Wee Wonderfuls

big footed bunny pattern?

I'm afraid my posts are going to be kinda dull these days. I just deleted a post that was a big long laundry list of things I need to get done. That's the only way I think now, in list items. Combine that with my pregnancy brain and there's not a lot of deep thinking going on over here. And I'm sure you don't want to hear about the floor guy or how I set up an appointment at a new doctor. But maybe you're interested in bunnies? As I've mentioned before I really want to focus on wee wonderfuls right now because soon it will be all about moving and settling in and then baby arrives and all hell will break loose. So my short term goal list is very ambitious. My latest thought was how about the Big Footed Bunny as a Put-together book? These bunnies have to be the project I get the most email about. I tried for a while to make them up to sell on the site but I'm such a detail freak that it takes me forever to sew them up. I'd love to have them manufactured some day so I could have actual toys to offer for all the non-sewers. That's still something I'm determined to figure out. But for now, I was thinking I'd make her up for a put-together book in time for Easter (if that time frame is even possible!). I guess I'm sort of throwing it out there to gauge interest before I jump in, so what do y'all think? yay or nay for the big footed bunny?

oh and yes, dress would be included. no naked bunnies around here!

waiting for spring

Despite the wintery mix yesterday we ventured out for yarn hair so I could work on styling during the Oscars last night. I don't know how far I'll get with this plan but I'm so happy to have one doll done for the new patchwork set. She's bundled up, waiting patiently for a spring photo shoot.

Thanks again for all the great stitchette suggestions. I've been reading through them and sketching and trying to narrow all the goodness down to just 4 designs. A lot of really fun suggestions unfortunately don't lend themselves to the nature of a stitchette. Mud soaked clothes for example - how cute - but really hard to depict with outline only. And lots of the big action ones, kites flying, the maypole I wanted, biking, tree climbing, etc are too sprawling for the limited space of a stitchette. And then there are the tiny things, bugs, specific flowers, butterflies, even glasses (although I'm going to keep trying) that are just too detailed to render with a half strand of floss. Of course there are plenty of wonderful springy details that will be work out perfectly and I'm excited to work on flowers, birds and raindrops. Especially since I just turned around to look out the window and it is snowing... again!

Oh, and since I'm on the stichy subject, the Summer Stitchettes have been restocked and are ready to go.

Oscar's week

I've started a lot of projects this week but they all went awry almost immediately so how about a look at Oscar's week instead...

his new favorite thing in the world, glitter glue!

more glue... felt cars with button wheels

and melting mommy's heart by asking to play tiny cars on the road quilt (which he never does)

spring stitchette ideas?

Thanks for the house congrats! Before I get too swept up in house stuff (if that's at all possible) I really want to focus on some wee wonderfuls projects first. Today it's 30 degrees in Chicago but I swear it feels like 60. I'm not sure if it's just being out of whack because of the frigid temps we've been having or because I'm a baby oven but I'm definitely feeling Spring-ish sensations. So how about some Spring Stitchettes talk. I was thinking it'd be super fun to get idea submissions from you stitchers out there. Maybe your son or daughter would make the perfect stitchette? I need 4 more activities, colors, hair styles, outfits and names. I'm thinking 2 boys and 2 girls again. I don't want to repeat letters, so far B, H, W, E, P, F, C, I, R, S, A and T have been used. I've got a few ideas cooking that I really want to squeeze in there, birds and flowers and maypoles and other Spring things but I'd love to hear what you'd like to see.

a wall for us

We've found a wall for all Junebaby's doll quilts! And it's attached to a pretty nice 1958 ranch house that we went and bought for ourselves this weekend. Well, have agreed to buy for ourselves for the next 30 years. We're feeling very lucky. It's got so much we were looking for...a well taken care of, one owner home, some nice original mid-century mod touches left alone, updated things you want updated (roof, furnace, etc) and all the space we were hoping for - a room for each of us and an extra for the crafts. A nice funky full basement, cute yard with great trees, a wonderful grade school. It definitely needs work, especially in the kitchen/bathroom departments. And it is in the deep burbs, which must be the reason my 16 year old self is in there kicking and screaming and why I feel a bizarre urge to smoke clove cigarettes and dye my hair purple. But I think even teenaged Hillary will have to give in when she sees Oscar happily running amok in the safety of his nice suburban fenced in yard. I can't believe we're going to have a yard! Oscar has decided he's going to plant bread.

Thanks everybody for your house hunting advice. Looking back, everything seemed to have happened for a reason. Guess you have to see 50 houses to know the right one when you see it. And when to know to act fast!

grandmother's flower garden

Here's doll quilt number two for baby's room. I thought it might be actually fun to do some paper piecing if it was on a much smaller scale than the other ongoing paper piecing project I've got going. I used some perfect pink jumbo ric-rac I've been hoarding to make petals and embroidered stems and leaves to create a daisy chain. I'm having over-ambitious fantasies of making another set of patchwork set girls with 3 of these quilts having coordinating dolls. We'll see how that shakes out.

I used some thrifted gold velvet for the binding and the pink polka dots from Maggie's bedding for the backing.

Have a great day celebrating your favorite president!

Make-a-long snowsuit pattern available

Geez, that took a little longer than expected! The snowsuit pattern pieces had a little trouble fitting into our 8 1/2 x 11 world but they're all set now. Prepare your Olives and Archies for bundling! On sale here for $4.

it may look like a snow globe outside

but I'm inside working on my flower garden...

bored and boring

I like to show pics of new supplies...new exciting exotic supplies. But these things I picked up this weekend are a very accurate representation of what's going on around here so what the heck...

Bland pancake. Absolutely nothing is new. Same cold snowy weather, same stuck in the house with a toddler suffering, same no house for us anywhere story, same old.

I am doing some paper piecing. A slow pokey project for a slow pokey life.

maybe not quite so small

I finished the first doll quilt. I'm in serious love with this quilt that Jen showed from the Tokyo International Quilt Festival and so I thought I'd try a teeny tiny version of it. At first I really wanted to totally recreate it as best I could, have lots of super tiny blocks, do the same quilting design, etc. It quickly became apparent making super elaborate tiny quilts wasn't where I wanted to go. Then I was listening to this Alex Anderson podcast Jen sent me to on doll quilts and the gal she was interviewing was talking about how doll quilts were always made very quickly and were often quite basic because they were meant to be played with by children. And that sounded a lot more on the money to me. So I made bigger squares, did real simple machine quilting and used twill tape for binding. I always have a hard time with the intentionally imperfect look but I think it turned out cute. I dig it. It's tiny though, 15" x 18". Next one should be bigger. One down!

Thanks for the Stitchette love the past 2 days! I've been to the post office 3 times since yesterday and they should be landing at their destinations shortly. Next on the horizon, the snowsuits. And then the make-a-long knitting patterns. Speaking of which, I'm looking for a very nitpicky knitter with some time on her hands, any takers?