Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We got to spend a lot of time with our family and had a great time.
My children were so surprised to see the presents I made them. You can see the little Trio I made for my son and  the Friends I made for my daughter.  As they get older it keeps getting harder to make gifts on the sly!

My daughter had also requested another 18" doll that could play with Ella (I named her Patience while I was working on her but my daughter named her Ella after recieving her). So I made Anna, pictured above.

I used the same methods as with my other Waldorf style dolls. For her hair I used Eco Alpaca by Cascade Yarn. It is a wonderfully soft undyed Baby Alpaca.   I love the fact that it hasn't been dyed. It gives it a very nice natural looking hair colour.

 For her dress I found a beautiful white cotton at a local fabric shop. I like the weight and body and thought it would work well with the full skirt. The bodice is lined with the same material as the dress and the hem is hand stitched.

This is the second dress I have used smocking on. It's really a lot of fun and I can't wait to do more. I like the way this dress pattern turned out. I'm thinking of using it for some Easter dresses.

After making the dress I thought a little cape would look cute. I had never made one before and my first attempt was way to small. I'm glad I had time to redo it before Christmas. It is a basic stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border. I crocheted ties and added the little candy button. I attached it with a safety pin so it can be removed.
She also is wearing a pair of cotton bloomers and little crocheted Mary Janes.

My New Years Goal is to post more than once a month!

Oh My!

Oh My! I can't believe it has been a month since my last post!

Here is Isabelle all finished. I added a blanket stitch to the jacket, gave her a little stockinette scarf and crocheted her a pair of Mary Janes.

The birthday girl was very excited and loves her new doll.

Isabelle is a 12" doll. Here you can see her next to Amelia who is an 18" doll.

It has been a few weeks since my daughter received Isabelle and as much as she loves her she seems to prefer playing with her larger dolls and has requested a friend for Ella for Christmas.

Here are Amelia and Isabelle sitting together. Oh, I haven't introduced you to Amelia yet. My next post will have to be about her. She has some very exciting news!

Almost Finished

She is Almost done! As I mentioned in my previous blog I'm making a new doll for my daughters birthday.
This time I wanted to make a smaller doll that could fit in her hand.

Here she is next to Ella. Ella is about 16" so Isabelle is about 12". I gave her little ears and bendy knees.

For her hair I started with a crocheted wig cap. Then I hand stitch layers of yarn to the cap.

I like to make the hair in layers so my daughter can give her any hairstyle. She likes to change her dolls hair a lot!

This is what the back looks like when the hair is pulled up.

Around the face I like to hook the yarn.

Last year I saw a beautiful doll with wavy hair and I new I wanted to try it. You can see the doll here http://www.flickr.com/photos/juli_velo_poupee/5995274340/in/faves-fromthelandofbrung/
at Juli's photostream. She was so nice to share how she made it so wavy. After the yarn is attatched each piece of yarn is unwound.

It takes a lot of time, but it's so pretty it's definitely worth it.

Now she's almost finished. I designed her a little cotton calico dress with hook and eye closer in the back.

I knitted her  little yellow beret out of Cascades 220 Superwash Wool. It was originally for another project but I thought the colour went well with the brown dress.

 I still need to finish the coat. I want to put a blanket stitch around it and I'm trying to knit a matching scarf. That part isn't going so well. She may end up scarfless :(

 Then the  last thing I will  need to do is make her little felt shoes. I will post more pictures when she is totally finished.

Owl Needle Case

Well, the gift I am working on for my daughter is taking a little longer than expected. I hope to be able to post about it soon. In the meantime I got a little side tracked because I have a bad habit of misplacing my needles :(  So I decided to make a needle case.

On the inside cover I can keep my threaded needles. Which makes it easier when I'm switching between colours.

On the back cover I made a little pocket for my embroidery scissors; the middle sections I use for my unthreaded needles and a pin. I always seem to need a pin for something.

It didn't take long to make, and now I can find my needles and scissors when I need them. Yea!
My daughter wants to make one too, so I'm going to try and draw up a pattern for her.

Trio

Here is the Trio I made for my son's Christmas present. They are about the same size as the girls I made for my daughter and of course they are designed by Gingermelon. You can find the patterns at her Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/listing/109934410/pocket-pets-pdf-pattern-you-choose-two
They are all so cute I will have to eventually make them all.

Even though the Fox and Dog are girls in the pattern it was super easy to make them into boys. I just left off the eyelashes and put them in a shirt and shorts.

Well Gingermelon week has been about 2 weeks and though I will be moving onto some other exciting projects I know I will have to get more Gingermelon patterns in the future.

Things I have learned through this process.

1. I really like using wool blend felt. The felt from Benzie Bazaar is an heirloom quality merino blend that is soft to the touch and holds it's shape. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BenzieBazaar

2. Buy the colour chart. I was never quite sure if I was picking the right colour by looking online and had to email Shelly (Gingermelon) several times to find the right one. She was wonderful at sharing the colours, Thank You !!.If your computer screen is colour balanced this may not be a problem, but I love seeing the actual pieces of felt and am much happier now that I own this.

