Uncommon Grace

Meet Hattie!

I have tons of pictures from New York to go through before I can talk about that trip, so today I'm going to introduce you to Hattie.

Hattie was commissioned as a birthday gift for the older sister of the two boys who now have Faolan and Colin. I was so honored that their mother was happy enough with the two boy dolls and appreciative enough of my work to order another doll from me.

That said, I had a really hard time with Hattie. This was the first doll with which I really struggled for inspiration. I think that mostly it was the timing -- creating her in the midst of making my own children's birthday gifts, some awful late-season colds, and preparing for my trip (which was an ordeal in itself because I thought there was a decent chance I would die in the airplane). Part of it was also that the mother of the recipient had something really specific in mind (she is totally nice -- it's not that she was being difficult or anything), and I wasn't sure how to work that vision into my established dollmaking "style". With all this going on, there was a moment that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get her to her new family on time. She ended up coming along in my carry-on (messenger bag) on the plane to New York, and her hair and pinafore received their finishing touches in the air. She was quickly photographed in our hotel room, and then we rushed to a Manhattan post office to mail her off. Whew! That was a whirlwind, and a strange way to begin a vacation.

Ultimately, despite the rush, and my own anxieties about her, I think she is so lovely, sweet, and most of all, authentic. There are lots of Waldorf dollmakers out there who are making their dolls to look more modern, fashionable, updated, what-have-you. Some of those dolls are really exquisite. But I like my dolls to have an innocent, old-fashioned quality to them. I want them to be representatives of the archetype of childhood. Despite having sort of come into dollmaking by happenstance, I've discovered that I really do have a philosophy behind my dollmaking, beyond the general Waldorf philosophy regarding dolls (that they should be free from too many details so as to be a "blank slate" for the child's imagination and creative play).

So, I've discovered that I make my dolls with that very wholesome concept of childhood in mind. I believe that they could very well be at home with a child living centuries ago. They represent childhood in its purest form. And each of them is a treasure to me -- as I hope they will be to their new little mamas and daddies.

Dilemma! Immediate assistance required!

(I have a birthday celebrations post with answers to many of your questions to me over the last few days waiting in the wings. Tomorrow, OK?)

I'm leaving for my trip to New York in a few days. (My mom and I are going together -- it's my 30th birthday present/her "I've been someone's mother for 30 years?!?" present.) One of these bags is coming with me, to carry my camera around in while we're there, and as a carry-on for the plane.

But, I can't make a final decision about the fabric. I was originally planning to go with this fabric, from Joelle Hoverson's new Cake Rock Beach line:

(Which I love.)

But then I started thinking, this is kind of monochromatic (which might be a good thing...), maybe I want something more bright and springy? So I pulled out this Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope floral, and the green and white dot (which is from Bee's Knees by Glenna Hailey):

So, what do you think? (Either way, it's going with that charcoal gray -- which I know looks black, but it isn't -- corduroy, shown behind the prints.)

I'm making the bag tonight, so be quick with your votes!

(PS: I bought all this fabric, except for the corduroy, from Sew Mama Sew.)

Quilting Bee ~ March

This was my submission for the Virtual Quilting Bee for March. It goes to Kathy. (I so wish that I had some better photos of it, but I made, photographed, and mailed it last week, and didn't load the photos onto the computer and look at them until last night. Oh, well.)

I really, really loved the fabric that Kathy sent along -- the roses in the center and the polka dots. I love this very understated color palette with grays and blues.

Kathy requested blocks in a log cabin spirit, but said that they didn't have to be traditional log cabin blocks. She mentioned that free-form strip piecing would be one option. She also shared this link to images of the Quilts of Gee's Bend, and I absolutely adored the ones with the horizontal strip piecing, so I kind of ran with that idea.

I am so excited about this block, even with its one unintentional wonky seam. (Since some of the other ladies are doing intentional wonky seams, it should be OK, hee hee!)

Anyway, I loved making this one and I hope Kathy likes it, too!

