Time passing

Sorry I've been away, no internet for the past few weeks. 

Isn't it amazing how much we rely on it these days?

I got a bias tape maker for Christmas, but my lack of an actual iron stopped me from actually using it. But! Never fear I recently bought a new one and proceeded to make bias tape from my scraps all last weekend. It was a little frustrating at first but once I got the hang of it, it became quite fun. 

I have a Martha Stewart pattern for a bias tape bag that I've been dying to try for ages!

It's too dark at the moment for any photos (my apologies).

My parents bought a few knitting books from Adelaide op-shops so now I have too many projects to try!! Ah the frustrations of a crafter!

Dolls!

Ive long been inspired by Elisabeth Doherty's felt dolls, although I am nowhere near her calibre I think this little doll does me proud.

This is before the arms and legs were actually sewn on but the lighting is better. (it's actually the back of our living room curtain!) 

Here is when the limbs are attached, I am impossibly surprised that it turned out the way it did. I hand sewed almost everything, I tried using my beautiful new machine but didn't have the patience to do the finicky bits on it. 

I haven't decided the final fate of this little doll but I will probably keep it because I'm not totally satisfied with the sewing, BUT next time the proportion will be perfect! Isn't problem-solving a wonderful thing!

This is my final gorgeous doll, I finished this one a while ago but it took me awhile to get the motivation to sew all the body parts together and make her little dress.

The stringy thing down the bottom edge of the photo is actually a little garland, the scrunched up bits will be mini stars when I starch them and then both the doll and garland will be flying over east for the sweetest little girl!

Well that's my week as of yet, how has yours been?

Busy, busy, busy

Teddy bear, oh how cute are thee? I love these little pieced body parts connected with little buttons. This Christmas he'll be going to a lovely new home, I'll be sad to see him go. I loved the way the variations of the yarn changed so smoothly, it's really the first time I've had any luck with this type of wool. It's my own pattern so the head's a bit demented but the arms and legs are from this book.

My little birds from the last post went to some new homes over to some cousins in Adelaide but boys are so much harder to make things for!! There are four little boys, two above 6 and three below. 

(From left to right) I bought a pooh bear quilt block for the newest little boy, strangely enough I had never enough seen a pre-printed quilt block until today! It's a perfect size for the little guy. 

Next is a boy who likes Spider-Man, but due to a lack of licensed fabric my fantastic brother found this spider print. I loved that it had the red scattered throughout and I got the blue for backing cause it seemed to complete the Spider-Man theme. 

Then we've got two different Lorax prints for two more boys. One is a gorgeous window sort of print and the other is an A4 size print blocks. 

And lastly I was searching for Ben 10 fabric but they had just run out!!! So instead I got the basic colours for that watch thingy he wears. I have an idea of how it looks so I'm going to appliqué it on. 

Oh my gosh! I just realized I didn't even tell you what I am making!!!! 

Due to postage I vouched for something mostly flat, I decided to make different pillowcases for them. I'll show you pictures when they are done!

Looking at the beautiful wreaths from Attic24 I decided to manufacture a Christmas wreath of our own. Instead of crocheting a scarf thing to sew around the foam ring I've cut polar fleece to stitch around it. A lot of the patterns for the individual pieces have come from Attic24 tutorials, the golden swirly things were supposed to look like west australian Christmas tree flowers and look pretty good if I do say so myself. 

For these gloves I developed the pattern from a photo on pinterest. My sister has already put in a request, they are made of mitered squares. I may post the pattern but I'd like to get permission from the original source first. 

Hope your week has been just as productive in this crazy lead upto Christmas!!!!

What have you been upto? Let me know!

More dolls!

So many dolls, so much wool! Not really a great place to be in for summer. 

Oh how much easier my life would be if we lived somewhere cold!

These are dolls made from my own pattern I like the long, thin arm and leg design and the round faces are very versatile. 

I've been thinking about making some boy dolls as well, but I, not really sure how I'd do their hair? 

Anyways I hope you enjoy my photos!

Projects! Oh my goodness!

The doll on the left is a pattern if my own, as is the dress. I need to make another one and remember to write the pattern down (I'm terrible at that!) she's a little ballerina. I painted the face and knitted the hair, I thought the two buns were cuter than just one. 

The elephant and sausage dog are from 'the big book of softies' and they are so cute.

The two dolls on the other end are still in progress but I thought I'd show you anyway. 

The two books are by Loani Prior and showcase some gorgeous tea pot cosies. I working on 'Gone Potty' its double knitted and I've struggled a bit with the colour pattern but it is the first time I've double knitted anything this complicated. 

On the right are a pair of freeform fingerless gloves I made. They were so much fun to create!

Here is a better photo of the gloves. I'm really happy how they turned out, if only it weren't coming into summer over here!

This week // 12-18 October

This week has been hectic in more ways then one. 

In artsy ways I am preparing for the churchlands art and craft extravaganza. Stocking up on all my crocheted, knitted and sewn products! It's exciting to see how much I have accomplished.

I've been working on these dolls for awhile but the first prototype had neck problems, too floppy. This photo is the second try and I painted the face only today, I like the simple, minimalist design. I was reducing the compactness of the stuffing in the head when it turned out like this! Looks a bit Einstein-y, minus the funky eyebrows.

The baby maple tree in our front garden has begun to sprout its leaves again! Gorgeous and such a beautiful introduction to our late spring.

This is the 'Patchwork Horse' from the "big book of softies" a cute anthology of various toy artists. The pattern calls for a mane similar to the tail but I ran out of my scraps of that particular fabric and decided to leave it as it was. I think it turned out well.

These are the ex-ducklings at our pond. They are in that awkward phase of duck adolescence where half of their bodies are covered in fluff and the other in feathers!

How has your week been? Out there in blog land. Have the Christmas jitters kicked in yet?

Art project

New experiences are so important, I've recently discovered free motion embroidery and hand beading. I'm working on a table runner incorporating both these techniques and mola cutting. It looks pretty messy at the moment but it'll look great when its done!