3. When working with felt you want to make sure your edges are cut very smooth. I found using applique scissors (right side) worked best for me.

4.Since I work at my kitchen table having somewhere to store my projects is essential. The top right corner is the container I use. one side is a large zipper compartment. I like to keep my wool stuffing there. The other zipper compartment has alot of little zippered areas where I keep patterns, notions , needdles ect.

5. Little paper pieces are easy to lose! I now put each set of patterns in it's own snack size ziplock bag.

I love using wool for stuffing.  The wool retains body heat so the dolls are extra warm and cuddly.The wool I use is from Weir Crafts http://www.weirdollsandcrafts.com/waldorf-dollmaking-supplies/wool-stuffing.html
I like that it is sustainably grown wool that's exceptionally clean of chemicals and pesticides.

By the way I don't get compensated by any of the companies I blog about. I just know when I'm reading a blog and there is a project I want to try I want to know the specific materials and resources they use, so  I always try share that info.

                                   This is Peter the Dog,

                                                                                                                                                                               Flash the Cat, (named after our own striped cat)

                                                                                                                                                                   and David the Fox. I so wish we had a fox!

I hope everyone enjoyed Gingermelon week(s)!                          

      My daughter has a birthday coming up in November my next blog will feature something I designed for her :)

Friends

Did anybody guess Cotton Candy Dolls?
My daughter loves dolls that she can hold in her hand and play with. When I saw the Cotton Candy dolls at Gingermelon's Etsy shop I fell in love with these girls and their wool felted hair. I knew instantly that I would have to make one. The pattern can be found here Cotton Candy Doll Pattern

I thought it would be fun if  these three friends had eyes that matched their dresses. So I used the same iridescent safety eyes I used on my crochet dolls. You can read more about the eyes on my post Here.

This is Paige I used Oat coloured felt for her body and Swan colored felt for her dress.
I put her hair up in high pigtails.

Here is a view from the back.

Next I made Allison. Her body is made from Cinnamon coloured felt and her dress is Fern.

I put her hair in low pig tails and I gently needled the ends into little puffs.

Finally I made Maria. Her body is toast coloured felt and her dress lavender.

I gathered her hair back into a low bun and needle felted it firmly in place.



I didn't use woven felt for the clothing. So even though I put snaps under the buttons of the overalls it will be hard to take them on and of several times with out them pulling out of shape.
If that happens I guess I will have to get some woven felt and make her a new dress. :)

Again the patterns and directions from Gingermelon were great. And included how to needle felt hair onto the doll, which I had never done before. The application instructions were wonderful and I had fun playing with different hairstyles.

These are great dolls to make for either beginning or more experienced doll makers.

Since I made presents for my daughter I also needed to make some for my son.
 So which Gingermelon patterns do you think I used? 

Gingermelon Gingermen

 

The first dolls I made using Gingermelon patterns are these adorable little gingermen.

Every year at Christmas time two of my friends and I get together with our children and make gingerbread houses. Last year we decided it would be fun to make ornaments for each other. When I saw these little guys I knew they would be perfect.

The pattern can be found at Gingermelon's Etsy shop

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gingermelon?ref=seller_info

She emailed me the pattern in less than 24 hours and has answered all my questions very graciously.

The pattern itself was easy to follow and alot of fun to make.

I do have a hard time with the safety eyes though. If they weren't so cute I would stop using them. It just kills my fingers to squeeze them together. Does anyone know an easier way? Am I doing something wrong?

I used a merino wool blend felt by Benzie Bazaar

 http://www.etsy.com/shop/BenzieBazaar?ref=shop_sugg

I used the colour cinnamon for the outside men and toast for the one in the middle.This was the first time I have used a wool blend, I have used 100% wool felt previously. I really like the feel of this wool it has a smoother touch and holds it shape very nicely. Benzie Bazaar shipped  the felt out right away and I was able to start crafting in a couple of days.Which is great for me, I tend to get antsy when waiting to start a craft project.

The gingermen are trimmed with tiny buttons I found at Jo-Ann Fabrics, pink and white glass seed beads and a pink organza ribbon.

Well I couldn't just stop at one Gingermelon pattern. Guess what I made next?

Gingermelon Week

Now that I've finished blogging about the Christmas presents I made last year, I'm going to start sharing this years projects.

I found the most darling patterns at Gingermelon's shop on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/Gingermelon?ref=seller_info  
and just had to make some.

This week I will share my finished Gingermelon projects.

As providence will have it I checked her blog today and found this  http://gingermelondolls.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-little-present-for-you-to-download.html

So Gingermelon week starts with a free doll pattern!

 The faces are so sweet I just want to hug them :)

I can't wait to make one, but I need to find some cotton linen blend fabric first. If anyone has suggestions please leave them in the comment section.

Thank You Shelly for your wonderful generosity!

Mr. Dwarf

I felt Mr. Gnome needed a friend so I made Mr. Dwarf. I knitted him up using Jean Greenhowe's doll pattern http://www.jeangreenhowe.com/patterns.html.  I crocheted a wig cap for him and crocheted the beard the way I did for Mr. Gnome except when I was finished I hooked  long strands of yarn to the top loops across the beard.

