Mama and Baby Doll (Birth Doll)

I have a friend who teaches sibling classes at the local hospital- just a little course to prepare kids for the new babies who will soon be coming.  A new clinic opened up, and a new teacher aid was needed!

I had so much fun making her- I call her Mireya.  Kids don't all come in one color, and I tried to choose a color scheme for this little mama and baby that many children could identify with as they learn about birth.  She's gone to the clinic now, and dressed in a hospital-issue gown.

The hair is Lion's Brand fisherman wool yarn- it's soft and warm and squishy.  The body is a sturdy cotton twill, with a stretchy lycra womb (a kangaroo-style pouch on her stomach.)  I stitched the face by hand, with two-tone eyes (caramel and chocolate floss.)



The baby has a snap belly button, to attach to the umbilical cord/placenta.  (Funny little aside, Ernie stuffed the placenta for me, and spent the rest of the day rolling that word around in her mouth.  Placennnnnta.  Placennnnta.  Is it "La placenta?"  It sounds Spanish.  I don't think I'd call MY baby Placenta.")



He has blue eyes, and a fuzzy head full of newborn hair.  I love newborn hair!  Mine never have any :)

(I added a mouth after this picture- just a little blip of pink lips.)






Mama and baby.


I had so much fun making these- it was nice to get back into doll work after a  year or two hiatus.  I'd still like to open my doll shop one day.  Some day :)

(Scroll down for a full shot of the dolls, if you'd like.)

Gifts We've Made

Little gifts we've made recently, for birthdays (we celebrated Holiday Season Birthday #5 and #6 this week, and that's just the folks who live within driving distance. There are four others on his side of the family....and we're about to add two more holiday babies between me and my sister-in-law. Oh my.)

I found this gorgeous piece of fabric at our local Joann's shop- I think it's brocade? Seems to be a polyester, just looking at it made the edges unravel! I purchased a square (44 inches square) of it, and sewed around the edges with the presser foot to check the fraying, and to give me a mark to fold on when I double-folded the edges to hem it. A brand new needle REALLY helped get through this thick, slick fabric! It didn't want to lay flat, either- the edges kept warping and pulling. We picked this one out to go on top of Mom and Dad's fancy, shiny, black grand piano- she has a gorgeous silver nativity set from Mexico that she sets up on the piano every year, and a old, old, hand-painted tea set from Europe that lives there the rest of the year. (It's a gorgeous set- maroon, each piece with a different hand-painted scene from Napolean's career.)

For a friend's daughter, quick clip-on earrings for the dress up box. I see a lot of these in our future, for little girls' birthdays.

I knit the green scarf you see Uncle Bear wearing here- turns out you CAN knit flat pieces on round looms! (Yes, I'm a Knifty Knitter...I don't even know how to hold knitting needles!) If you know how to loom knit, basically you cast on for 18 or 20 pegs (or however wide you want it,) knit off, and cast on in the OPPOSITE direction. Just go back and forth! Check YouTube for videos of how to finish the last edge- I can't find the video I watched, but there are LOTS of folks out there making tutorials on hacking with round looms.

Kids Made This: Pillow Doll

I have some fabulous crayons in my stash- they're fabric crayons, much like oil pastels in texture, but you can draw with them and heat set the color. I know we've had them for a very, VERY long time. I think my mom bought them when my little brother was in cub scouts. (He's 21 now.)

A quick Google search is turning up a LOT of results for current iterations of "fabric crayons." I don't know how well they perform, but these Crayola crayons are available at Office Depot for $3 a box.

They are fabulous for making t-shirts for dads and Grandpas, and have been used for that quite a bit. (Only for dads and grandpas though...because we don't have any moms and grandpmas in this family that I know of who would happily wear a lettered Hanes t-shirt.)
Another great use is for bigger kids to draw on fabric to make things like dolls! You could substitute acrylic craft paint as well- that can also be heat set with an iron and be wash-fast.

Ernie made this doll for Mimi months ago- she got it in her head one afternoon she needed to sew a doll for her sister, and Mimi was still asleep. She picked out my most lurid pink fabric, and I cut out a piece and taped it to a large piece of cardboard to stabilize it. After she finished drawing, I ironed it (with a cover cloth) and showed her how to use the sewing machine.

