Why hello there! I can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted. I came down with a nasty cold early last week, which then caused a sinus and ear infection -- and then I unfortunately passed it on to little Nathan. So we've been doing our best to take it easy while we recover -- and we're still working on the recovery part.
But that doesn't mean all crafting has come to a grinding halt. If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I bought a sewing machine last Sunday (was it really only a week ago?)... and less than a week later I finished my first real sewing project! Here it is, my Pinned It, Did It #2: Jingle Baby from the Winter issues of Living Crafts.
It was an easy pattern to sew (even for my first sewing project, and my first non-knitted doll) and I loved seeing this dolly come to life as it became three-dimensional with wool stuffing and then a sweet embroidered face.
If you're looking to make this doll, note that I upsized the pattern a lot. The instructions say to use a photocopier to enlarge the pattern printed in the magazine by 133 percent. I already knew that I'd made the doll's head too big at this point, so I enlarged it by 175 percent and it still wasn't big enough. So I freehanded my own pattern enlargement by another 115 percent -- so the doll is about 13 inches long not including its giant pope-like hat. (My husband was like, aren't you going to do something about the hat? :) Nope.)
If I hadn't enlarged the pattern, this doll would havebeen tiny -- maybe less than 10 inches without the hat and with a miniscule six-inch head circumference. My masculine doll (LOL) has a hefty eight-inch head circumference. Also, I didn't attach a jingle bell to the doll's head, either -- I'm in the mood for quiet toys these days.
I'm happy enough with Nathan's semi-luke-warm reaction to the doll -- it was way better than the way he immediately tossed aside my hand-knitted Poppa Owl and his farmer doll the year before that.
At least he smiled and checked out the details first, and tried holding him like a baby when I asked him if he remembered how to hold a baby. And then he tossed him to the floor. The best part is that when I try to hold the baby, he takes him off my chest and moves him to the other end of the couch! LOL! I can only wonder what that's about.
But that doesn't mean all crafting has come to a grinding halt. If you follow my Facebook page, you know that I bought a sewing machine last Sunday (was it really only a week ago?)... and less than a week later I finished my first real sewing project! Here it is, my Pinned It, Did It #2: Jingle Baby from the Winter issues of Living Crafts.
It was an easy pattern to sew (even for my first sewing project, and my first non-knitted doll) and I loved seeing this dolly come to life as it became three-dimensional with wool stuffing and then a sweet embroidered face.
If you're looking to make this doll, note that I upsized the pattern a lot. The instructions say to use a photocopier to enlarge the pattern printed in the magazine by 133 percent. I already knew that I'd made the doll's head too big at this point, so I enlarged it by 175 percent and it still wasn't big enough. So I freehanded my own pattern enlargement by another 115 percent -- so the doll is about 13 inches long not including its giant pope-like hat. (My husband was like, aren't you going to do something about the hat? :) Nope.)
If I hadn't enlarged the pattern, this doll would havebeen tiny -- maybe less than 10 inches without the hat and with a miniscule six-inch head circumference. My masculine doll (LOL) has a hefty eight-inch head circumference. Also, I didn't attach a jingle bell to the doll's head, either -- I'm in the mood for quiet toys these days.
I'm happy enough with Nathan's semi-luke-warm reaction to the doll -- it was way better than the way he immediately tossed aside my hand-knitted Poppa Owl and his farmer doll the year before that.
At least he smiled and checked out the details first, and tried holding him like a baby when I asked him if he remembered how to hold a baby. And then he tossed him to the floor. The best part is that when I try to hold the baby, he takes him off my chest and moves him to the other end of the couch! LOL! I can only wonder what that's about.
Just stumbled upon your blog and so glad I found you. I love hearing about others cooking, knitting, sewing adventures! That doll has such a sweet face!
ReplyDeleteMy mom still has her dolls as a child. She sometimes takes them out and plays with them. I dunno if that is healthy or not but that is what she does. Looks like your boy has lots of toys in your house. I think that's great. I always feel leaving toys out for the kids to play with is best. If you put them away they never play with them.
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