I made his clothes out of wool felt. They were both a lot of fun to make. And my son was happy to get them on Christmas.

more boy dolls

My son just loved the first doll I made him and since I wasn't able to wait until Christmas to give it to him, I thought I would try something different.

I had so much fun making Beth's crochet dolls for my daughter I thought I would make on for my son.
Why couldn't I turn a tea cup spirit into a gnome?

Beth is such an extraordinary doll maker, if you haven't made one of her patterns, today is the day to try.
You can fin the Tea Cup Spirit pattern here http://byhookbyhand.blogspot.com/search/label/Teacup%20Spirit at Beth's Blog By Hook By Hand.

I crocheted the wig cap out of an acrylic boucle. After I attached it to the head I crocheted a beard from one side of the cap to the other. Then I added a few long strands under the nose for a mustache.

The mustache is covering up the beard in this picture, if anyone is interested I can take a picture with the mustache lifted up to reveal the beard.

I drew out patterns for his clothes, boots and hat and made them out of wool felt.

I didn't want Mr. Gnome would be lonely without a friend, so I made Mr. Dwarf. He will be my next Post.

Boy Dolls

My son was sad that I was making dolls for his sister and none for him. So I figured I needed to do something.

My daughter had received a Waldorf style tooth fairy pillow from her cousin when she was younger and it is still one of her favorite friends that sits on her bed.
Since my son had his first loose tooth I thought this would be a great doll to make  him for Christmas.

The tooth didn't know my plans and came out sooner than I expected, so I rushed a little making him.

I made the head in a traditional Waldorf fashion sans nose.
He has little french knots for eyes and I used a cotton flannel to make his body and hood. The line of blanket stitching across the middle is where the pocket for the tooth is.

 A great head tutorial can be found here http://thesilverpenny.homestead.com/freeprojectdollheaddirections.html .

My son loved the doll and it encouraged me to make some more.

Baby Sister

After getting a waldorf doll for Christmas my daughter requested a baby sister for her.
What else could I do but get started.

 
As a baby I wanted to proportion her a little differently than Patience.

I made her arms and legs a little shorter and chubbier.  I also did some extra stitching at the elbows and knees to make them dimpled. I'm not sure if you can see well because of the hair, but I did add tiny ears to this doll.

 I wanted to give her fine thin hair  instead of a full thick head of hair. I believe what I used is a fingerling weight mohair blend. I misplaced the wrapper :(














Since this was my daughters big Christmas present I made a full layette set to go with her.
I don't know how many times I had to re draw the patterns to get them right but They're done.

I made 2 baby blankets, 2 kimono style pj's, 1 long sleeved onsie, 1 short sleeved onsie, 1 pair of pants, 3 diapers, 2 bibs, 2 burp cloths, 1 hat, 1 headband (top picture), 1zip up sleeper (below), 1 pair of booties, 1 bottle made out of wool felt, and 1 pouch to hold wipies with 3 wipies in it.

The onsies and the pair of pants( in solid pink) are made of cotton interlock. Everything else was made from cotton flannel.

She was very happily received and named Emily.

One day while I was working on a doll my son asked why I never make dolls for him.
I thought," Very good question indeed".
In my next post I will show how I fixed the situation.

Waldorf

Last year my children and I started learning a bit about the Waldorf methods.
I really liked the feel of the natural fibers and materials.
Some  of the things my daughter really liked  were as the birthday crown, the play silks and of course the dolls. So I thought I would try and make a few items.

Here is the birthday crown I made out of wool felt and a purple play silk.
They greeted my daughter when she woke up on her birthday.
She also loved the doll Patience that I made for her (I blogged about her last year) and immediately requested a little sister for Christmas.
My next post will be about her.

Christmas Peacock Finised

Here he is in full colour! I finished him last Dec. for my Mom.

On August 23, 2011  I blogged about the prototype I created. And on September 4, 2011 I wrote about the thread.

On the final product I added glass seed beads for his eyes and purple swarovski crystals (which my mom had picked up for me one day while she was out, she is always doing nice things like that) on his tail feathers. I stuffed him with polyfil because my mom is allergic to wool.











He was a lot of fun to make. I love the challenge of trying to create something I have imagined. 

I'm Back

I can't believe it has almost been a year.  I wish I could say I have been on holiday. But unfortunately I have been sick. It turns out I have lupus. A  site that explains it is here http://mollysfund.org/what-is-lupus/.
The good news is I have a wonderful doctors, we are starting a new med which should help in about 3 months and I found a great book Despite Lupus http://despitelupus.blogspot.com/.

So my blogging may bit hit or miss for a while. I was going to just shut it down but I figured I'll just post when I feel up to and when I don't I'll nap:)

I want this blog to be about crafting NOT lupus. If I feel I need to write more about it I will start a separate blog. I just wanted to explain the haphazardness a bit.

I've just started new crafts for this coming Christmas, but I'm going to try and post my projects from last year first. At least I did get some pictures taken.