Creative Mischief Handmade

Ive been working on my Dads Quilt #2 and finally decided on a design and have cut out all the fabrc. The quilt will be a lap quilt around 175cm square, just enough to snuggle up into on the couch. Ive been collecting the fabric for years, with the most recent purchase a few weeks ago. It is all stuff my dad likes. Coins, Travel, Cameras, Wine, Coffee, Jazz and some clocks because he always wants more time! Im really glad I have 2 different 'coin' fabrics as my dad has a fantastic coin collection and he travels the world collecting coins from every country. I love being at this stage, having all my fabric cut, ready to sew. One of my favourite parts of quilting is deciding how the pieces will go together to create a pleasing balance of colour. This type of 'scrap' quilt looks like the fabrics are just randomly scattered over the quilt, but I have a very systematic way that I put the pieces together so that no two of the same fabric are together and the balance is j...

I've had such a great time making clothes for Boy Doll. It has been really nice getting back into some pattern making. Even though Ive only made basic working blocks and then this T-shirt and Jeans, it has been a good refresher. Im so inspired to make a whole little wardrobe for this little guy, I hope my son appreciates it and actually plays with Boy Doll. It was very cute today when I bought Boy Doll out and showed my son and he gave him a big cuddle... I know he is cuddling everything at the moment but hopefully that means he likes Boy Doll. The T-shirt is made out of one of my sons old 0000 onesies. I un-picked it and cut the front and back out of the body of the onesie and cut the ends off the sleeves, which ment I didn't need to hem them - bonus! The jeans are made out of some denim coloured quilting fabric because my son still fits into all his jeans and pants (my skinny little man) and I dont have any I can cut up yet. Working small ment it did...

I thought I would upload my favourite sight in my workroom.... my wall of quilting fabric!  My quilting fabric storage wall Yes I have an obsession and it is quilting fabric! Yes I am a little OCD about storing all my fabric and have it in labelled boxes all sorted by colour or theme. I love just sitting in my room, looking at all my fabric, pulling the odd piece out and thinking about how I can cut it up to make a quilt. Getting out coordinating fabric and just seeing all the colours and patterns just makes me so happy. I will often do just that, then put it all back.... but when I am truely inspired I then turn to my computer and create a design on my Quilt Designing Software from Electric Quilt . I love this program as I can fiddle away, comming up with a perfect design. Then print out cutting directions and fabric requirements so I can get to the really fun part of sewing quicker. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I have been busy this week making up clothing ...

... he just needs a name. I know I should wait for my son to name him but It just feels wrong to keep calling him "dolly". My first doll, a little friend for my son to play with. I embroidered his face and I'm really happy with how it has come out. Im following the Waldorf Doll tradition of doing a simple face with not too much emotion (although I prefer a little smile over a straight mouth) as it allows the child to imput all sorts of emotions into the doll while playing. Ive had lots of fun doing his hair and leanrt how to crochet along the way. While researching doll wig making on the net I found these video tutorials (Thank you Dancing Rain Dolls) which made the whole process really easy. Lesson 1 - How to crochet the cap Lesson 2 - How to attach the cap to a doll head Lesson 3 - How to create the hair I still have to add a little more hair to fill in a few spots where you can see the cap then he will get a little haircut just ...

This is a picture of what my original 'Holly' doll looked like, with a beautiful face and long curly hair. Holly's body is on the left, she had very long legs and her arms are short. I decided to make my cloth doll a little more in proportion to a real person. The centre doll is my 'toille' (or test doll) the arms and legs are different sizes as I was testing just the right lengths. And the doll on the right is the first one I have sewn up (still needs closures to be hand sewn). The doll is made in light flesh coloured plain cotton. It is fully jointed so my son can pose the doll and it is easier for him to dress it. I am happy with the design and the next step will be to embroider a face and do the hair. Then I get to make a little wardrobe for the boy doll... is it silly to want to make matching clothes for my son?

I am making a cloth doll. The pattern has developed from a 24" plastic doll that I had as a little girl. Ive spent the last few weeks drafting patterns, testing shapes and I think I have come up with a good design. My doll was called Holly and I loved her. My mum made us matching outfits and even made a school uniform for her. Holly eventualy 'lost' her head, it went mouldy from having her hair died too many times so my mum threw it out! She kept Hollys body though and she kept all the clothes. When I found out I was expecting girls I thought about being able to play with my dolls clothes with them and was going to get a new head for Holly from the doll hospital. But after they died this idea also died. Now that my little man is here I really wanted him to have a nice boy doll. But there are no nice boy dolls out there..... excpet for some beautiful Waldorf inspired dolls. (Do a search on Etsy if you are interested to see what Im talking about.) So that got me thi...

I am starting this new blog to keep me motivated and to share what I have been creating. I find it very therapeutic to sew. It keeps my mind busy and stops me from falling into that dark hole of grief and depression that I so often visit since my daughters died. The three projects that are currently on my mind: 1. Cloth dolls for  Mr Monkey  (mainly I cant find a nice boy doll, so have decided to make him some) Hopeful finish date: nothing specific but by his 2nd Birthday (January 2013!) 2. A cover for my Kitchenaid Mixer (since it is so heavy and lives on my bench, I decided it needs a cover so I dont have to clean it each time I want to bake) Hopeful finish date: None. This is a little fill in quilt project 3. A quilt for my dad (he is one of the few people close to me who doesn't have a quilt. I started one years ago, but it just isn't him, or me, anymore) Hopeful finish date: June 2012