For my new niece!

One of my sisters is due to have her first baby -- a girl! -- in a couple of weeks.

She and I are very close, and I am so excited to meet this new little one, and to witness my sister's unfolding into motherhood. This is the first of my siblings to have a baby, and I really am almost as excited about it as I was for my own babies. There is nothing like sharing motherhood with your sister. It makes me a little weepy.

We had a shower for her a little while ago, and of course there were some handmade gifts for the new babe from our family. I still have a baby sweater on the needles for her, and I hope to be able to finish it before the baby's birth, but it's been a slow project for me.

Anyway, Elisabeth and I collaborated on a silk and flannel baby blanket. Elisabeth dyed the silk (using jacquard dye and my supervision!), and selected the flannel, and I sewed it together. We actually made several of these before Fiona was born (you can see bits of two of them here -- they were the first things we wrapped her in), but we did the kool-aid/food-coloring method which is commonly used for dyeing playsilks. However, with the amount of hard wear and washing that the blankets undergo, the dye just wasn't color-fast enough, and I haven't been very happy with that. So we went with the "real" stuff this time, and I am so, so glad we did. It was no big deal at all! (The silk is 8mm silk habotai from Dharma Trading Company. The flannel is from Jo-Ann, but many months ago.) I wish I had gotten a better picture of this blanket. I really love it. I always seem to find it challenging to photograph blankets, though. 

I also made her a flag/pennant banner. My children have one of these and we just love it. I'm thinking of making a tutorial for these. Would that be of interest to you?

(it's really too big to photograph the whole thing at once. more photos of it on my flickr.)

We also included some Weleda baby care products (they smell so heavenly, and the diaper cream is by far the best in my experience), and a few other little treats (selected by my children). Now we just need a baby to arrive!

Birthday tees

Several of our little friends have had birthdays recently, necessitating some new t-shirt collaborations.

Heather Ross appliques for a brother and sister.

A princess hat for a sweet three-year-old girl. (The hat doesn't have that weird wrinkle in real life. At least I hope it doesn't!)

A truck for a vehicle-loving two-year-old.

Flipflops on a towel dress for an eight-year-old girl (this one was actually back in February, before Fiona was born).

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We're headed off to the woods for a weekend of R&R of the campsite variety. See you back here next week, with shop news!

A bonnet for the babe

 

I'm a real hat mama. I insist that my wee ones wear hats nearly all the time during the first year of life -- and a lot of the time thereafter. ;) A lot of people ask me about this -- it's less and less common, it seems, to keep babies in hats. I have a lot of reasons for it -- to protect my (bald!) babies' delicate skin, to help keep their temperature regulated, because it's an old tradition (and I'm nothing if not into old tradtions!). But perhaps the biggest reason for me? They are just so very cute!

I made this bonnet for Fiona last week. The pattern is Amy Karol's bonnet pattern (available here, click "shop"). I love this pattern -- this is the second time I've made it, and I'd like to make it again. (The first one I made was for a friend of Elisabeth's about a year ago -- here.) The pattern is so simple, and is designed in a way that you can hardly help but have it turn out well. It's that easy!

This bonnet is a little bit too big for Fiona -- my babies have all had fairly small heads. Next time, I will probably alter the back of the pattern to be a bit narrower.

The fabric I used is Park Slope by Erin McMorris, which, sadly, is not being printed anymore and is getting harder to find. The ribbon is some vintage acetate ribbon from my stash, which I had to hem because it was so very, very ravelly!

Because the fabric is directional, but the pattern was written to be cut as a single piece, I ended up cutting two pieces and seaming them together at the crown. I wish that I had done it so that those tiny edges of birds didn't show, but otherwise, I like the way it turned out.

Really, the bonnet is so cute that I can't resist it.

Even more irresistable is the baby cuteness in the bonnet!

Here's to babies in hats, and a summer of more bonnets to come.

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Thank you all so much for your encouragement about my upcoming shop! I'm excited to get everything finished and get the shop up! I'm still aiming for next week.

The bag I wanted to keep and some news

I made this bag for a friend back at the end of March (here's another glimpse of it), and I was so in love with it that I only gave it away reluctantly. So I thought I'd make myself another one like it.

And then I thought, while I'm making bags, maybe I can make a stack of them and open an Etsy shop!

