Dolls...

I had this thing about not giving Little Miss H an ordinary doll for her birthday. :) So I decided at first I'd make a rag doll - but then was introduced on another forum to the idea of Waldorf Dolls. Just looking at google and the number of sites selling them, instructing how to make them... confirmed to me this was definitely the doll she needed. I had help making my first one - a friend came to spend time and make the doll with me (I'd told her about the dolls and she already makes loads of stuff, including being far better at dolls and other types of sewing!). It was great sewing with someone else, lots of tips and scope for me to decide how I'd do my next one.

The only thing I have bought in order to make these dolls, is the poly stuffing for the body, and the fancy wool for the hair of the second doll. The heads are rolled up pieces of wool wadding, the body of each doll is made from a different baby sleep suit that Little Miss H has grown out of (and they were second hand in the first place!), and an old white Tesco tshirt (I mean OLD - prob about 20 years!) was dyed in tea to make the flesh-ish colour for the face. We made the most of it for homeschool so I had some helpers with the tea dipping process!

So I did make my next one for a cousin's baby's first birthday - they were born 5 weeks apart so its a nice special friendship for the babies! For this one I traced around another fabric doll I got in a shed load of second hand toys from the lady I buy all Little Miss H's clothes from. I wanted the doll purely for the shape to draw around, so I took the opportunity when I saw it and actually the body shape of the second doll I made, I was much happier with, and I used far more wadding (just experience and preference these sorts of things I am sure!). So I coveted the second doll a bit but still managed to give her to her rightful owner as a gift!!

I do intend to make some more actually, but there's a queue of other projects in the pipeline at the moment...

Below: Both dolls together. Bottom picture is the second doll.

Midnight Mystery Quilt!

I am sure I could add the word "Midnight" before many of my creations, as could many crafters! So the idea of going to a class at my local quilting shop entitled "Midnight Mystery Quilt" seemed as good as anything else! No babysitting issues, I'd most likely be sewing that time of night at home anyway, but the added bonus of making my first patchwork quilt top with a group of other far more experienced quilters (like, they'd done at least one before!) and pizza and hot chocolate on top (not on top of the quilt) = my dream Friday night!!!

So... it was from a jelly roll (Anna Lisa cut and rolled the fabrics for us in advance) and we had to choose "Country" or "Florals" in advance of the night - the rest was the Mystery! I hovered over the choice but thankfully had read at least one quilting magazine prior to enrolling, and decided Country was it for me. Wise choice (from my point of view).

I did the class about 6 weeks before Little Miss H was born. So it was inevitable I suppose that the quilt would be nearly another year before I finished it. Mostly what stopped me was lack of any help in assembling and quilting (had to look at internet sites to calculate backing, and wadding, and work out vaguely how to baste and quilt). Then a new-old friend (who conveniently identified herself as a quilting geek...) kindly came over and helped me tape the quilt to the floor in my living room, layer and baste it, and then I quilted simply on the diagonal. Just in time for her birthday - I think I had a few weeks to spare.

I had a bit of extra time left over so I made a Waldorf inspired doll from leftover wadding, a baby sleep suit she'd worn, and an old tshirt of mine (face, hands and feet) that the boys and I dyed in tea.

Voilla! Happy girl on her birthday quilt with her doll. Not much else a fourth baby needs for their first birthday really, is there????!