Madison

Madison is the doll that I purchased for the charity project from Cinnaminson Quilters. She and all of the things that I made for her are to be turned in on Wednesday. On Friday, I made her nightgown. It was from a panel by Simplicity patterns that I cut out, added eyelet trimming and sewed together. The quilt was made from fabric that I got from the "give-away table" at quilting. The other outfits were made from fabric that I had in my stash. It was lots of fun to sew for Madison and I hope that the child who gets her will enjoy playing with her.

Two finished blocks

Recently I decided to start two new quilts, Dear Jane and a calendar quilt. Both are gigantic projects but since I don't have deadlines for completion of either of them I was okay with starting them at the same time. The Dear Jane block was my first attempt with paper piecing and I think that I like that technique. From this block, I realized that I enjoy working with small pieces of fabric rather than cutting into yards of fabric. The calendar quilt block was a challenge from beginning to end. I think that I sewed every seam at least twice before they met up. The finished product should draw attention to that part of the quilt.

Ruffle skirts

During the summer at a Day With Dolls, a woman came with lots of costume type fabric to give away. I was fortunate to be able to find coordinating fabrics that were enough to make two ruffle skirts, one for Adina and one for Eva. I used directions that I found on Pinterest and didn't have to buy a pattern. The girls got their skirts yesterday and were happy with them. Adina tried hers on and was very pleased. I wonder if she wore it to school today.

A quilt and party dress for Madison

When looking through my stash for something else, I came across this pink fabric and thought that it would make a pretty doll dress along with a scrap of green velveteen that I'd been saving for that purpose. When I finished the dress, I was pleased but not satisfied, so I looked through my embellishment stash and found this ribbon and button which I turned into the flower at the waistline of the dress. The quilt was made from fabric that someone left on the give-away table at quilting. It was easy and quick to make. Sewing the back of the binding down by hand took the most time

. That process is very restful to me as well as enjoyable.

I learned about using paper clay

Last Saturday and Sunday, I attended a class at the Artsy Soul in Manahawkin, NJ. The purpose of the class was to learn to make a doll of fabric and paper clay. I hadn't done anything with clay probably since college so this was a real learning experience. Using paper clay was fun and not messy at all like using regular clay. The teacher, Lynda Miso was extremely patient and helpful. The head that I came home with is the result of her refining what I did. Inside the head is a styrofoam egg that is molded and then covered with clay. I have five more eggs so I will definitely be trying to make additional heads. We were also taught to make the feet from the clay and how to attach them to the cloth legs. Along with the sculpting, Lynda taught painting techniques for the face and under-painting with black paint as a first coat. From this class, I also became aware of how densely something should be stuffed, hence, I'll be adding more stuffing to

many body parts.

Knitted, felted flowers

I finally finished knitting and felting the six flowers that are needed to complete the purse that I started a while ago. They are easy to make and don't take too long to knit, a perfect project to do while watching TV. Now I have to select the lining fabric for the bag and sew it. Then I'll sew on the flowers and maybe put some crystals on them to represent dew drops and do the rest of the work to complete the project. I'll be sure to show pictures of the completed bag, hopefully soon.

She's dressed and has hair.

Molly is now dressed and has a full head of hair made from yarn that my friend Andrea gave me. Molly has lots of hair because I don't. As you can see her clothes are made but I think in desperate need of some embelishment. When I finish the companion doll, I plan to "fancy-up" both of their outfits.