I've been thinking about doing a shop for a long, long time, and the time feels right this summer. So, I've been spending some time in my finally organized (but not "finished") studio space over the past few days (I'll be sure to give a tour when things are all set up in there), cutting and beginning to sew up quite a few of these tote bags.

I'll announce here when I'm more sure of the opening date for the shop, but my goal is to have it all ready by Tuesday, July 14. Anyway, I have a lot more ideas up my sleeve for the shop, so I hope to have a few updates over the next few months. I'm excited, and nervous, to test the waters here! Hopefully some of you will find something you like!

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PS: I hope those of you celebrating the 4th of July this weekend have a safe and fun holiday!

Fast and not-too-dirty

My time for sewing lately is both infrequent and short, so when I do have a few minutes that I can spend at the machine, I want quick, satisfying projects so that I can feel like I've accomplished something tangible with that time.

Elisabeth has lately stopped liking snug pajama pants, and though she has several pairs of loose flannel pajama pants that I've made her, she and I both thought she needed something lighter and more summery.

I'd had this lightweight double knit from Superbuzzy sitting around for almost two years (eek! I can't believe that, but it's true!). I bought it with pajama pants in mind in the first place, and I'm glad this project finally made it to the top of the pile!

I just used my usual "pattern" -- which was originally a tracing of some size 4 store-bought pajamas, and I've just been cutting them a bit bigger as needed over the last few years, tweaking it so that the fit is just what my girl wants.

Three seams, a casing & elastic waist, and we're done. 25 minutes start-to-finish, I believe. (Now, I'll admit, when I first heard of people making pants for kids in 30 minutes, and then tried it myself, it took me much longer. But the more I make, the quicker it gets. So if you've never made them, and your first pair ends up taking you 90 minutes like mine did, have a steadfast heart. Sewing gets easier, I promise! Though that's another post altogether, I think....)

I didn't even finish the hems -- I'd run out of time -- but I don't think it even matters on these light, casual, summery pajama pants with princess castles on them.

So perfect for my little princess.

Her new skirt

Thank you all so very much for your kind words on yesterday's post. On those days, when it seems much easier to just throw in the towel, it can be so reassuring to know that other mamas on this journey toward conscious parenting sometimes feel the same way. xo

So, you knew I'd have to share more pictures of the skirt from yesterday, didn't you? You might call it the "bad day skirt". Well, I'm hoping that she doesn't call it that.

It's simply two widths of fabric (from Denyse Schmidt's Flea Market Fancy line, which I've been hanging on to for about 2.5 years), each cut to 17" in length (she's getting so tall that I think I'll make it 20" next time). I have a serger, so I just serged the sides together and did a rolled hem (using this stuff, which makes rolled hems look so nice). Then I made a simple elastic casing for the waist, and ta-da! A new skirt in about 20 minutes.

We already saw one action shot yesterday, but what post about a spinny skirt would be complete without another?

 
bike shorts underneath make the spinning worry-free

These are so easy, and my girl is so satisfied with the results, that I'm hoping to crank out a few more for her for the summer. They're about perfect for the amount of sewing time I have these days, too!

As spring arrives...

...I'm loving:

Little signs of spring in our lawn.

Mama-made woolies on the babe. (Proper photoshoot still needed....)

Seedlings in our kitchen window.

Tulips. So close.

Snow-melt. Aaah.

Surprise gifts. Always.

A bit of springtime sewing.

Our little Cupcake.

Hoping that your springtime is promising as much beauty and joy as mine is!

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My firstborn has a big (seven-year-old) birthday tomorrow, and I've never missed a birthday post yet, so I hope to pop in later tomorrow. Two posts in two days?! Crazy, I know. ;)

Onesie printed by Emily.

Two more quilt blocks and some random thoughts

The Virtual Quilting Bee block for October goes to Morgan.

I love this, if I do say so myself. I hope it's square, though. ;)

And November's goes to Alicia. Her quilt is going to be so cool -- maybe my favorite of them all.

(Excuse the white balance issue. We've been having some gray, gray weather.)

And some random thoughts:

*We have had some adventures in our neighborhood lately. Last week, a neighbor whose backyard abuts one corner of ours had three firetrucks, three police cars, and two ambulances parked outside. There was no smoke, and the firefighters weren't using hoses. But they did have their ladder -- actually, more like a crane! -- up to the roof. These are very quiet neighbors who come and go through their garage and never come outside, so we haven't even seen them in the seven months we've been here. We don't know what happened, but we were very excited about all the emergency vehicles. (Everything seems to be normal there, so I can only assume that everything was OK.)