Quilting Bee ~ February

Here's my submission for the Virtual Quilting Bee for February.

the flowers are buttons. the "pasture" is corduroy, with a Superbuzzy lamb frolicking in it. the field on the lower left is a lovely organic colorgrown cotton fleece that had the perfect texture to match with Jennifer's chenille on the right. I added wool yarn to be the vegetables growing in it and felted them a little bit with hot steam from my iron. they should felt up even better when Jennifer washes the quilt.

I had the idea for the farm as soon as Jennifer shared the picture of the fabric she was sending. The chenille just seemed like a field of wheat to me. So I'd already sketched it before I even received Jennifer's fabric in the mail. And I pieced it and appliqued the tree and the clouds several weeks ago.

some little farm people that are fussy cut and pieced into the quilt. the fabric is from Superbuzzy, and it's supposed to be the fairy tale "The Golden Goose", but I thought they looked like the most adorable little farm children with their pig running along behind them!

And then it just sat. I worked on knotting the yarn into the lower left field here and there. But for some reason, it was adding the windows and the door to the house that really held me back on this. I just don't know why, but I couldn't get motivated to add them. Isn't that silly? I think I was just tired of looking at it -- the things that didn't turn out the way I'd hoped (perfectionist me, of course). But, actually, the end result is making me pretty happy.

wool felt appliqued tree trunk -- the clouds, windows, and door are also wool felt, which I've discovered washes just fine as it's already felted

Anyway, Jennifer, I hope you like it. I had so much fun making it, and thinking about what Katie and Tristan might think of it.

Beginnings

I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately (could you tell?). Just feeling like ideas are a bit thin, not much to say. I thought about taking a break for a little while, but I think I'll try to stick it out and get over the hump. There will be things to post soon. (Did I mention that my 30th birthday is in less than two weeks now -- 13 days, to be precise?)

So what has been going on around here? A lot of beginnings. Birthday ideas (my children's birthdays follow along right after mine) are in the beginning stages. The Tilted Duster has been cast on and is slowly, slowly coming. We're looking for a house ... we rent here, and we're looking for another rental, so it won't be our dream house, but I'm hoping we'll find something with more space indoors and out.

Work on my first foundation-pieced quilt block, for the Virtual Quilting Bee. Our items Mini-swap 3 are being planned with glee. Four dolls are in various states. Another little knitting project needs to be cast off and finished. A little boy, 23 months old today, is needing a bit more mama time (especially at night) lately. Enjoying the little taste of spring that comes around Valentine's Day most years in our part of the world.

So, in all, it's a very productive time, even though I feel that my blogging voice is a bit hoarse. I am making a little posting goal to myself to share a little something, even if it's a random photo, these next few weeks as I focus on all of the things we've begun here.

{The photos in this post are from my west-facing studio window, where I've been spending a bit more time in these days of quiet productivity.}

A Birthday Puppet

We celebrated the 5th birthday of a little friend over the weekend, and this was his gift.

I have had the idea of making hand puppets with Waldorf-style heads for about 6 months. At the end of last summer, I even made several head prototypes and purchased some cotton velour for the bodies. But then, as is my wont, I let the project sit.

A few weeks ago, we had another little friend's birthday to attend, and I pulled out a puppet head and started trying to fashion a body and hat for it. That first hat just about did me in, and after throwing the puppet head and hat across the room on the night before the party, we settled for buying a gift on the way in the morning.

Not to be deterred, when this last birthday party came up, I pulled out the puppet and tried again. I was able to come up with a hat that worked pretty well, and the body is serviceable. The design will need some tweaking when I make another one, but I think that this weekend's birthday boy was pretty happy with it when all was said and done.

How to line a handknit hat

OK, I did lie a little bit when I said there would be no more knitted hats for a while. After yesterday's post about James's new hat, I had a couple of people ask how exactly I would go about lining it. So I thought I'd photograph the process today and post about it.

I started with a piece of cotton jersey knit, about twice as big as the hat. You could use cotton interlock or ribknit, too (it just needs to have the stretch). I happened to have that jersey. (If you're confused about the different knits out there, as I was, here's an explanation.)

Fold the fabric in half, right sides together. Be sure it's folded in a way that gives you the most stretch from side to side. Place the hat flat on the fabric, with the forehead up against the fold. The fold will be the most smooth and comfortable part, so it should be in the front. (Obviously this exact cutting layout really only matters if the hat actually has a "front", such as with an earflap hat.)

