Wee Wonderfuls

thank goodness for the new snow!

woohoo! another inch or so of white fluffy snow. thank god! if it was actually springlike around here these quilted pants that I've been wanting to make for over a month would be a moot point. when I woke up to yet another magical winter wonderland (cue the twinkling music) I decided to pull the trigger and sew up the darn things. luckily I'm sure we have another good month or so of frosty temps so she'll get some wear out of her new puffy pants. phew!

thanks for all the encouraging comments on kit, chloe and louise!! I've got their inaugural outfits all sketched out and will hopefully get to them this weekend. I'm a teensy bit afraid of doll clothes so I might have to do some more procrastinating sewing first.

in their skivvies

the kit, chloe and louise dolls I've been working on are finally finished! now it's time for some outfits...

***updated to add***
I didn't really have time to write anything yesterday so I thought I'd just do a little show and tell on the new dolls but Tim's all "aren't you even going to talk about them". Guess he figures if he has to listen to me chatter on about these dolls all week that the rest of you should have to as well. So here's some chatter for ya. These gals might not look it but are actually quite different than the Kit and Chloe I'd started a few weeks ago. I decided to make their bodies longer and thinner so they look more like the older girls they are than toddlers. This also will make them easier to dress I think. Another difference is I made their bodies out of two layers of quilting cotton instead of the wool felt I'd used on the first two. I was worried it'd be too lumpy when I stuffed them but the second layer of fabric seems to smooth it out quite nicely. After getting their bodies right finally I was stuck on their faces for quite a while. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do different features for each girl but in the end I think the slight differences that come out of being handmade give each one their own personality. And then there's the hair! Or to be more specific, Chloe's (the blond's) hair. Kit and Louise were pretty straightforward but Chloe's hair is a different story. Finding the right yellow and the right cut.. I'm still not sure I have her just how I want her. I have some "curled" hair that I might try out for her instead. Can't decide if she's got straight hair or more wavy curls. This is something I've been wrestling with for a while. Maybe this is why I can't get anyone to take the fact that I am an actual *working* mom seriously, because my work is trying to decide between straight or wavy doll hair. I should make some spreadsheets about it. Maybe a pie chart!

blogging a blog

How's it going with you guys? Slow progress is being made around these parts. I spent the entire weekend knocking my head against a wall but I think I may have something to show for it soon. I have the hardest time getting a pattern just right. I sometimes feel like I've fallen into something that I have no natural talent for whatsoever. Did I ever write about how the first time Tim saw me sewing he'd never seen me so angry (up to that point) and told me very gently that he didn't think sewing was for me. I'm pretty sure I have. He likes to remind me of that often :)

In other news, we have a new friend in the house. Here's Phoebe inspecting her red shoe. More on her later.

And guess what?! It's going to snow tonight. 6 inches. We Chicagoans are so darn lucky this year. A quick peek out the window shows that the car is already nicely coated in white and the tiny bit of yard that had thawed is now covered in snow again. I don't think I've seen the lawn in 2 months. And now that I'm back at the computer to finish up and we've already got a good 3 of those 6. I think I'm sufficiently, officially, resolutely over the 'winter wonderland' bit.

doll sized inspiration

I have no time to sew this week but am doing lots of doll clothes plotting. For inspiration I went over to my Mom's and retrieved her box of old doll stuff. I love these original outfits for her Ginny dolls.

I pinned a few of my favorites up on the fabrics on my inspiration wall

new doll quilt

After an 8 (or so) month long break, I felt the urge to make another doll quilt for Phoebe. I was inspired once again by Jen's photos from the International Quilt Festival in Tokyo. This one in particular was whispering doll quilt in my ear. I thought it was perfect because it's the sort of thing that is awe-inspiringly crazy in a full size quilt but seems kind of quaint and homey in a doll size quilt. I also liked that it was another "+" thing, like the quilt that inspired the first quilt I did for Phoebe's wall.

