Another hexagons project

I'm loving the book Sweetly Stitched Handmades by Amy Sinibaldi.  This is the second project I've made from it for a sew-along on Instagram and I'm having such a good time with it.  This particular project seemed to take me forever and I wasn't sure of my fabric choices until after I got them together and now I love them!  I'm not usually a fan of red, but I like this shade of red when combined with aqua.  I liked it so  much I made a special trip to the craft store yesterday to get ruby red #10 crochet cotton so I could do the lace on the edge.  Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it...either keep it and use it myself (it's technically a mug rug and a teabag will fit in that little pocket there that's labeled "Tea Time") or save it and gift it for Christmas to one of my family members?  I'm not sure any of them would like the colors, though...I'll have to think about it more!

This was a good project to do with little Olivia around because she could play while I did the handwork parts in the living room (the hexagons, appliqued leaves, quilting and edging were all hand done).   Olivia's getting old enough now that she can self-amuse for a while, which is great!  She'll play with my 1980s Care Bears for hours while I sew on my sewing machine in the craft room.  The Care Bears live up there just for that purpose and when I was about 20 I bought myself the Care Bears Care-a-lot Playset in mint condition and she's loving it.  It's not in mint condition any more, but oh well!  She's having such a good time with it!  Here she is with her bubble machine last week.

Olivia's quilt is all finished!

I finally finished it up completely.  It's made from patterns from Alicia Paulson's book Embroidery Companion and it was a lot of fun to make, but took me forever.  The majority of the fabric is 1930's reproduction prints.  I attempted to photograph it by clothespinning it to the lovely goat fence, but Anza tried to eat it so that didn't work too well!  All the photos are also on my flickr, so you can click to see them larger.

Full Quilt:

Closer views below of the embroidery:

My favorite color....

Today I whipped up a doll dress in my favorite color, aqua, because I was having doll-playing withdrawal!  I found this piece of fabric at Joann's the other day.  It would be sort of low quality for quilt making because it's thin, but it works really well for doll clothes!  It's a simple pattern but the dress just sets off Chloe's eyes so well. This doll is another Little Darling, painted by Joyce Mathews, and she's just gorgeous.  I adore her painting style so much.

Another project

I have been working on this quilt since before Olivia was born!  I was all set to get it done, and then she came three weeks early and I didn't finish it up till just recently.  It's from Alicia Paulson's Embroidery Companion book and I used 1930's reproduction fabrics to finish it.  I have to quilt it and then bind it but the majority of the work is done!  Click through for a bigger view.

Hand sewing lately...

I haven't been doll sewing lately.  I've been working on some quilts.  I also have been making myself a new tote bag.  I am using Pam Kitty fabrics that I have hoarded for a few years to make some hexagon flowers to put on the front of the tote.  This type of piecing is perfect for warm days on the deck.

My Birthday Presents

This is Chloe Grace, painted by Joyce Mathews.  She was kindly sold to me by a fellow member of Our Little Darlings.  She's gorgeous!  She kindly also shipped her fast so she arrived on my birthday and she included the lovely dress she's wearing, made by Trish.  I was a lucky birthday girl!

I also was a lucky birthday girl to receive this great serger!  I have practiced a little bit with it but still have lots of learning to do!

On a happier note...

I got a new lightbox.  I took some photos of Janie, a Little Darling (sculpted by Dianna Effner, mold #2, painted by Lana Dobbs).  She's wearing an "experimental" dress.  I used some plain white muslin because I didn't want to waste any white batiste, but in the end I think it came out alright and  maybe is better in muslin because it's not so sheer!  I used a Rosemary Ionker pattern from one of her books.  I wanted to try pintucking combined with hand-embroidery.

Hazel

Losing my feathered friends one by one...goodbye to Hazel.  I euthanized her today.

Baby Hazel in April 2009



Adult Hazel (front, red) with Prudy (back), her friend:

Long time, no posting!

Sorry about that!  I haven't had a lot of time lately to take photos or post.  I received a new doll, though, and would like to share her beautiful face.  Her name is Ruby and she's painted by Pat Green.  She's a 13-inch Effner Little Darling for those not familiar with them.  You can click through to my Flickr account to see more photos of her.




And I rewigged my Nelly Valentino doll, at least temporarily.  I'm still going to have a naming contest for her, either here or on the Our Little Darlings ning site.  I think the doll looks great in the darker wig, too.

Merry Christmas!

This is the close up from the little outfit (sweater and dress) I made for my swap partner on Our Little Darlings.  This little doll sets it off perfectly!

