A few things

Wow, two weeks can sure fly since my last post. I have an excuse, bronchitis. From start to finish, 3 weeks. Gross is the word of the day. Haven't had a bout of it for quite a while and have to say it was probably the worst I can remember having....but it's gone and this is a new week. I did work on some things while I was laid up. Things that were easily propelled out of my hands when the coughing fits would start....

This is a Christmas gift for a friend. It's a Cindy Seiving pattern, called Jeppo De Jester. I love this pattern because it's  like a blank palette. You have the basic wall doll pattern and it's up to you how much or how little you embellish it. Use whatever fabrics and trims and create this doll. It was one of those instant gratification kind of things, sort of.

 

I also caught up on some charity sewing. These are little towels/covers, for the very sick babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care of the Victoria General Hospital. If you would like to know more about this, please click here to go to my regular website and scroll down to Causes on the right side of the page.

I'm also working on some cloth grocery bags. Andrea that owns our local fabric store has done pot holders for about 2 years to put in with the Sidney Lions food hampers at Christmas, this year it'll be either those or a cloth grocery bag.

A friend of mine is going through some chemo treatments until Christmas (not nice timing for sure). She wasn't sure if her hair would fall out or not, the doctor said it doesn't always happen, but in this case it is. I found a great little pattern online for Chemo Caps, originally offered by Hancock Fabrics. Here is a page of free patterns, including the Hancock Fabrics one,  if you know someone who could benefit from a cap. I found the material at our local fabric shop, Fabric Traders, and it's like a thin version of polar fleece. Oh so warm and soft without the itch of wool....

I did this painted grocery bag a couple of months ago for a swap, it's a Helan Barrick design. I forgot to post this, but I've also posted a picture of my last grocery swap for the year here as well.

We painted grocery bags (those kind most stores are selling now, to replace the plastic bags), and this is what I painted for my Christmas swap partner. It's a design by Annie Lang. The whole design isn't there as it is done on an apron, but I think it's cute as is. Hope my partner likes it.... That's if for today. I am working like a crazy person on other things, stay tuned.

Sweet Pea

So this is the other doll we did in our workshops with Cyndi Mahlstadt. This one is done with a press mold for the head and using Apoxie Clay. I now know the difference between Apoxie Clay and Apoxie Sculpt.  You still mix both parts of the clay or sculpt together, but the clay hardens in a short period of time and is rock hard (I know because I heard a shriek and a clunk and the rolling sound, as one little head flew off someone's doll and rolled across the floor). The sculpt on the other hand is an air dry product.

Fortunately I was really good at taking my time to prepare the mold properly and didn't have any fix ups to do when the little head came out of the mold.  I did another head will sleeping eyes, and on that one, I pressed the cheeks together a little to make more of a laughing expression and I gave the nose a little bit of an upturn. Here is Sweet Pea. She has small wings as I just felt it suited her that way. Perhaps the next one will have big flashy ones, only time will tell.

Sweet Peas body is done the same way as the Garden Fairy, but not so many layers of padding. She is a wire armature and then draped with batting and cheesecloth for the clothing.  She's very tiny, only about 9" sitting, but so cute.