Further inspired by Jen and her post on hand-piecing on Sew, Mama, Sew I decided to ditch the sewing machine and finish piecing it together by hand. It was lovely. Just the right sort of project (tiny) for some relaxing handiwork. The quilting was fun too although I got a little too distracted by the tv (buffy) and my +'s sort of sway off grid a bit. But I love the finished product. I knew I couldn't go wrong when I picked these fabrics and the pink, black and green color scheme. I've had most of these fabrics in a pile for a project for, um, over 2 years now I think. So even if I totally botched it I'd be happy with the pretty colors.

here are some details: the finished size is 14" x 18", the squares are 2", cotton batting, vintage bias tape, perle cotton for the quilting, vintage and new fabrics.

and here's a Phoebe snap, just because :)

Chloe would like to say...

Thank you for all your Quilting Bee orders! She's overseeing distribution and says that all orders between now and Tuesday will head out on Tuesday. After that we should be back on our all orders out within two days schedule. She and the girls are very pleased that everyone's feeling the handiwork vibe these days.

She's also telling me this hair I've got her in has got. to. go. I know, I know. I'm on my way to the yarn shop.

Are you guys going to be weirded out if I keep talking to the dolls?  ...yeah... I used to read that wee wonderfuls... she kinda lost it though...

The Quilting Bee Stitchette up for grabs

Hey everybody, happy VD! Maybe you'd like a little something stitchy to go with your chocolate? The Quilting Bee Stitchette is now in the shop.

Also in the shop today are the newly restocked Turtle Hand Sewing For Fun Patterncard and that means the 4 for the price of 3 deal is back too. Thanks for checking in! xoxo

Kit in 3D

I'm so so sooo excited about this new doll design I've been working on for Kit, Chloe and Louise dolls. I've been wanting for a while to make a new doll that could be dressed up, one that had a good body to make lots of cutie doll outfits for and I think this is her! She's got a very satisfyingly plump little body and great flippy arms and legs. I'm still not sure she's exactly right, although after using up a week of babysitting hours working on her I hope she's real close. I might rework the face some but I do love how simple it is. Less fussing with the face will leave more time for little dresses and slacks and pinafores and tights and whatnot and hoobiewhaties. Also with this doll I tried out a new way of doing yarn hair that is lot less labor intensive and I figured out a clever little bun thing (that I was so excited about that I think Tim may think I've gone a little around the bend) and it all turned out really cute and it wouldn't be too too hard to break down for instructions... so I'm going to work on Chloe and Louise next and if it all comes together the way I'm hoping it will, I think the three dolls with outfits will make a nice fat Put-together Book #4.

In other Kit, Chloe & Louise news, the Quilting Bee Stitchette is about ready to hit the shop. Probably mid-week. You can sign up on the mailing list if you'd like to be notified when they're added. Please keep in mind this Stitchette is a limited edition. When they're gone they'll be gone, if not for good, at least for a year or so. I'd love to have everything in stock all the time but we just don't have the resources to do that yet so if we want to keep adding new patterns to the shop some of them will have to be one run only. And you know me, always on to the new thing.

pucker up panda

This little panda appeared on Tim's desk the other day. This is about as valentine-y as it's going to get around here I think. Valentines Day has always kinda bugged me, so cheesy. But it's cute for kids. Although, the cute is wearing off a bit as we're working on the one gazillion valentines Oscar's got to bring to his various activities. He's hollering at them now. He's perfected this way of swearing at things but using non-swear words. We're so proud. "bad mamma gamma valentines glue!" That's our valentine.

pucker up!

rocking the vote & barrettes

The barrette-making continues round these parts. I'm justifying it by giving most away to friends' little girls. I bought some alligator clips off ebay and sewing up little felt slipcovers for them is the perfect tv-watching activity. They've kept me busy for the complete Jane Austen on pbs, new-to-us Joss Whedon show Firefly (so good!) on hulu and tonight I'm going to work on some Super Tuesday barrettes while watching election results...if I can figure out how to sew while my fingers are crossed.