Huggy Bear by Dianna Effner

I think I have blogged about this little guy before but he's so cute he's worth a new post!  I haven't had a lot of photography time lately to take any new photos so here's an older one . He's painted and made up from a blank kit (by me) and is so cute!

Old Chickens...

The chicken ladies are almost six.  I euthanized Rhoda this morning.  She was not well and had a tumor in her abdomen, likely an ovary.  I don't think I mentioned it here, but Matilda died of the same thing on February 26th.  Sometimes it's easier not to mention sad news, but I wanted to share a few photos of them in their prime.  It's sort of silly, but I still cry over every one when they pass away.  They're good girls and have been good pets. It's just hard when our pets get old.  I will someday get some new chickens, but not until the majority of these girls pass away.  I have 8 ladies left, and they still lay pretty well for old ladies!  And they don't need their spectacles any longer (you can see them in some of the lower photos) because they are old enough now that the drive to feather pick each other seems to have greatly reduced.

Rhoda (4/1/09 - 10/12/14):

This is Rhoda, being broody, when she was still a young chicken in September of 2009.

Here is Rhoda two winters ago, hanging out with Rosie, who is preening.

And Matilda (4/1/09 - 2/26/14):

Matilda, resting, in the winter of 2012.

Fall is rolling right along...

Inspired by fall, this dress was made from one of my own patterns.  The yoke has a bit of silk ribbon embroidery on it.

What's been occupying my time lately....

Besides taking care of Olivia, running a veterinary clinic and overseeing an endless veterinary clinic construction project, I have been working on helping Dianna Effner set up a new site for her fans.  I think I'm a little crazy with all these things going on at once!  Anyone who reads this blog and enjoys the Effner dolls I post should join up on the new site and have fun with us!  Here's a screenshot and here's the link to the site:  Our Little Darlings  I'm very proud of the new site and hope lots of people join up to talk about Dianna's dolls because they are so beautiful!

Bathing Beauty

Here is Anne of Green Gables, temporarily rewigged to be a modern girl.  Anne is a Little Darling, painted by Geri Uribe.  She's wearing a green gingham bathing suit that I designed.  I particularly like the ruffles on the behind!

End-of-Summer Picnic Pretty

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Here's the new girl again in a sundress I made from cotton gingham.  I used the technique of chicken scratch embroidery on the hemline and front to dress up the pretty gingham.  I may list this dress on ebay or etsy if I decide I can part with it!

Here's a hemline detail:

New Girl

Isn't she lovely?  She's painted by Nelly Valentino and is so pretty.  Already, she's made a friend, Anne, painted by Geri.  I need a name for the new girl!  Anne's little bathing suit has ruffles on the rear end and I'm quite proud of it!  I drafted the patterns for it myself.  The new girl's outfit is made from a pattern by Nedra (www.sewnedra.com).  More photos are in my Flickr account (click the link over on the right).

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the US!  Our hot spell broke, which was lovely, because we have been undergoing a construction project at the veterinary practice and we've been so hot it's been ridiculous!  Today is delightfully cool and breezy.  I just wish the sun would come out a little, though!

Olivia turned 14 months old yesterday and is a busy bee.  She can say lots of things (mama, dada, baba/baby, love, cat, meow, moo, pop, etc etc) and she loves to use her baby signs, too.  She will sign little sentences, like "Cat eat" and "Help please" and then point at what she wants help with.  She's starting to LOVE my doll collection and wishes she could hug all of them at once!

The photo above shows Littlefee Ante with a little sailor dress that I made from a pattern by MyOwnLittleWorld.  The nice thing about the pattern is that it comes in a LOT of sizes to fit all sorts of BJD!

Peyton by Helen Kish

Peyton arrived a while back but he was still stifling in his winter clothes, so I hadn't photographed him yet.  I asked Texas Carol to make me some clothes for him and she made him this great polo shirt and shorts with grommets in the sides.  She does wonderful work!  Peyton looks much cooler.  Hopefully I can make him some more clothes myself at some point.  Carol was so wonderful to work with and also threw in a free gift!

Hankie Outfit

Willa was my model for the Hankie Challenge on the Our Little Darlings Yahoo Group.  I used a white sheer vintage hankie with pretty white embroidery to pleat for the top and I embellished it with coral embroidery. The skirt is a pleated coral floral hankie which is attached at the waist to a crocheted waistband that closes in back with a button.  It was fun to make.  I used a scrap of the skirt fabric to make a bow for her hair.  Just some basic info about the doll:  Dianna Effner's Little Darling Sculpt #1 with a hand-painted face by Lana Dobbs (she was a custom order).