Trace around the hat with a marking pen.

Cut out, leaving some seam allowance. You're actually going to stitch just inside the marked line, so the seam allowance doesn't have to be perfect.

Using a ball-point needle and a stretchy machine stitch, sew around the top and back, staying just inside the marked lines.

Trim.

Place inside the hat, wrong sides together. This is, really, the trickiest part of the whole project. If you can get the actual wearer of the hat or someone with a similarly shaped head to be your model, it makes it easier.

You can slip the lining and the hat onto their head and oh-so-carefully pin them together from that position. This will help to have them really fitting together well. Take your time with this, because no one is going to enjoy wearing a hat with a wrinkly lining!

If it's an earflap hat, trim the corners (with diagonal snips) to make folding under easier.

Thread a sharp handsewing needle with a length of thread. You can really use any color, because it should theoretically not show. But choose a color of thread that you really could live with if it shows a little.

I don't like to knot my thread when handsewing from the right side like this, especially on stretchy fabric. I looked online today for about 20 minutes (pretty much my limit) to see if this technique actually has a name, and didn't come up with anything. It probably does. I just don't know it. ;)

Anyway, insert your needle into the seam that you sewed on your machine about an inch or two back from what will be the folded edge. Pull it through, leaving about a one-inch tail of thread. Take a few small backstitches right in the seam line, catching only the lining fabric and not the hat, just to secure the thread. You can actually travel all the way to the edge with these tiny stitches. Go back and cut the tail right up at the edge of the fabric. Stretch the fabric a bit, and any remaining bit of the tail will pull to the inside. This method is as secure as a knot, and is what I use when making dolls.

Fold the edge of the lining under (I just fold every few inches as I go without pinning), and blindstitch to the knitted hat.

To blindstitch: Take a small horizontal stitch right in the fold of the lining. Take another small horizontal stitch through the yarn in the hat. Be careful not to pull it too taut -- it will cause the fabric to gather. This stitch is not very stretchy, so I like to stretch the fabric along the thread after I've sewn a few inches just to ensure that the finished hat will be able to stretch around the head of the wearer.

When you come to the corners on the earflaps, be sure to take your time to fold them so that they look nice and neat and don't create extra bulk.

Once you've sewn the lining to the hat all the way around, take several small stitches back up that seam line, and trim the tail right up against the fabric once again. And now you have a lined hat to keep your loved ones warm without the itch!

The Culprit

I really meant to have pictures ready to post today about Elisabeth's final costume. (And thank you all so much for your kind words about the others! They're really just simple, but she's been so happy with them.) But it'll have to wait, once again, because we didn't manage to take any over the weekend.

Remember my finger crisis of Christmas 2007? It healed up so nicely. Until, at the end of last week, I bumped it into the headboard of my bed when I was waking up one morning. Then it suddenly started hurting really badly again, and started to swell. Unfortunately for me, the skin had already healed over, so soaking it in epsom salts isn't going to do the trick this time around. I have to go to the doctor today.

Anyway, I thought it would be fitting to share pictures today of the thing I was sewing when it happened. The culprit, if you will. I was just happily appliqueing this little t-shirt for my littlest niece.

I have a hard time with satin-stitch applique anyway, finger crisis or no. I think it's because I don't have a clear-sole foot for my machine, so I can't really see what I'm doing. Anyway, it's not perfect. I could use some more practice. But, that Superbuzzy Snow Play fabric is so fantastic (I've decided that "fantastic" is my new word for 2008, by the way), and it just demanded to be appliqued onto a t-shirt for a sweet little girlie.

I loved the idea of this little wrist detail, but it didn't turn out as well as I wanted because I did it after the finger injury and I was really jumpy the whole time.

I also made these little button bobbie pins for both nieces, having seen them around quite a bit. They are so cute, and made perfect package toppers. (We opted for The Daring Book for Girls for our older niece, not an applique t-shirt.)

A shot of my little niece in the shirt.