*Our next-door neighbor has had a backhoe digging up his lawn for the last two days. This offered us hours of entertainment. I'm afraid something really bad happened to his sprinkler system, though, so that's too bad for him.

*We have been stuck at home all day waiting for a charity to come pick up some furniture. They have never showed up. We probably wouldn't have gone anywhere, anyway, but it's that feeling of not being able to leave that is so annoying!

*The wool lover that I am firmly believes that her new baby cannot survive without one of these. The schoolteacher's wife that I am knows that $90 is not in our budget. (Unless any relatives are reading this who would so very much like to buy one for the baby, size 62.) So, I've been playing with the idea of making one out of a recycled cashmere sweater (I think it would have to be cashmere for the texture once it's been felted). I haven't had any luck finding one so far. Does anyone out there have a cashmere crewneck sweater -- at least a ladies' medium -- in a baby-friendly color (pale, neutral) that they'd be willing to part with? Or if you see one in a thrift shop, that you'd be willing to snatch up for me to try my little experiment?

*I told you they were random thoughts. Happy weekend, everyone!

There are reasons...

...that applique t-shirts are the ideal gifts for children.

They are easy. Fast. Inexpensive. And so customizable. Elisabeth and I love to collaborate on these ... she likes to think about what her friends like and to think of possible designs.

Shield shirt for a five-year-old friend who likes knights.

I'd been thinking about making applique t-shirts for a long time, since seeing them in the Mini Boden catalog years ago, but for a while I was too scared to try it. I was worried that the t-shirt would pucker. It was Erin who told me about using Heat'N'Bond Lite, which helped a lot. And then, through some trial and error, I learned not to make too tight of a zig-zag stitch. (I discovered that if I tried to do a true satin stitch, the t-shirt would pucker.) We find most of our solid t-shirts for these at Target, and Old Navy often has solid tees, as well.

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Thank you all for your enthusiastic response to near:far. We are so excited about where this project will go! We hope it will be an opportunity not only for us to give and receive support on our own journeys, but for other women to share their stories and know that they are not alone. As Kyrie said, it's a place to look at our joys and keep our eyes to the light.

Virtual Quilting Bee: July and September

Here are a couple more of my completed blocks for the Virtual Quilting Bee.

July's nine-patch block goes to Erin. She sent the Denyse Schmidt aqua print and I added the two orange-y ones. I really like this block -- the colors, especially. (The center square is another Denyse Schmidt print, and the four corner squares are My Folklore, from Superbuzzy.) Erin's nine-patch quilt is simple but it's going to be lovely -- tied together with all the Denyse Schmidt prints she sent out. I think it's going to have a really great look when it's finished!

September was Melissa's month, and she requested tree-inspired blocks. I thought about how I wanted to do this for quite a while, and suddenly the inspiration came to me from an art print I've had on my wall for the last 9 years: Oriental Feast by Paul Klee (my favorite artist). I love the shape of his cypress trees, and I thought it would give a really different look to the quilt block. I also really loved the idea of having half of it cut off.

I used an applique technique described in Last-Minute Patchwork Gifts. (Although -- I did it from memory, I didn't actually follow the directions in the book, so I'm not sure if I did it exactly the same way.) I sewed the patchwork piece with the right side facing the paper side of a piece of Heat'N'Bond Lite. Then I trimmed the seam allowances very close -- actually, I cut off almost all of the seam allowance of the Heat'N'Bond -- and turned it right side out. I ironed it together, and then peeled off the paper backing and ironed it down onto the white square. Then I just top-stitched around the edges. I think that by the time Melissa sews my block to the others, quilts it, and washes it a couple of times, the Heat'N'Bond Lite should soften up considerably but it should still hold together nicely. I loved that I could have a turned-under applique look (as opposed to zig-zagging over it) without having to hand-turn it. I really love this block -- and I hope Melissa does, too!

I have one more already-completed block to share later this week (and hopefully can add at least one more to that tally before then). But tomorrow, I'll be sharing a project of a different kind that I've been working on over the last couple of weeks, a collaboration with a friend, which is very special to me. I hope to "see" you then!

