the set will be in the shop next week.
leaf swooshing
happy little packages
It’s been a good mail week! I got a little over excited searching japanese fabric on etsy a few weeks ago.
ok, back to gnomeland with me…
girl toys
When I was pregnant with Oscar and starting buying boy toys I enjoyed it immensely. Being one of two sisters I’d never known the joy of wheels and parking garages and trains. I got a little too into it and bought enough toys his first couple of years to last him his rest. It’s me, not him, in the checkout aisle at the grocery store suggesting we get just one more matchbox car.
Of course things are just inherently girly around here and Oscar has always had his fair share of dolls and stuffed animals and dollhouses and other “girl toys”. But now, this year with Phoebe on board, Christmas shopping is giving me a little thrill. If having Oscar was discovering a childhood I never had, having Phoebe is reliving my own childhood and I’m pouring over toy sites like a kid in a candy store.. or more accurately like a 9 year old Hillary with the Sears Wishbook.
My first could-not-help-myself, yes-I-know-she’s-only-5-months Christmas present for Phoebe is this gorgeous handmade doll from Bettsi at Tender Arts. Her name is Linnea and she’s made from an Edith Flack Ackley pattern and she’s perfect. Her delicate features, all the little details, just breathtaking… check all the pics on the etsy listing here. Bettsi does amazing work. I have to sit on my hands to not snatch up the new doll she has up on her etsy now.
Little girl Hillary is doing flips that she’s, er, I mean, Phoebe’s getting this for Christmas.
wool
The one question I get asked the most is where do I get my wool felt. I thought I’d write a post about just that and hopefully get feedback from you guys and then have it all in one spot where I can send everybody. For whatever reason nice wool and wool felt seem to be specialty items and they aren’t readily available in most fabric stores (although JoAnn Fabrics does carry a few colors, their site says it’s 100% wool but I seem to remember that I’ve only found wool/acrylic blends there). The best places for wool felt seem to be quilt shops and sites that cater to doll makers, especially places that sell Waldorf doll supplies like the place I send people to over in my f.a.q., A Child’s Dream Come True. I’ve bought both the Spanish and the Holland felt from them and they’re both really nice. Purl Soho also has beautiful wool felt.
Besides using wool felt for my dolls and toys I also use wool. It is softer and lighter weight than the felt and is just dreamy. I think the first wool I bought was one of these Marcus Brothers wool bundles and it was one of best craft purchases I ever made. Most quilt shops sell wool by the yard and now and then I have the sense to pick up a few colors when I’m in the shops. But now with even less time to make the trek to the quilt shops I’m trying to buy some online and wishing I’d paid more attention to what it was they had at the stores. I’m thinking maybe this? Moda Wool? But this site says it’s unfelted and I’m not sure what that means.
Another wool that bears mentioning is the diy wool. Pick up some 100% wool sweaters from the thrift store and wash them on hot and throw them in the dryer and voila. Thick, fuzzy, awesome wool with the same great no-ravel edges. It makes awesome huggable soft toys.
Then there’s wool stuffing. I know many people use it and it sounds wonderful. I still haven’t tried it out myself. I use polyfill that comes in little puffs and I find it so easy to work with (and cheap) and I’ve just stuck with it. They sell wool stuffing most places they sell materials for Waldorf dolls as well but it’s pretty pricey. Mimi was writing about a source for wool stuffing that sounded interesting. Might need to give that a try.
So that’s what I know about wool. It’s not much, hopefully it’s some help. Please, if you have a favorite source you’d like to share I’d love to hear about it!
i like orange
from the most amazing new book I found at the last book sale, What is a Color? by Alice and Martin Provensen, c. 1967.
I love the text littered with little drawings. It reminds me so much of other books I had in my childhood. It’s giving me quilt ideas.
bonneted babies
I played the Phoebe card to get me out of yardwork on Sunday and was able to do a little gift sewing. I made these little wool babies in bonnets dolls for some new babies, Louisa and Frances, and while I was at it, two more for a couple not so new babies, Phoebe and Lydia. I found lots of great bonnet inspiration in one of my new favorite books, here.