Oh, and incidentally, I was just looking in my Bernina accessories booklet for the clear-sole foot, and I noticed that they actually sell a zig-zag foot with a guard on it to prevent fingers from being sewn over. Sounds like just what I need! Except the sole isn't clear. Too bad. ;)

What's Christmas without a few costumes?

I know that I mentioned before that I began all of my family's gift making after sundown on December 22 this year, and the majority of my Christmas crafting involved costumes for Elisabeth.

Elisabeth is one of those children who changes her clothes at least 17 times every day (17 is her own estimate). All of her play requires an appropriate costume, and it's relatively rare to find her in "regular" clothes. Christmas brings all sorts of costuming opportunities -- both in the form of pageants to be in and gifts to receive.

Dressed as an angel at church on Christmas Eve

She really prefers costumes of her own fashioning, but I thought that I could add a few nice pieces to her repertoire. The one thing she was really hoping Santa Claus would bring was a very fancy ballet costume. It was so cute, because she'd be in the backseat of the car, or under the dining room table, or some other somewhat private place, eyes squeezed shut, hands clasped imploringly, and murmuring, "I know you can hear me, Santa Claus. Please bring me fancy ballerina outfit. That's all I really, really need."

So, with a solo trip to the ballet shop to look for costumes out of the question given my over-full plate of doll making, I decided to fashion a fancy ballet costume for her.

I picked up the leotard on the clearance rack at a discount retailer (ugh), and used about 5 yards of tulle and an elastic headband (using Coronita's technique) to make a very full tutu. I added tulle, ribbon "streamers" and glittery buttons at the shoulders, and all in all, there was one very satisfied ballerina on Christmas morning.

Santa Claus also brought a "Heidi" costume for Elisabeth this year. Heidi was a favorite read-aloud last year, and it really captured both of our imaginations.

I really couldn't get the idea of a little Swiss girl costume out of my head, so I came up with a simple blue elastic-waist skirt, a red apron with the trim that really "makes" the costume in my opinion, a gingham kerchief (which Elisabeth prefers tied under the chin), and then just a white t-shirt and a thrifted-by-a-friend green wool cardigan. This costume came together really easily, and the individual pieces are really useful for all sorts of play.

There was one other costume, the most involved sewing project of the three, which came from Daddy and me, but it'll have to wait to be seen here until Monday because we don't have any good pictures of it yet.

And the list was ticked off...

Bit by bit, I finished all that needed to be finished for my family's holiday, despite a very late start. (I really began it all after my children went to bed on the night of the Solstice.)

I had these pajamas in mind to make for my wee ones a couple of months beforehand. But at the very end, it looked fairly grim for actually getting to them. And yet, they were finished and laid out as the final advent gift on the morning of the 24th. I'm good, I know. (Insert maniacal laughter. Because that's what I felt like. A maniac.)

The trees are wool felt (probably from here originally, but I'm not sure because I have so much felt from all different sources!), a tree pattern that I drew, and embroidered with french knots. I really wanted the trees to have a really simple, "homespun" quality, so I made the stitches a bit uneven and cockeyed (OK, I know that sounds like an excuse made after the fact, but it was actually on purpose).

(Excuse the fuzz and dog hair; this was taken after Christmas.)

The pants are flannel, from JoAnn. A bonus with these nice, loose, mama-made flannel pajama pants is that they fit over James's cast, which was pretty fantastic.

And my children loved them, of course. The concensus was "cozy." Not so bad for a last-minute project. And the best gift of all to a tired mama.

{Oh, and by the way, thank you all so much for your sympathy about my finger! I agree with many of you in saying that I didn't really believe this to be possible, even though I knew my mom had done it many years before. What happened to me was that I was doing applique onto a t-shirt with a small zigzag stitch, and doing some fiddly curves. My finger slipped between the presser foot and the needle. Eeek!}

The Dolls

I had 7 doll commissions to complete for the holidays this year (8 if you count Hanna, which I do). I didn't begin any until I'd completed my wee ones' Halloween costumes (which was a bit of a trauma in and of itself as my old serger died in the middle of making them). So, it amounted to a little more than one doll a week from November to mid-December. That was a lot. It was really too much. The stress level around here while I was down to the wire on them was amazingly high. But I completed each and every one of them, and they all made it to their respective destinations in time. Whew!