Virtual Quilting Bee: April and May

I'm attempting to get caught up on my submissions for the Virtual Quilting Bee. I can't believe how behind I got on this project! Anyway, my plan is to be completely caught up before I have the baby. There is one more block for February, and I guess my turn was supposed to be this month, but due to a misunderstanding on my part, I never sent out any fabric to the others. Considering how behind I was on the project, and the fact that I don't have any idea what kind of quilt I want (I've thought about it lots, but come to no conclusion), I made the difficult and disappointing decision to opt out of my turn. I've enjoyed being part of the project, but it'll also be a relief to be able to bring it to a close, especially with a new baby on the way in such a short time.

Anyway, here's my submission for April, which goes to Amanda Jean. I actually made this way back on April 6, within a day or so of getting the fabric in the mail. But once I saw what some of the others had made for this block, I decided I didn't like mine. I had used pretty much all of the fabric she sent, so I wasn't sure whether or how to change it, so I just let it sit while we moved and I struggled with nausea and all that.

Now that I'm looking at it again, there are things about its construction that could be better (some of the corners don't match perfectly), but I do think it's pretty and I hope it fits with the character of the overall quilt.

This is my submission for March, and it goes to Courtney. (And I'm bumming about the photo quality of this, taken in my nice sunny living room. It shouldn't look so blah!) Courtney said she wanted colored blocks of all different sizes "floating" in the oyster shell-colored fabric. I envisioned what I wanted to do almost right away. Though in fact, this is much different than what I had in mind. I wanted to make a really petite blue block with just a bit of the red and the polka-dot coming out to the side from the center, and then I wanted it to be fairly far to the lower left. But the reality was that there was not enough of the oyster shell fabric for me to accomplish this, and as it is, I used all of it but these scraps:

...and the block is still a bit small. Courtney said she'd be sashing the quilt in the oyster shell fabric, so she will have to add a bit to one side of my block. But even considering all of that, I do really like the way this one looks.

I have three others that are complete, and another two that are begun. I'll share the rest in the next week, and then will be all caught up! Yay!

Daily Creativity

Thank you all so much for your sweet response to my last post. I enjoyed going through my photos for the year and looking for projects that I'd made but had never shared here.

I've been more quiet in this space than I've intended. I think Leslie said it best in this post -- it seems that I've just been busy "doing what I do." For me, right now, that's a little bit of catching up on sewing projects, a little bit of nesting in anticipation of the new baby (which I'm sure will kick in with a cleaning-the-baseboards-with-my-own-toothbrush-at-midnight fervor in another couple of weeks), some knitting for baby, clearing up from -- and bidding a wistful goodbye to -- the gaiety of Christmastime, adjusting to Daddy being back to work full-time in the last week, and planning some projects -- like trying to get a bit prepared for the birthdays that will fall in the days and weeks around when I give birth, a collaboration with a friend (more details on that to come!). So, as Leslie said, the daily grind is good. It's just left me with a little bit less to say.

But our days are still filled with bits of creativity. I'm inspired as I see James begin to have a "purpose" to his drawing, and as Elisabeth expands her knitting skills to include decreases and double-pointed needles. Small moments open themselves to exploration and wonder when we leave a bit of space for that in our days.

So here's to moments of quiet creativity in our daily lives. Wishing for much of it in my own life and in all of yours!

PS: I hope you've all discovered habit! It's my favorite new project of the year!

2008

Before I completely bid farewell to 2008, a year full of blessings as well as struggles, I wanted to share a few of the handmade goods and highlights of the year with you all here. And then, I am so very ready to say hello to this new year, a year which promises to be full of excitment as we welcome the newest member of our family!

In 2008...

...we moved. A move which was complicated by the fact that our previous landlady had been forced to foreclose upon the property in which we lived, and then that the previous tenants in the house that we moved into left behind all of their furniture and food. It was a long couple of weeks.

...the first seven months of pregnancy went by. I'd say, from my perspective, that it's going somewhat slowly -- but quickly, all at the same time. I certainly cannot wait to meet our new wee one!

...I went into the recording studio to record a few tracks on a CD project, which has since been temporarily shelved. :(

...my firstborn turned six, transitioning from being a very little child at the beginning of the year to a big, capable, reading, writing, knitting, confident girl of almost seven by the end of the year.

