Waldorf Doll--Soft Body Girl for a Toddler

In early December, a friend asked if I had time to make her 12 month old granddaughter a doll.  I had a head for a Waldorf type doll that I had made earlier this year, so this was an easy "Yes!"

I often draw my own doll patterns but this time I used a pattern from Maricristin Sealey brilliant book, Making Waldorf Dolls, Creative Doll-Making with Children.  The pattern had button hands and button feet.  I knew this little girl loves taking shoes off dolls, so I did draw a pattern so the doll would have real feet. 

With this type of soft doll, the clothes are the body.  As will all Waldorf type dolls, her head and body are sheep's wool, her trunk and arms are an interlock knit and her legs are a plush polyester fabric which isn't traditional.  (Typically cotton velour is the fabric of choice as that is a natural fiber).  The book had a pattern for the sweet felt vest and I made a pattern for her elfin boots.

The doll is so soft and cuddly.  Working on her made me want to go right off and take a nap!!

Christmas Forest Frolicking Fun Quilt

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas I want to show my Quilt.  

It has 1 cherry block, 2 red squares, 3 shades of green, 4 red rectangles, 5 quilting stitches, 7 foxes sledding, 8 bunny trios, 10 rabbits guarding, 11 foxes leaping and 12 Christmas presents... but that's not quite the song!!  

This is my 2015 Christmas quilt.  It's an original pattern. I sat down one day in December and sketched out the design on graph paper.  It's interesting how different the finished quilt seems than the quilt in the sketch, though clearly it is the same pattern. It may be the difference between the 2 dimensional drawing and the quilt which has texture, or maybe it's the color intensity of the fabrics.  

I used my fabric, Christmas Forest Frolicking Fun, printed by Spoonflower.com with Kona® solids for the greens and reds.  The two whites are a sateen and a white on white large snowflake print. The quilt, with so much white negative space, has a very festive, snowy feel.  

The back is a large intense floral with dark reds, greens, pinks and purples. The contrast is unexpected but really works!

Waldorf Style Soft Infant Doll: Small Petal Doll

I had some small scraps of the knit that I use as doll skin so I decided to make a smaller Petal doll.  This soft Waldorf style soft doll is suitable for an infant. 

Her head is 2 inches high and 7 inches in diameter.  From the top of her head (not the tip of her hat) to the hem of her dress she is 10 inches.

The first Petal doll I made had a hard core under her head.  This time I wanted her to have a steady neck but a soft core.  I also gave this doll real hands. Here's what I did.

I took the small Petal doll over to a neighbor who has a 10 month old little girl.  I handed the doll to her mom but the little girl intercepted the handoff!  She clearly knew the doll was something she wanted!  Now that's what I call a success!

Drafting Doll Clothes

Do you have days when it feels like all your creative endeavors intersect?  This is one of those times!  

I made a knit dress for my toddler niece out of lovely knit fabric I had printed with "My Flower Garden" design at Spoonflower.com.  I gave her a Bamboletta baby doll for Christmas.  The good folks at Bamboletta.com dress their baby dolls in super cute sleeper suits.  But sometimes a girl just needs a dress!!  There aren't commercial patterns to fit these handmade baby dolls. So, I needed to make my own pattern.

During the summer I took Cal Patch's Master Pattern Drafting Work-Along on Creativebug.com.  I learned to draft a dress/tunic pattern and a skirt pattern. If it works for me, it should work for a doll too!

I took out Cal's measurement sheet and measured the doll.  Then I drafted a pattern for a T-shirt dress to match the one I made for my niece. 

Other than the Curve Ruler not working on such a small pattern, the drafting and the pattern worked beautifully!!  The dress went together perfectly!!

I got such a kick out of doing this project!!  The design on the fabric was mine, the pattern was mine and the doll's dress was my creation too!  Super fun!

Made by Maker Friends, Post 3

This is my third post of Christmas gifts I've received over the years from my friends who are also Makers. 

Above are three 7 1/2 inch hand knit Christmas stocking for my dogs...Tipper, Hazel and Taffy!  The were made by my friend Edith, constant knitter, calligrapher and fine printer.  What lucky dogs to have their own handmade stockings!

But wait!  She made another trio of Christmas stockings for my first 3 dogs.  These measure 5 inches.