I was nervous, because a few weeks prior we'd spent a good number of afternoons making a similar doll for Ernie but it was all hand sewing. I marked dots around the edge and she went up and down through the dots before we turned and stuffed. This time she sat at the machine- I turned the speed down pretty low, and took care of the pedal since she couldn't reach it. She did great! She turned and stuffed, and I whipstitched it shut for her.

Another Belly Band Tutorial

I have this massive, old t-shirt that's been floating around my drawers for years. It was a "door gift" at a work meeting held in the CONVENTION CENTER to announce that yes: Cingular was Purchasing our Company. 

And as your prize, here's a t-shirt smashed into the shape of a 5" football and shrink wrapped.
(We thought it was weird too.)

The t-shirt came in handy when I left work shortly thereafter for (permanent) maternity leave. By virtue of being the largest item of clothing in our house, it became the only thing I could wear to bed.

(In my first pregnancy, I was carrying a swimming pool for Ernie: double amniotic fluid. My legs would keep finger-induced indents for a full five minutes. I went from a curvy 140 pounds to a human-water balloon 210 by the time I waddled into that hospital for the last time. Sufficeth to stay, once I got out of my chair and developed a forward momentum...people generally got out of my way, and NEVER EVER got between me and my next milkshake. ahem.)


ANYWAYS! I was dead tired of looking at this shirt, which has oddly stayed in the bottom of my pajama drawer through two moves now.

Slice off the bottom.

Cut the width down to size (I used my under-bust measurement, divided by two since this is a tube. But I'm sure you could have figured that out. It worked out to 16". Looking back, the t-shirt isn't that stretchy- it's tight on my hips, but hey: it stays put REAL GOOD.

Serge up the open edge.

VOILA! My size XXL t-shirt, parting gift from a wacky corporate "team building"/"we're going to eat your company for breakfast" meeting...can now be worn around my hips, to block unsightly views when I bend/clean/pick up children/live. Crazy good!

A Little Diaper Bag

005, originally uploaded by MyrniePhotos.

This has been wrapped, delivered, AND opened, so it's safe to blog about now! My friend is 5 weeks away from adding a baby GIRL to her houseful of 3 boys- an occasion like this surely called for a baby shower, and I was glad to be invited :) I know that Maggie is not a "girly girl." If there's any pink in her house, it's probably an old tube of Maybelline mascara that she forgets to wear. (Love you Maggie! I'll bet my tube is older!!) She spent her teen years with a softball bat in her hand, far as I can tell.

Anywhoo, I thought brown and blue might be a good color choice for her family- I was glad she agreed with me :)

I made this different than I normally do- rather than making the back of the bag longer, so it could fold over the top, I used my machine's automatic button-sewer feature to put a button on the front, then used the same stitch and foot to sew an elastic loop on the back. This will hold a packet of wipes and a few diapers- perfect for throwing in the bottom of her bag, so she can fish it out with one hand while the other is holding the baby! Also perfect to send with Dad when it's HIS turn to change th diaper- yay!! :)

Simple Jumper

I traced a simple cotton jumper onto wrapping paper to make a pattern, and busted this dress out during naptime today. While on the phone. (Yes, with Aunt LoLo. I realized today that she is the ONLY PERSON ON THIS EARTH that I call just to chat with. Is that normal? Moving on...)

I chose a sturdy cotton fabric- it might be duck, I inherited it from a friend's stash. It might be a leetle too stiff, but it will loosen up after a washing or two. All seams and edges are serged, and I used the sewing machine to turn the armholes and neck in (sewed with a contrasting thread, chocolate brown.) I put a little split-stitch lavendar heart on the front, because it's a pet peeve of mine not to know which way is the front (yes, even if it doesn't matter :)

Interestingly enough, the arm and neck fit my almost-five-year-old PERFECTLY. The cut is atrocious, though. At least with this fabric, on her frame.

I didn't take a picture of the original jumper, but here's the top:

...and here's the bottom. I love the fringe. (Yes. That is my toddler, sitting on a kitchen cart, eating a spoonful of peanut butter. It's her favorite snack in the entire world- she brings me the PB jar and a spoon when she's hungry. However, Grandma SuSu introduced her to nutella tonight. I think her love affair with plain old PB might be over, she's moving onto bigger and better things.)