Hanna, now at home with Molly's family. But you've seen her before!

Willow, now at home with Emily's little girl. (Emily created the most wonderful clothing for these fairy babies, an offer she made to save me time, and I think they turned out even better for it. Look at them here.)

Morgan, now at home with Emily's little boy. (I called him Morgan because it means "sea".) (Again, that's snow falling on his head, not some mysterious dander.)

I could not have completed them without the help of my own mama, my best friend Rebecca, or my husband, who all stuffed and sewed with me. (Yes, even my husband sewed. He attached arms to bodies.) My mom even helped with the boys' sweaters. Thank goodness for a crafty mama and best friend and a willing husband! (I really should acknowledge my youngest sister who also helped with stuffing and childcare.) Still, most of the handwork was done by me, and I don't think my fingertips will ever be the same. ;) I don't think I'll ever be the same.

Faolan (pronounced "faylan"), now at home in Massachusetts with a blog reader and friend! This is my favorite doll I've ever made and I really didn't want to part with him. Sigh.

Colin, now at home with his big brother Faolan. His hair was very intense to do, but turned out just how I'd hoped.

I learned a lot of lessons through this project. The first was not to take on a bunch of commissions without having planned to do so in the first place. I had never planned to sell my dolls for this holiday season, but when people began inquiring about them after seeing Graham, I just started saying yes, without really thinking about it. The other really important thing that I came away with (lots of other little lessons about time management and speaking up for what my work is worth and so on in between) was that if I'm going to do this, if I'm going to be a doll maker, I need to make dolls in advance. Just as I have time, a head and body here and there. People can still request hair and eye colors (and skin color, too!), but at least I'd have the bulk of the work done. I will probably make clothes in advance, too, and then offer a choice between colors of what I have in stock, rather than leaving it really open ended for people to choose. I have a pretty decent (not big) stash, but I still ended up having to run out and buy fabric & yarn for doll clothes more than once, which I think could have been avoided.

Mandy. At first I wasn't so sure about doing freckles on a doll, but she actually turned out to be my favorite girl doll of the entire batch. She lives with Deanna's family now.

This is Rachel, and I know this isn't her face, but I love this shot of her hair, a style I'd never tried before, and I think it really captures something special about this doll. You can see her face here. She's at home with her big sister Mandy.

And finally, sweet Sally. My mom just couldn't get over Sally's sweet face. She's a bit more petite than the other dolls in this bunch, and is so perfectly adorable. She's with her sisters Mandy and Rachel at Deanna's house.

(As always, there are many more views of these dolls here.)

Anyway, I am so glad that I did this. I am so glad that my work has received such a warm reception and that this little batch of dolls have all gone to such good homes and are being loved by so many children. Despite the stress, I'd say that it was all worth it in the end. And now I know what to do differently in the future!

Oh, and wishing you all many happy returns (wait, what does that even mean?!) ... a very, very happy 2008. ;)

Christmas Day Sewing

Since I was so behind with all my gifting this year, I ended up doing some sewing on Christmas day. This quick and easy bag for my youngest sister (who is practically impossible to shop or make for), inspired by Erin's, was cranked out in about an hour. My sister adored it, which is especially gratifying.

The "recipe" for the bag is here, and I didn't really change it at all for this bag. I did add some fusible fleece as an interfacing to give the bag more structure. The outer fabric is from Repro Depot, I believe, and the lining is just a green cotton. You can see the handle better in this one:

(It's not really crooked, it's just hanging crooked from the chair.)

And the vintage button I used, which is actually more red than it looks:

(That's snow you see, not dander or something. I like to photograph everything I make outside for some reason.)

And, no report about my Christmas Day Sewing adventure of 2007 would be complete without sharing the fact that I sewed through my finger with my sewing machine that day. All the way through it. The needle broke off while it was in my finger and was sticking out from both sides. My husband had to pull it out. It still hurts an awful lot, but is not infected, thankfully. I am not usually very squeamish -- actually, I'm really fascinated by all things surgical, etc. -- but I almost passed out from this. However, now I'm kind of wishing we took a picture of the needle in my finger. But we didn't, so you're spared. ;)

Meet Hanna!

