Angel Doll

This is my latest creation. She is a large doll, about 30 inches tall. I used muslin for the body, felt for the shoes, a fat quarter for the dress with scrap fabric for the dress facing, some scrap fabric for the underwear, sock weight yarn for the hair and shoe lacings, pigma pens for the facial expressions, 2 1/2 inch wide wired ribbon for the wings and a gold pipe cleaner/chenille stem for the halo.

The pattern can be found here:

http://judisdolls.com/specials.html

There are no instructions, so you must know something about sewing and doll construction. It is a free pattern.

Two Guys, A Roof and a Dog

Our roof has had a leak for awhile now. But we finally got all the supplies needed to repair it…shingles, plywood, roofing paper, nails, staples, sealant, and time.

Hubby and oldest got an early start, first ripping off the old shingles and tar paper. Then inspecting the plywood to see what needed replacing. While this was going on the dog was crying. The guys were outside WITHOUT her. She couldn’t stand it. Finally, I let her out for a bit. I got tired of the crying. Of course, that didn’t stop her from crying. They were up on the roof where she couldn’t get to them. She ran around the yard looking up every few minutes and crying. Poor baby!

During all this I was the gopher, getting them things they needed….staple guns, broom, caulking gun. Now the funny part to this was getting the items up to them. You see, I’m afraid of heights! There was no way I was climbing that ladder. So I threw them the items they needed. I am in no way a champion pitcher. Couldn’t hit a window with a brick unless I was standing 6 inches away from it. So it naturally took several tries before I actually got the items they needed up to the roof to them. And my guys know me all too well. They know my aim is “less than perfect”. So naturally they did not try to catch what I was throwing in their direction. Self preservation dictated that they stand as far back as possible and let the most recently needed item land where it may. Thankfully none of the items hit them. They did giggle and snicker quite a bit at my attempts. “Revenge” flickered across my mind more than once. But I’m sure I will have my payback day. hehehe

After all was said and done, the roof has new plywood and tar paper. The shingles will be put on today. I’m sure they will need more stuff tossed to them from this “world class pitcher”. We’ll see how it goes.

I Have Found a New Love….Needle Felting!

I am a fan of the magazine Soft Dolls & Animals. And I have noticed in several of them there are patterns for needle felted critters.

In the January 2007 issue was a pattern for a needle felted teddy bear attached to a pincushion. The pattern is complete with instructions for making the pincushion and needle felting the bear, in parts, then needle felting the bear to the pincushion.

I thought it would be a difficult and complicated thing to do, but I was surprised at how easy it was. It was a little tedious in that it takes a while to “punch” the bear into shape. But it is fun to see the critter grow and turn into something recognizable. One does have to remember, though, to keep ones fingers away from the pointed end of the felting needle. They are barbed and extremely SHARP.

The recommended fiber is wool roving as it will felt, just like that wool sweater you accidentally sent through the washing machine and is now 3 sizes too small. If you live in a northern state, you probably have access to wool roving locally. But I live in the deep south and it cannot be found here locally. I have to buy mine on line. The best place I have found is the Red Barn Farm. They have a store on eBay and they have their own website, if you are so inclined to visit. You can also buy felting needles from them.

Anyway, here is a pic of the pincushion that I made.

Dragon…Maned Bookwyrm

I bought this wonderful pattern of a small dragon, designed by Jennifer Carson. The only thing I changed was to add wings to him.

The pattern calls for needle felting which I had never done before. But I must say it was much easier than I thought it would be. However, I was very careful as the felting needles are extremely sharp.

I have various colors of roving, including a natural colored roving. I took part of it and dyed it with Turmeric, using a few spoonfuls of Turmeric, about 1/2 cup of vinegar and extremely hot water. I got a nice golden yellow on the roving.

This little guy is about 9 inches long, just big enough to use for a pincushion, or anything else one may want.

Finished another one and named them both. The dotted one is Professor Puddy Foot and this new one is Dr. Septimus Baker.