Sillhouette Tutorials

Ernie, age 4

Myrnie, age 6

Our Joy School girls have been working on their "All About Me" books for the last few weeks- they're SUPER cute! Every lesson, they did a new page- a collage of their favorite foods, a self-portrait, a drawing of their family, their hand and foot prints, and yes: their sillhouettes. Today they got to take them home- OH where they excited! As soon as their mothers walked in the door, the girls were running, yelling "MOM! Let me show you my BOOK!"

There are lots of different ways to do these, but here are a few tutorials in case you want to give it a try!

Aunt LoLo went hi-tech/low-tech with a computer-as-light-box, and a piece of scotch tape. Ingenius.

A quick google search yielded this tutorial, which is how my friend/fellow Joy School Mama made Ernie's sillhouette (and all the rest of the girls.) She took the girls' pictures against a white wall, and said the whole process was lickety split! The copies were done at Kinkos, as COLOR copies- black and white printouts turned out rather grey.

Oh, and the second sillhouette up there is just for familial resemblence comparisions. It was done in Kindergarten, and I seem to remember sitting in front of a large gridded sheet of fabric, with a light shining. Some poor room mother probably had arthritis by the time she cut out the sillhouettes for the entire class! It hung in the spare bedroom at my grandparent's home for a long time, before it was sent home with me.

I'm looking for a childhood side-profile shot of my husband to turn into a sillhouette to add to the display. Because it looks rather odd with just Ernie and I. I need to make Mimi's too.

Arrgh?

OK my lovelies- cast your vote. Pirate wench? (Booo!) Or crafty boehmian? (Yaaay!)

***Oh YES- More bathroom shots! I seriously need to get a full length mirror, so I can stop checking out my outfits by standing on the bathroom stool...or counter if I want to see my shoes. Am I the only one who does this?***

I recrafted this shirt from my husband's cast off dress shirt- cut off the bottom, trim the sleeves, cut a new neckline, with elastic in a casing. (The tutorial made the rounds last year- if anyone remembers who started this, I'll link to it!) I threw it aside in disgust as soon as it took shape, and in a leap of faith today finished hemming and elasticizing to see what would happen. So far I have 1 vote for "yes." I'm undecided...I wore it all afternoon, and none of my students/parents openly gawked at my fashion choice...but I have a secret dread that I'm ACTUALLY making a fool of myself :) Then again, it's super comfy.

To Infinity, and Beyond!

Gosh, I couldn't resist that title.  Well, maybe I could have.  Maybe I just didn't want to! :)

Anyway.  My friend Su made this adorable dress recently called an Infinity Dress.  Instructions can be found here on Rowena's Stitching.  In its simplest form, it's four pieces: a donut of jersey, two long strips of jersey, and a waist band.  You lay them all together, sew around the waist, and you're done.  Tempting, right?  Su added a tube top for extra coverage.  (She also cut down on the bulk of the skirt.)  The straps and skirt are as long or short as you want them.

(Photos of Su, courtesy of Vively Online.  Used with permission.)


Here's where your part comes in, o my fabulous and fashion savvy readers: Could I pull this off with a fitted tee underneath?   There are a 101 ways to wear the long ties.

I've seen girls wear fitted tees under strapless dresses, and thought it looked sweet.  But...I'm not going to prom.  I'm going to church.  And I'm not a teenager anymore.  But it would be cute, and easy to make, and fun.

So.  That's the sound of MY brain tying in knots.  What's yours saying?

I Made This: Refashioned Cardigan

First piece of "can't wear this any more" clothing bites the dust! I've had this (cotton/acrylic) fitted sweater for...a long time. A really long time. My ten-year reunion is this summer, and I wore this sweater in high school. Oh dear.

I finally had to admit that it was too short to wear with jeans, and threw it into my pile. A quick snip up the middle, hem either side, and I have my new favorite cardi. No buttons (it was fitted before, and now with the inch of hemwork in the middle, it would look atrocious pulled tight), no frills. I'm looking through my jewelry stash for an enormous gaudy brooch! I love the fitted sleeves, and that this doesn't add much bulk to my profile. A definite plus :)

Gosh. Are you just LOVING my kids' bathroom after all these shots? *gack* We have so much painting to do this summer :) This room is on our list! (And so is the light fixture. Florescent bulbs?? EXPOSED bulbs, since we took out the yellowing plastic covers. Double gack.) I do love the bright colors and the white in the tile, though. The counter is a teal formica, and there's no way we're replacing it until the kids are grown :)

Oilcloth Table Cloth

The sunny day came, and I got pictures of the fabric that I promised: I've finally been re-introduced to oilcloth, and I LOVE it. I love the durability, the wipe-ability, and the bright colors! This fabric was purchased from Vogue Fabrics online, but there are tons of retailers out there.

