HOW I AVOIDED THINKING ABOUT THE BASEMENT
The basement saga continues, and I am still reluctant to talk about the latest snag...unrelated to all prior snags. Luckily I have been able to fully channel my creative energy into the making of Christmas gifts!! ...and bypass the ever so frequent depressing thought about this basement project. Thank goodness for grandchildren.
Initially I started out just making pajamas for Iris...she wanted pink ones. I selected the material and proceeded to make hers, and a pair of matching bottoms for her doll, Nollie, whom, by the way, Elsa loved as well. So it was decided that Elsa should receive a 'Nollie' doll for Christmas, at which point I offered to make a baby doll. Well, Elsa did get her own 'Nollie' doll, I think named 'Emma', but Jonel thought it would be great for me to make a baby doll for her anyway.
Searching the internet for a Waldorf pattern for a baby doll, I came up with what looked like something I could do. As in fact it was, but to my surprise, the pattern turned out to be a life sized baby doll. Now Elsa is on the petite side and fearing the doll would be nearly as big as her and thinking both girls might want it, we decided it would be for both. I thought making it a baby boy would be good, as well. (Being that the doll was now a gift for both girls, I thought I should make Elsa PJ's as well, and made them to match Iris'.)
After the second pair of PJ's I proceeded on to the doll...
the pattern and equipment
...traced on cloth
...cut out and begun...A minor portion of this project was done on the sewing machine, most of it accomplished by hand.
It was kind of eery the way this 'baby' kept looking real to me.
...especially the feet and the hands. Here the doll's head is under construction, the final 'skin' needs to be applied.
The skin has been applied and embroidered and the head attached to the wool stuffed body.
Wanting to make it a boy presented a little hair challenge, but finding some kinky yarn and dyeing it with tea gave me close to what I was looking for.
Hair being sewed in place.
...and the complete doll, complete in a set of pajamas. These were made from some old flannel PJ's of mine.It so happens that Iris also very much wanted a doll house for Christmas. She was being read a lovely book about a girl with a doll house that had a kind of mischievous, perhaps annoying Fairy that lived in it. It was a darn cute fairy, and I wanted to make it for her new doll house. It presented more of a challenge then did the baby doll, as working on such a small scale is not something I love. She was to be only 4-5" tall.
I searched the internet for a fairy pattern and came up with one which was less then ideal, but gave me enough ideas to make a pattern and proceed.
Here she is before assembly.
Here she is assemble, though naked still, along side of a picture of Thistle, the mischievous fairy of the book.
and here she is complete. Making the clothing, which I sewed directly onto the body, was perhaps the trickiest. I used old silk tie pieces to adorn her, unplyed some brown wool yarn in order to get here kinky hair, and took the wire from twisties to form the wings.All in all, two FUN projects.
Gifts delivered on Christmas Day...
which Freddie and I began with our traditional breakfast of tea ring, fresh fruit and juice.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, too!