Edith makes stuffed knitted creations too!   2 lovely sheep and an elf!!  (No, that's definitely not a shepherd)!!

Made by Maker Friends, Post 2

This is my second post of gifts I've received over the years from friends who are also Makers. 

These two cloth Christmas trees were made by my friend, Sylvia.  The table top tree above, has been part of my Christmas since the 1970s.  It's one of my treasures!  It wouldn't be Christmas without it!

Here's a Christmas tree wall hanging.  Her 3-D work is so much fun!  She's a quilter too!

Made by Maker Friends, Post 1

It's Christmas week!   

I have lots of friends who are also makers.  Lots of them quilt, but there are some serious knitters too!  I want to share some of the gifts I have received from my Maker Friends over the years my posts this week and next.

Here are 4 ornaments made by Marybeth.   A mouse in a tart tin.  My all-time favorite, papoose on a tongue depressor!   A cardinal and ....

Santa's Clothes line!!

Marybeth knits, crochets, makes spectacular American Girl Doll clothes, sews garments, and occasionally quilts. There isn't a fiber she doesn't love!!

She makes a new ornament for her friends every year!  A lot of work, but what a fun tradition!

Fast Holiday Table Runner

Christmas is just a week away but it isn't too late to make a fast holiday table runner!  It will just take a couple hours to complete. 

I used the Quilt As You method.  I had a scrap of batting, 13 inches wide x 42 inches long.  I cut the backing fabric, the animal print, an inch larger than the batting on all 4 sides, so approximately, 15 x 44 inches (or width of your fabric).  I used spray fabric adhesive to attach the batting to the backing.

Next I cut the strips of assorted fabrics in various widths, just long enough to extend an inch over each side of the batting (about 15 inches long).  I wanted to showcase the animals in the fabric so the width of those strips was determined by the fabric design. 

Here are several photos of the table runner as I was working on it. 

Once the batting was completely covered with strips, I trimmed the table runner to the size of the batting and attached a binding. 

The runner is reversible--strips on one side, the solid print on the reverse!   A great table runner from an afternoon's sewing!

Gallery of Modern Improv Quilts based on Scores

Here are the 5 quilts I've made using Sherri Lynn Wood's Book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters, a guide for creating, quilting and living courageously.

From left to right, the quilts are based on Score #1, Score #5, Score #8, Score #9 and Score #10.

They range in size from the mini, "Lemonaide", to the large lap quilt "Vikings".  3 of them are definitely on the fanciful side, not something modern improv is known for, but so much fun to make!!

Modern Improv Quilting: Project 5, French Forest Tapestry

I fell in love with the hound in Lizzy House's "Tapestry in Green", part of her fabric line, The Lovely Hunt.  The dog looks so much like a dog on a French brooch that my mother had when I was a child. And the "Tapestry in Green" really is reminiscent of a northern European tapestry.

This is based on Score #5, "rhythmic grid" in Sherri Lynn Wood's book The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters, A guide for creating, quilting and living courageously. 

I really like the lighter blocks in the two lateral borders and the darker center blocks.  It was mid November when I was piecing this quilt.  I wanted to add an accent color to the dark blocks.  Yellow was perfect.  So it came in as a sunbeam filtering through the woods.  It wasn't until I had all the blocks up on the design wall that I noticed that the sun blocks started low on the quilt, almost an echo of the the sun here in New England at this time of year. 

The back of the quilt has a red strawberry flannel print.  It's an oddly shaped quilt, but perfect for sitting on the couch watching television.  It's warm, and cuddly--a great addition the collection of quilts which I rotate seasonally!

I'd really like to do the Round Robin in this book, but don't plan to make any of the other scores in this book.   I'll put a gallery of all the improv quilts based on Sherri's book in my next post. It's fun to see them altogether!

Lined Drawstring Bags

I'm seeing drawstring bags everywhere:  on-line, in catalogs and on social media.  The are easy to sew and fun to use.  They are also a great way to show off a fabric you really love.  I've used several of my "Dogs at the Farmers Market" fabrics printed by Spoonflower.com for these 3 bags.

The pattern I used for my bags is the "Lined Drawstring Bag" designed by Jeni Baker. (I reviewed Jenis's new book, Quilting Essentials: The Half-Square Triangle in my last post).  She has a free tutorial on her blog, Incolororder.com for a 10 x 7 inch "Everything Bag."