...my wee one turned two, transitioning from what was really still a baby boy to a little fellow who is beginning to feel ready for his new role as big brother, and who is seeming so very three already.

...I had some very fun meet-ups with other bloggers. The first was with Kristin, who I don't have a picture of, who was such a sweet, sweet person and so generous with her time and recommendations for our trip.

Alicia and her entire family are the types of friends you only get to meet a few times in a lifetime. We all loved them.

While we were staying with Alicia, I had the chance to attend one of the famous KC blogger get-togethers. It was just as much fun as I expected it to be, and I laughed until I cried. It was at Rachel's house, and the eleven women there that night were each so funny and open and kind. I'm sorry that it is only out of sheer laziness that I'm linking to Rachel's post about the evening instead of to each of these awesome women's blogs individually. But seriously, they are all awesome, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet them all!

Erin is every bit as fun, inspiring, and real as all of you might guess from her blog. She described our meeting and time together as "easy", and that's just the way I would describe it, too.

(I wish I'd had more time with all of you!)

...And then, I made some stuff (click the mosaics to get flickr links to the individual photos if you'd like a closer look at any of these):

The Mischievous Gnome Messenger Bag. The pattern was so easy to understand and I loved having this bag with me in New York. It did have a lot of pieces to cut out -- in fact, the cutting took several hours -- and I even had help!

I also lined it with fusible fleece to make it more protective for my camera, which made sewing through all the layers very difficult at times. But I love the finished product, and the very morning we flew to New York, a woman in the airport asked me where I got it, so I think it was a pretty great project!

James's birthday gifts. He loves dogs very, very much, so I made him a doggy cape and a doggy t-shirt. The cape was made of a fat quarter of velour that I had on hand -- I would have liked to have had a bit more for it, but this was sort of a last-minute gift. It's lined with some Heather Ross dog fabric.

Elisabeth made this little dolly for him all by herself. She drew the pattern onto paper, cut it out, embroidered the facial features, and sewed it on the machine. It was a really fun project for her!

Elisabeth's birthday gifts. I had grand plans for this little baby doll, who has been named Little Butterfly by her little mama: A full wardrobe, diapers, towels, a diaper bag with changing pad, and so on. I ended up completing the doll, diaper bag, changing pad, and a sling, but her wardrobe hasn't been added to at all so far. I used a pattern for a 12" button-joint doll from here, and although it was a pretty clear pattern, I'd do it differently if I were to do it over again. I would probably just use the pattern from my favorite dollmaking book, instead. (Which I had misplaced at the time and no one had a copy I could buy -- it was on backorder from the publisher at the time! -- so I ended up buying a pattern for the doll instead. Of course I found my book about a month later.) {Edited to add: What I didn't like about the pattern I used was that the head and body are one piece. I generally make my dolls with separate heads and sew them together. Since that's what I'm used to, I'd probably do it that way if I were to make another button-joint doll.}

Baby gifts for the new daughter of a good friend of mine (she already has two boys, and they were excited for some pink!)

Birthday presents for some other little ones we know:

I adapted the pattern for this rucksack from this book.

A froggy beanbag (pattern also based on one from this book) and t-shirt for a little two-year-old boy.

A spider t-shirt and silly string (to make spider webs) for a six-year-old.

And this super cute bonnet from Amy's pattern for one of Elisabeth's friends. This was a super quick and satisfying project! (I should make more of these!)

2008 was a year full of changes, new things, adjustments, and real life. It was also full of so much sweetness, family togetherness, and most of all, love. All I can wish is that 2009 will be just as surprising, awe-inspiring, fun, simple, and joyful -- for my family, and all of yours.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Dolls

Thank you all for your lovely holiday wishes! I hope you have all had a beautiful holiday as well, and that you're spending this last week of the year taking things slowly, relishing a bit in holiday goodness without the pressures of having to plan and prepare, and perhaps celebrating the twelve days.

I've mentioned in a few posts that I had a last few doll orders to send off this year. I hadn't intended on doing any custom dolls for the holidays this year, and these orders were all from a few months ago. But being so sick with this pregnancy, and breaking my right ankle at the end of the summer, which prevented me from sewing for many weeks (I know, I never mentioned the ankle here ... it just seemed like another thing to complain about and I didn't want this space to become about complaining!), I got very, very behind. So I just had these last three to finish up, and I managed to get them all sent and delivered in time for Christmas (though barely!).

