Out With the Old....

Fourteen years ago, when Teen #2 was my sweet little Doll Baby, I decided it would be fun to make her some dress up clothes.  I learned how smock,

 



I made several very tedious buttonholes,

 



and I sewed up more than a few lengths of french seams. When all was said and done my Doll Baby had a new dress that was almost as sweet as she was. And me, well I had a new passion!

 



I became obsessed with smocking.

I joined a SAGA group, I subscribed to magazines, and I acquired this amazing machine, the Amanda-Jane Smocking Pleater. With it I was able to pleat up oodles of fabrics to embellish with trellis stitches, bouillons, and french knots.

 



For several years I had my fun....Christmas dresses, birthday frocks, playtime rompers....every occasion became an excuse for another creation.
 

And then my Doll Baby turned four and a half.

   

 Easter Sunday, 2001 did not go well. Doll Baby had wanted a shocking pink velour number with silver sequins but instead got a homemade gingham pinafore. I in turn received a truly terrifying preview of adolescent rebellion. I'll skip the gory details but  needless to say that was the last smocked anything I made for her. I have not budged but then again neither has she. Now, as a Sweet Sixteener her fashion tastes remain within the realms of velour and sequins...a combination that just so happens to be par for the course at her favorite shopping haunts Pink and Juicy Couture.

 Baring the occasional baby gift here and there, my pleater has for years been empty of fabric. Not much fun for the pleater or for me. So in the spirit of embracing all things "FUN" this year I've decided to do something about it. Amanda-Jane is headed to the Etsy shop and hopefully some new adventures in sewing.

 

And what about me?

It just may be that I've got some new doll baby adventures right around the corner.

 



Made An Attendance List

Let's see who showed up.....

1,2, and 3 mini pini cushions with all the extras...HERE!

4,5,6,and 7 bitty blossom buckets...HERE!

8 Quilted EPP pincushion...oops!

9 Lily Tutorial...posted yesterday...CHECK!

10 fabric pile...all either cut for scrap bags, prepped to list, or neatly put away...CHECK!

11 barely legible scrap bag containing a few remnants of felted wool...CHECK!

12 wool cape ready for some future Lily doll...CHECK!

13 needle book...CHECK!

14 mini pini cushion featuring the black coordinating fabric...CHECK!

15 2 bitty blossom pins...CHECK!

16 oval rug for Lily Red...oops!

And so it seems #8 and #16 are headed back to the ironing board...destined to remain UFO's just a wee bit longer.

Made Some Bits and Pieces

Sewed in fits and starts today. . . . .and it shows. Had my felted wool goodies with me as I tooled around on errands and taxi service for the kiddies making stitches here there and everywhere. That was, perhaps, not the best idea considering if it weren't for the fact that I sewed this myself I wouldn't have a clue it read "Scraps," especially since I forgot the final s!

Made a Doll Cozy in Four Easy Steps

1. Take one small square of felted wool.

2. Edge all four sides with a blanket stitch.

3. Run a quick bit of crochet through the loops.

4. Gift the trimmed out snippet to your wee dollie friend.

Sweet dreams tonight!

Made Another

Amazing but true.....today I finished my second penny rug!

Of course the fact that it's the size of an actual penny may have had something to do with my seemingly fast needlework.

Significantly tinier but just as much fun to make and......

..... just as useful.

Lily Red has already employed the little piece as her bedside candle mat!

Made the Cut

Actually I made lots of cuts in order to get the bulk of my March projects lined up.

Made the First of Many

OK...now that my first penny rug is officially complete this is what I'm thinking....

First off, is that what I call should it, because I seem to be lacking the pennies? Not that I mind, I actually made a conscious desicion to do just that since I wanted to keep the it simple. My goal is to have the geranium in the pot above it to be the focus...not the needlework. Unfortunately my greenthumb is currently on vacation leaving poor geranium far too embarassed to be photographed at this time.

I do, however, want to give those pennies a try which will not be a problem since I intend to make many more felted wool creations in the future. I have no doubt at this point that the act of stitching one piece of wool to another is quite addictive!

But there are a few details I will be better aware of in the future.

LEAVES for one.

Although I cut them out in fairly decent "leaf" shapes, I seem to have stretch them into green blobs during the process of blanket stitching. Perhaps a stem line down the middle first would help them keep more definition???

And BACKING for two.

I'm not sold on using fabric for the backing. It has a very unfinished appearance to it in that the edges look frayed. I've since peeked around a bit on line and see the vast majority use felted wool for the backing. I'll give that a try next time....but first I've the rest of the month to finish up with this lot fabrics. Project #2 starts tomorrow!

Made the Final Stitch!

Technically it was the last stitch required to attach all the little felt pieces.....I still have the put a backing on before it is officially complete.

Made My First Stitches!

It was only after much debate last night

and again this afternoon. . . . .

. . . . .that I finally put needle to wool.

Now the fun really begins!

Made an Addition to My Sewing Basket

Today being Friday, I took a few moments to stock up my sewing basket with an assortment of projects to work on over the weekend. Most are of the "same old same old" variety of pincushions, doll pillows, and bitty blossoms. . . . .items I can set my hands to work at while hanging out with the family, watching a movie, or feeding my addiction to Emily of New Moon DVDs!

This week, however, something new and exciting found its way in there as well. . . . .

. . . . . FELTED WOOL!

To date I have yet to work with this type of fabric but I am most impressed with it's softness. I can't imagine but that it will be a delight to hold and that the needle will pass through it like butter. My excited have a go at it inspired me to toss it in, but exactly what to make with it was another story. . . . .at first anyway. The more I thought about it the more ideas I began to have until I finally concluded "What couldn't I make with it?"

And so, for the month of March I've decided to challenge myself with the consumption of these fabrics into as many different projects as possible. To start I'll take tally of my supplies-

1 fat eighth black
1 4"x 18" remnant black
1 8"x 13" green
1 6"x 10" remnant
and
just for fun
1/2 yard coordinating cotton print

Wish me luck!!!