She also has a PDF pattern for purchase which is what I have.  The purchased pattern has instructions for 8 different bags from "Tiny Bag" to "Laundry Bag" as well as a worksheet for making any size custom bag. I love my 13 x 8 x 4 in project bag.  It's the perfect size for my tablet, a notepad and some other gear.  

Got stuff to tote?  Make yourself a happy drawstring bag to put it in!

Printed Easy Sew Drawstring Gift Bag

Spoonflower.com has weekly contests for folks designing fabrics.  This week's challenge was to create a printed gift bag, with sewing instructions!   This one is right up my alley!  And it was a chance to work on my skills using Adobe Photoshop!

Here is the link to the finished product for sale at Spoonflower.com:  Christmas Forest Frolics Gift Bag.   4 seams and it's a sweet little bag for Christmas gift giving!  It measures 9 1/2 high x 9 3/4 inches wide, with the gift area in the finished bag approximately 6 1/2 inches x 7 inches.

Even if you don't want to buy the printed pattern, head over to Spoonflower.com and vote for your favorite drawstring bag patterns!  You can vote for as many as you want and don't need to log in.  You can only vote once per contest. Thanks. 

I got the idea for the color blocks on this bag from Jeni Baker's Lined Drawstring Bag pattern.  Because my finished bag looks a lot like hers, I sent her some photos and details about the construction to be certain I wasn't violating her copyright.  She responded the same day, stating my project was not only fine, but also "Super Cute!"  I strongly recommend that if you are wondering if a piece you've made may be too similar to someone else's that you check in with them. "When in Doubt, Check it Out!"  My next post will show some of the bags I've made using Jeni's pattern. 

Vintage Applique Quilt

I recently found a couple of photos taken of quilts I made in the 1970s.  This is one of my earliest quilts. And also the first quilt I sold!  It was hand appliquéd with embroidered detail.  The blocks were machine pieced. 

The color blocks still have a modern feel.  The cotton poly fabric...not so much! 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope it's a day of enjoying happy memories and making new ones!!

Advent Quilted Church Pulpit Banners

Pastor Carol at the Stratford Street United Church in West Roxbury, MA wanted to make a hanging for the pulpit for each Sunday in Advent.  She's an art quilter.  She asked me to help out with an Advent Quilting Workshop this past weekend.  A Quilt as You Go technique seemed like the perfect way to combine both our skill sets and it's easy enough to teach to beginner sewer/quilters. 

Here's how to set up a similar project. 

• Measure the place where the banner will hang.  
• Cut a piece of batting 1 inch wider and longer than the final banner size
• Cut backing 2 inches wider and 4 inches longer than the final banner size
• Layer banner--backing WRONG side up with batting on top. I used Fabric Adhesive to anchor the batting. I normally would use safety pins but worried kids might accidentally sew over them
• Fold 1/2 inch of fabric over the top edge of the banner and iron down. 
• Mark the batting with a fabric pen at the level you want your word panel.  I cut a 6 1/2 inch strip which finished at 6 inches.
• Strips for the banner can vary from 1  1/2 to 3  1/2 inches x width of backing layer
• Make you letters using a fabric fusing product.  I used no sew Heat 'n Bond.  
• Make a binding for the banner

Instructions:

1. Attach your letters to the word panel
2. Make a sleeve to the size needed for hanging. There are lots of great quilt sleeve tutorials.
3. Attach one of the wider strips to the fabric folded to the front of the batting, using a 1/4 inch seam. 
4. If you sleeve is narrower than the the first fabric strip, attach the sleeve to the backing.  If not, save it and sew it on by hand when the banner is finished.
5. Using the Quilt as You Go technique, continue adding strips. Until you reach the marking for the word panel.
6. Attach the word panel, then add a couple more strips to finish the banner
7. Trim the banner to the finished size.  
8. Attach the binding. Make sure not to sew over your sleeve if you have already attached it.

Happy Advent!

Wheelchair Quilt Pattern: Flower Box or Tool Box 36 x 36 inches

This is the guy's version of the Flower Box or Tool Box Wheelchair Quilt.  The Flower Box quilt can be seen in my post on November 16, 2015.  

The pattern for this quilt is at the bottom of this post.  It's a great scrappy quilt, using 36 4 x 4 inch squares!