So here she is, the doll I'm calling Hanna. (Yes, without an "h" at the end. Because I'm a Scandinavia-ophile.) I made her to resemble -- who else? -- me. So I thought some reverse naming was in order. The name Ann means "grace," so it had to be an Ann-derivative. But for an orange-haired doll, Ann felt a bit too much like Raggedy Ann. Or Anne of Green Gables. Or Little Orphan Annie. So, she's Hanna, for now. Until she reaches her new family, which is ...

Molly's!

I also have two runner up gifts. They are some duplicate back-issues I have of Martha Stewart Kids. They go to Lori and Dawn. (One is Spring 2004 and the other is Winter 2004. Let me know if you have a preference, ladies.)

Hanna still needs some finishing touches, but I plan to ship her no later than Dec. 10. The magazines will go out this week.

Thank you all so very much, once again, for making my blogaversary so much fun!

xo, Grace

A Proclamation

We discovered that James had a number of food and environmental allergies when he was a very wee babe. Since that time, I think Elisabeth has struggled somewhat to comprehend the meaning of these allergies that her brother has, what it means that his life experience is limited in ways that hers isn't, and so on. A couple of weeks ago, she announced that she was "allergic to polyester." She may very well be -- it'd be hard to tell in this natural fiber household. But there it was. Allergic to polyester. For some reason this proclamation was both hilarious and bittersweet to me.

So, with my natural fiber obsession (let's just call it what it is, shall we?), I have always needed my wee ones' pajamas to be cotton or wool. Mostly they wear those "must be snug fitting" longjohn-style pajamas since the commercially available alternative is polyester.

Last night, I finally got around to doing something I've been meaning to do for a very long time: sew up some cotton flannel pajama pants. Due to the end of daylight saving time, James was asleep by 5:45, so Elisabeth stood at my elbow while I whipped these up for her from my horded couple of yards of Munki Munki flannel. James will get some this week, as well, and some long-sleeved shirts with owls on them have been requested to go with them. So those will be following along shortly, I'm sure.

PS: I'm still sick -- actually sicker today than I was on Friday! But thank you all so very much for your well-wishes. I hope I'll be back to "normal" (a relative term with me, hee hee) very soon. xo

Handmade for Us

My friend Gina made this diaper cover for James recently. It's a felted sweater that she cut up and sewed together on her machine.

We use only wool covers with our diapers -- I felt like if I was going to "go for it" with cloth, I should go all the way; and then there's that whole thing about wool being my favorite thing. And we have many that we just love. But despite being a knitter and crafty mama and wool-lover, I have never made my own.

Well, I think this little cover here has converted me.

PS: My husband is on fall break this week and we have family time to enjoy -- and I have Halloween costumes to finish -- so I'll be taking the rest of the week off. I'll be back in this space on Monday. Have a fantastic fall weekend!

Sharing the Love

OK, I'll admit, I almost forgot: I am doing that pay-it-forward exchange thingie. I was the fourth to comment on Sarah's post, but since one of the people before me didn't have a blog, I was the "alternate," if you will.

So the deal is, I will send a handmade something to the first three of you to comment on this post and who commit to do the same from your own site. Here's the explanation, which I'm quoting from Sarah, who is quoting it from Anne-Marie, who might also be quoting it from someone... "I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog." So, be quick! And you'll get a little something from me. Sometime. ;)

Suddenly it seems like I have a lot of creating on my horizon ... goodies for three of you, a swap with a certain friend, dolls that some of you have commissioned from me (really? I'm still pinching myself), Halloween costumes, a sweater for Elisabeth, a hat for my husband, and various and sundry holiday gifts. Oh, and in between all of that, a bit of this:

Wow! How does a person fill up her plate so quickly? Not that I'm complaining. These are the things that feed me. And a lot of it is made possible by all of you. Thank you, thank you. For your support and great kindness. I'm getting all sappy about blogging now, so I better stop.

You'll have to excuse these photos. I was spending way too much time messing around with action shots for this post.

PS: If you haven't yet, check out Alicia's shop which opened today. Beautiful, beautiful things!