So, introducing...

Emmie, my first international doll -- she now resides in the UK!

Nellie, my first African-American doll, who was made for a 10-month-old baby girl who shares my birthday. I braided her hair to avoid a strangulation hazard since the baby is still very little. This little one was a recipient of one of my birthday crowns, as well.

And Amos, who was meant to be a birthday present way back at the end of July to a little one whose mama was so, so very patient with me throughout this process.

I'm hoping that all of these dollies will become treasured friends to the little ones who received them this year.

As always, more pictures of these dolls, and others I've made, in the flickr photoset.

Pumpkins, and sewing, and bears ... oh, my!

Ah, Halloween has come and gone. That's a bit sad for me because I love it so.

Anyway, we had a very lovely day -- Daddy had the day off from work, and we headed to our historic downtown's annual trick-or-treat street 15 minutes early -- we were the first ones there (hee hee!), had some dinner, trick-or-treated for a few minutes around our new neighborhood, and then collapsed into bed for an early bedtime. It was a lot of fun, and very simple and small-scale (which is exactly the way I like it!).

My wee ones chose to be bears this year, which was the easiest and cheapest costume I've ever made. My mom had the great idea of picking up these cheap fleece blankets at a discount store, so the fabric ended up only costing about $10. The pattern, McCall's 8953, was purchased for $1.99 at JoAnn during a pattern sale. Two zippers, some elastic, contrast flannel and buttons from the stash, and we were all set.

I bought the pattern in the 3-5 size, and traced and lengthened it -- after lots of calculation -- for Elisabeth, who is thin enough to wear a 4 or 5 in a standard pattern, but needs the length of a 7. Really, that was the hardest part of the whole thing -- and despite my careful calculations, I think it ended up being a bit too long, though Elisabeth thought it looked more "authentic" that way. (The one thing I did not like about this pattern was that the hood was one size, and ended up being too big for James.) 

It was a great Halloween -- just our speed. I hope yours was full of fun and merriment, as well!

A tale of three dollies

Hello, patient friends! I don't know where I've been lately! It's been a long week -- good long, I suppose, but very long!! Hopefully things will settle back to normal around here very soon.

Part of our recent trip was allotted for doll deliveries.

Alicia and I had organized a swap of our dolls months ago, although the one I made went to little N, while I greedily kept Alicia's all for me! It was so much fun to exchange our dolls the night we arrived.

I love her curly pigtails! Excuse the blurry photo -- I took this one at Alicia's and since we've been home, I haven't straightened up my creative space enough to do any photography in there. But that's where she'll be living! (I have my own room now! Yay!)

My other doll was for a mama and little girl who had been waiting very patiently for a long time on a doll that I was having a hard time giving up! There was something about this doll that I just didn't want to part with. But, the family lived serendipitously near Cincinnati, and they drove to our hotel to pick up the dolly.

I had some apron-making problems with this one, but I don't think her new little mama will mind. ;)

As always, see more pictures of my dolls here.

Meet Hattie!

I have tons of pictures from New York to go through before I can talk about that trip, so today I'm going to introduce you to Hattie.

Hattie was commissioned as a birthday gift for the older sister of the two boys who now have Faolan and Colin. I was so honored that their mother was happy enough with the two boy dolls and appreciative enough of my work to order another doll from me.

That said, I had a really hard time with Hattie. This was the first doll with which I really struggled for inspiration. I think that mostly it was the timing -- creating her in the midst of making my own children's birthday gifts, some awful late-season colds, and preparing for my trip (which was an ordeal in itself because I thought there was a decent chance I would die in the airplane). Part of it was also that the mother of the recipient had something really specific in mind (she is totally nice -- it's not that she was being difficult or anything), and I wasn't sure how to work that vision into my established dollmaking "style". With all this going on, there was a moment that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get her to her new family on time. She ended up coming along in my carry-on (messenger bag) on the plane to New York, and her hair and pinafore received their finishing touches in the air. She was quickly photographed in our hotel room, and then we rushed to a Manhattan post office to mail her off. Whew! That was a whirlwind, and a strange way to begin a vacation.