This pattern is free for individual use and use by quilt guilds and other groups making quilts for people using wheelchairs.  It is NOT for commercial use.  Thanks!   Happy Sewing and Happy Sharing!

Wheelchair Quilt: Flower Box or Tool Box 36 x 36 inches

Recommended sizes for wheelchair quilts are 36 x 36 inches to 36 x 40 inches. This pattern is ideal for using up fabric from your scrap bag.

Supplies:

• 36 squares, 4 x 4 inches (1/2 yard)

• 24 squares, 5 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄2 inches (3/4 yard)

• 6 sashing strips 1 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 inches (1/4 yard

for sashing strips)

• 2 sashing strips 1 1⁄2 x 23 1⁄2 inches

• 2 border strips 1 1⁄2 x 23 1⁄2 inches for outer

border (1/4 yard for border strips)

• 2 border strips 1 1⁄2 x 25 1⁄2 inches

• 4 strips 2 1⁄2 inch wide strips x width of fabric

for binding (1/2 yard)

• Backing 1 1⁄4 yard

• Quilt batting 40 x 40 inches

Directions:

1. Sew 12 4-patch blocks from the 36 4 x 4 inch squares by sewing 2 pairs of 2 squares. Press seams to one side. Sew each pair of squares together.

2. Sew a 1 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 inch sashing to the left side of 6 4-patch blocks.

3. Each strip in the center of the quilt is composed of 2 4-patch blocks with sashing and one without. Sew the 2 4-patch blocks with sashing together, keeping the sashing strips on the left side of the blocks. Attach the 4-patch block without a sashing strip.

4. Repeat for the other 2 rows.

5. Sew a 1 1⁄2 x 24 1⁄2 sashing strip to the bottom edge of 2 of the rows with 3 4-patch blocks and vertical sashing.

6. Sew the 3 rows of 4-patch blocks together. The top 2 rows will have sashing on the lower edge of the row. The bottom row doesn’t have a sashing strip.

7. The center of the quilt is now complete.

8. Sew border strips 1 1⁄2 x 23 1⁄2 strips to the 4 sides of the quilt center, trimming strips as needed to fit.

9. Sew 2 rows of 7 5 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄2 inch squares and 2 rows of 5

5 1⁄2 x 5 1⁄2 inch squares.

10. Sew the rows of 5 blocks to the top and bottom of the quilt, and the rows of 7 blocks to each side of the quilt.

11. Layer quilt top, batting and quilt backing. Quilt as desired.

12. Make the binding and attach it to the quilt!!

For a scrappier quilt: Piece a 23 1⁄2 x 23 1⁄2 inch slab for the center of the quilt. Then attach 1 1⁄2 inch inner border and outer border of 5 1⁄2 inch squares.

This pattern is free for use by quilt guilds and individuals. Not for commercial use.

Pooh Quilt: Then and Now

Look what I found!   I was looking through a box of files from my parent's house and discovered photos of two early quilts. I posted about this quilt in February 2014 when I first started blogging.  But I couldn't find my original photo for that post. 

The owner of this quilt is celebrating a birthday this week.  So it seems like a fun time to revisit it.  Above is the quilt, brand new, in 1974.  And below, much beloved, in a photo taken in 2014!

For a quilter who makes quilts to be used, it doesn't get any better than this!  

Pooh Quilt 2014!

Wheelchair Quilt: Flower Box

Our guild, Proper Bostonian Quilters, makes charity quilts for a variety of needs. One is a quilt suitable for use with a patient in a wheelchair.  It's important that these quilts are the right sizes so that they don't drag on the floor or get caught in the wheels or other mechanisms of the chair.  Our guild asks that wheelchair quilts to measure between 36 x 36 inches to 36 x 40 inches. 

This quilt measures 36 x 36 inches and is made with 2 different sized squares and sashing. It's a great scrap quilt and can be completed in a weekend.

Surface Design: Shadow Play with my Springer Spaniel

On a beautiful fall day recently I was out for a walk with my English Springer Spaniel, Taffy.  I thought it would be fun to post a selfie of the two of us on Instagram.  Right. I had zero success getting us both in the square photo frame.  But I did notice that the late afternoon sun was creating some really fun shadows.  So here's a photo of our shadows!

