enough that the fifth one was a raccoon (gross little..well, not so little...rodent).  Seagulls are just disgusting.  They are especially disgusting when they are scavenging two hours inland...in my Target parking lot.

But I made it.  And making it was pretty painless.  And it turned out soooo well.

The body is made from a $1 fat quarter.  The wings are made from Bill's old shirt and my old skirt.  I have no idea where I got the red flannel.  I sewed the eyes on because I thought I might give it to our great-niece...and I did....although it was pretty hard to part with (I really need to get over this).

So this is Jonathan LivingInSanFrancisco Seagull ready for his trip to Asheville, NC to meet up with the lovely Camille (8 months old...the cutest baby ever).  Camille will take him to live with her right outside of San Francisco and I hope that they have a lovely life together.

Rodent With A Hat

I finished the fifth softie in the Six Months of Softies club.  I almost didn't.  It is a hand-sewn raccoon.  I really don't like raccoons at all.  I didn't find it the least bit charming.  But the whole purpose of doing this project was to make myself learn some new things so I charged ahead.

It had a bazillion pieces so cutting it out was even challenging, not to mention keeping up with all the pieces.  I was determined to not buy any new felt for this and thankfully that worked out.  I would have made a green raccoon if I had to.

The head went together pretty easily but then things got confusing...for me.  So I moved on to the accessories for a break...hat, backpack, fish.  But eventually I had to go back to the rodent.

Finally he was finished and is even a little more appealing than anticipated.  I am, however, looking for a home for him.  Raccoons can not live here...at least not inside.

Best Friends Doll

I like Gingermelon dolls a lot.  Gingermelon is Shelly Down from British Columbia.  Almost a year ago I made one of her Pocket Pixies.  Since then I have gotten better at some things...like the ladder stitch which is used to sew a head onto a neck.  But I am still lousy at the whip stitch/overcast stitch.  While making the Gingermelon Best Friend doll I tried using a blanket stitch instead.  I kind of like the results.

Here she is in the dress and shoes that are part of the original pattern.  You may notice that she looks slightly (or a lot) cross-eyed.  I call that maker-error.

I also made clothes.  There are Gingermelon patterns for that too.  And with one or two patterns to get you started the wardrobe possibilities are endless.

And just in time for Independence Day...

The entire doll and the clothes are all hand-sewn and pretty easy....easy enough for a young beginner.

More Softies

So this is more from the Six Months of Softies that I wrote about here and here.  This one has been the hardest (for me) so far.

I am calling him Charlie.  His fancy bandana is a vintage handkerchief.

The fifth pattern in Six Months of Softies should be released this week.

Owl Girl

Owl Girl is the third pattern in the Six Months of Softies club.  The first two were primarily made with the sewing machine....which still somewhat scares me.  I just hate it when that bobbin thread gets all bunched up and even though I try to do everything right it still happens from time to time.  

This doll is made all by hand.  It looked really time-consuming but once I got started I couldn't stop so it really wasn't that bad.  I'm not happy with my overcast stitch yet but I'm working on it.  

Besides the sheer coolness of a doll with a mask, her arms and legs actually bend so that you can pose her.

And she has an owl hand puppet also.

Mentoring at Swansboro

I just finished my third year as a mentor for Meosha at Swansboro Elementary School.  I spend about an hour a week with her at school.  We sometimes do school work but usually do projects or just talk.

Monday was the last day for this school year.  A group of mentors and mentees had lunch together in the gym (it was planned for the garden but wet ground and impending storms moved us inside).  I tried to make lunch both healthy and fun.  I think I succeeded there but the food, itself, was not a huge hit.  Cute though, huh?

Gifts are discouraged but everybody kind of breaks that rule.  Since Meosha and I have spent time with a couple of sewing projects, I put together a sewing kit for her.  I may have spent $7 or $8....mostly on the scissors.  Every sewing girl needs decent embroidery scissors.

I bought the scissors, the seam ripper, the needle threader, and embroidery needles.  I can't remember where I found the little stitch book...somewhere online.  I made the needle book from this GingerMelon free pattern.  Everything else was just here.

A few easy patterns in a notebook.

A little embroidery floss.

And a bag of felt scraps.  Here's hoping for a fun summer sewing.