Ultimately, despite the rush, and my own anxieties about her, I think she is so lovely, sweet, and most of all, authentic. There are lots of Waldorf dollmakers out there who are making their dolls to look more modern, fashionable, updated, what-have-you. Some of those dolls are really exquisite. But I like my dolls to have an innocent, old-fashioned quality to them. I want them to be representatives of the archetype of childhood. Despite having sort of come into dollmaking by happenstance, I've discovered that I really do have a philosophy behind my dollmaking, beyond the general Waldorf philosophy regarding dolls (that they should be free from too many details so as to be a "blank slate" for the child's imagination and creative play).

So, I've discovered that I make my dolls with that very wholesome concept of childhood in mind. I believe that they could very well be at home with a child living centuries ago. They represent childhood in its purest form. And each of them is a treasure to me -- as I hope they will be to their new little mamas and daddies.

Dilemma! Immediate assistance required!

(I have a birthday celebrations post with answers to many of your questions to me over the last few days waiting in the wings. Tomorrow, OK?)

I'm leaving for my trip to New York in a few days. (My mom and I are going together -- it's my 30th birthday present/her "I've been someone's mother for 30 years?!?" present.) One of these bags is coming with me, to carry my camera around in while we're there, and as a carry-on for the plane.

But, I can't make a final decision about the fabric. I was originally planning to go with this fabric, from Joelle Hoverson's new Cake Rock Beach line:

(Which I love.)

But then I started thinking, this is kind of monochromatic (which might be a good thing...), maybe I want something more bright and springy? So I pulled out this Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope floral, and the green and white dot (which is from Bee's Knees by Glenna Hailey):

So, what do you think? (Either way, it's going with that charcoal gray -- which I know looks black, but it isn't -- corduroy, shown behind the prints.)

I'm making the bag tonight, so be quick with your votes!

(PS: I bought all this fabric, except for the corduroy, from Sew Mama Sew.)

Quilting Bee ~ March

This was my submission for the Virtual Quilting Bee for March. It goes to Kathy. (I so wish that I had some better photos of it, but I made, photographed, and mailed it last week, and didn't load the photos onto the computer and look at them until last night. Oh, well.)

I really, really loved the fabric that Kathy sent along -- the roses in the center and the polka dots. I love this very understated color palette with grays and blues.

Kathy requested blocks in a log cabin spirit, but said that they didn't have to be traditional log cabin blocks. She mentioned that free-form strip piecing would be one option. She also shared this link to images of the Quilts of Gee's Bend, and I absolutely adored the ones with the horizontal strip piecing, so I kind of ran with that idea.

I am so excited about this block, even with its one unintentional wonky seam. (Since some of the other ladies are doing intentional wonky seams, it should be OK, hee hee!)

Anyway, I loved making this one and I hope Kathy likes it, too!

Quilting Bee ~ February

Here's my submission for the Virtual Quilting Bee for February.

the flowers are buttons. the "pasture" is corduroy, with a Superbuzzy lamb frolicking in it. the field on the lower left is a lovely organic colorgrown cotton fleece that had the perfect texture to match with Jennifer's chenille on the right. I added wool yarn to be the vegetables growing in it and felted them a little bit with hot steam from my iron. they should felt up even better when Jennifer washes the quilt.

I had the idea for the farm as soon as Jennifer shared the picture of the fabric she was sending. The chenille just seemed like a field of wheat to me. So I'd already sketched it before I even received Jennifer's fabric in the mail. And I pieced it and appliqued the tree and the clouds several weeks ago.

some little farm people that are fussy cut and pieced into the quilt. the fabric is from Superbuzzy, and it's supposed to be the fairy tale "The Golden Goose", but I thought they looked like the most adorable little farm children with their pig running along behind them!

And then it just sat. I worked on knotting the yarn into the lower left field here and there. But for some reason, it was adding the windows and the door to the house that really held me back on this. I just don't know why, but I couldn't get motivated to add them. Isn't that silly? I think I was just tired of looking at it -- the things that didn't turn out the way I'd hoped (perfectionist me, of course). But, actually, the end result is making me pretty happy.

wool felt appliqued tree trunk -- the clouds, windows, and door are also wool felt, which I've discovered washes just fine as it's already felted

Anyway, Jennifer, I hope you like it. I had so much fun making it, and thinking about what Katie and Tristan might think of it.