The Spoonflower Handbook has instructions for making cloth hankies decorated with profiles of dogs. The shadow photos I took, with a green asphalt tennis court as the background, made a profile which didn't need any manipulation other than cropping.  

I decided to print Taffy's profile on Kona® cotton to make cloth dinner napkins. At 18 x 18 inches, there are 4 napkins in each yard of fabric.  It's a great reminder of a fun afternoon!

Shadow Play Table Napkins with baked mini donuts and Chai tea

Proper Bostonian Quilters Guild--Biennial Quilt Show 2015

I'm a member of the Proper Bostonian Quilter's Guild. Our biennial quilt show was this past weekend. It was a huge success thanks to an army of able volunteers. Here's a look at the show starting from the set up. I've included photos of just a few of my favorite quilts. There were so many awesome quilts this year! It was all so such fun!

 All the quilts in the show will be posted on the guild's website soon. Here's a link to the PBQ website with a post of the winning quilts and the winner of the raffle quilt.  I hope you'll click over and take a look! Enjoy!

Improv Quilting Project 4: Score #8 Bias Strip Petals, reconfigured

It's been a few months since I worked on one of the Scores in Sherri Lynn Wood's book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters--A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously.

I decided to tackle the one Score in the book that I was dreading:  Score #8 Bias Strip Petals.  "Seeing with Fresh Eyes".  I have a confession.  I despise bias strips!  Even using a bias strip cutting fabric saving "tube" I feel like I'm "wasting" fabric.  I have no problems sewing on the bias.  I do that all the time. But skinny little strips cut on the bias make me growl!

Starting to work on this challenging pattern, the one Sherri said was the most difficult quilt in the book for her to piece, the day after my last cat died, probably wasn't the best idea. But I figured I that since I can easily piece Drunkard's Path patches that I'd be all right working with this biased peicing.

I should have taken photos as I started making the petals. The first strips on on each side of the oval petal went were nice and flat.  It was all downhill from there.  I tried pinning the bias strip, then not pinning an letting it float pulling on the pieces more and then less as Sherri recommended. The strips just didn't lie flat for me.  Below is a photo of one petal I made just to show here.  In this one, only the first strip worked out. 

Petal with warping bias strip

I tried cutting down the bias strips so that they were narrow. I folded the piecing to see if darting would help.  It didn't.  But I realized that HALF of each pieced petal was just fine.  

So I got out my rotary blade and cut all the petals in half. And they were suddenly FLAT!  I added a couple more strips to some of the units and then thought about how to piece them all together. I realized I didn't have the patience to do any complex piecing, so I opted to cut the half petals units into as many squares as possible and then piece those. 

"Big Sigh!" I let go of all the stress of what hadn't worked out.  And suddenly I loved what I was working on!  

The colors in this mini quilt delight me as does all the movement from the curved piecing.  This little quilt makes SO happy!  It's even the wallpaper on my phone now.  Makes me smile every time I pick up the phone. That adds up to lots of smiles a day!!   : )

Sherri has asked folks posting about quilts made the Scores from her book to share any insights they have about the improv piecing process and/or outcome.  This quilt is named "Lemonaide".  The spelling is non-traditional but the "aide" is spot on for me!  Here are my Insights about working on Score #8.

• Surprises.  In my case it was NO surprise that working this bias strip pieced score really annoyed me. But when I gave up doing what I didn't want to do and took another path to the piecing, I WAS suprised to discover I was instantly happy with what I was making!  
• Discoveries.  "Know thyself."  I should have trusted my gut feeling that Bias Strip Petals wasn't the right flower patch for me and skipped it. I'm not sorry I tried Score #8.  There were some seriously un-fun hours working on it but I learned some good stuff in the process. 
• Satisfactions.  I LOVE the quilt that came together when I started to follow my heart.  
• Next Steps.  I'll pick a project that sings to my tune next time!  

CALENDAR NOTE:

 The Proper Bostonian Quilters Guild has a Quilt Show starting TOMORROW-- Friday, November 6 and continuing Saturday and Sunday. It's in the Monsignor Donahue Hall, St Theresa School, 40 Saint Theresa Ave, West Roxbury MA 02132.  There will be lots of great quilts, vendors, a Boutique table and a Cafe and a fabulous Raffle Quilt (click the link above to see it!). 2 of my quilts are in the show. Hope to see you there!