The fabric was a gift from my mom- she offered to purchase enough oil cloth for the both of our tables if I would make her a table cloth. Oilcloth doesn't fray, so I chose to just leave mine unfinished, but she's excited about having a scarlet-red serged edge- I'll have to take pictures when I'm done, you're going to love it. Her fabric is yellow, with big red hibiscus.

I actually think I'm going to go ahead and staple my oilcloth to the underside of the table- I love it that much! I think this gray weather is getting to me- I have purple, yellow, and green walls...and now I have an aqua and red and green tablecloth. All my mom and sister could say was "Wow, Myrnie....it matches the rest of your house."

The basket you see above it one of my favorite thrift finds- a vintage egg-gathering basket. Right now it holds our collection of cloth napkins.

For people who have admired my chairs, Fred Meyer is carrying them again, in a slightly different style, but four different colors (red, blue, black, natural.)

WIP: What is it?

My MIL gave me these when we last visited. Her mother made them all, but we're not sure for what kind of project. These are hand-appliqued Holly Hobbies- so cool. Every little girl is different.

My sister offered to make them into a quilt for me. Serendipitously, she received a few pieces of Holly Hobby fabric that could be the sashing...but would that be too much? I'm trying to decide if the whole quilt, as envisioned, wouldn't be too much. Or would it be charmingly kitschy? They might become tote bag appliques, or...? What would you do with 21 hand-stitched applique blocks? These guys are big, too. Maybe 12x15"? Nana Great put an amazing amount of work into these, I would love to turn them into something swell!

Napkins in the Mail

More napkins- I love this print! These are just a simple quilting cotton, with a rolled hem edge- they're off to my sweet sister-in-law and her kitchen. Happy Birthday, Jamie!


Oh, and these little beauties made their way into the package, too...because they managed to jump ship and were NOT in the Christmas package. Phooey. J, I hope you can find a lovely place to wear these!

Teeny Tiny Napkins for Teeny Tiny Faces

I picked up a stack of cloth napkins at the thrift store last summer to replace our paper ones, and they're great. The kids love them, they're durable, they wash well...but there's only 8, and always seem to be in the laundry hamper instead of the kitchen! We needed more...and we needed lots.

I picked up a piece of home-decor weight cotton fabric a while back during a fabric sale at Joann's, and stuck it away until a project came along. All the home-dec fabrics have big warnings "DO NOT WASH ME!" Obviously, I felt a twinge of guilt when I got home as I threw my piece of fabric in the washing machine and shut the door. (I'm a rule keeper.)

Yeah, nothing happened except that all the industrial-strength starch washed out, it shrank a little, and...it now seems to be absorbant. None of these are good news for your furniture, but GREAT news for your kitchen!

The edges are just serged with a rolled hem edge, and these tiny wipes are a great size for the kids. As my mom and dad pointed out (while laughing and trying on for size) these are NOT lap-sized napkins. They're not even really adult-sized napkins. But for wiping off crumby faces and fingers, and little drips of milk, these are a great size for the kids to work with. They're about 8 inches square.

Birthday Presents

Just a little pouch of hair doodad goodies we put together for Ernie's Joy School friend- felt barrettes, flower clippie, and a ribbon headband.

What do you keep on hand for birthday presents?

Made This: Embellished Jersey Scarf

Welcome to our friends from The Inspired Room's Beautiful Life linky fest!  
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I have a jersey scarf. I love my jersey scarf.

 It all started at last year's caroling party- my friend was gushing about her jersey scarf she bought at a trendy store- it was so soft, so warm, so wonderful. I sidled closer and realized it was nothing more than a piece of fabric. Not a stitch to be seen!

Well, when I found a 1/4 yard remnant of mint green, organic bamboo jersey in the remnant bin, you better believe I snapped it up and I've been wearing it proudly ever since.

Jersey scarves are wonderful, but I thought this one could use a little jazzing up- Aunt LoLo suggested a posie, and, well...here you go.

I kind of love it.

PS- Because fabric stashes are funny beasts, this fabric was passed to me by my fabulous Mother-In-Law. It was leftovers from jersey fitted sheets she made for Ernie's crib.