Mackenzie-childs in Miniature- Take Two!

After a long delay, I finally got the matching chair done for this set. Turned out pretty nice I think. So it's off to the next project, and you get to view what I just finished. Enjoy…

It's that time of year, again!

     The christmas stuff is already out in the stores, and Halloween isn't even here yet. lol.
So I decided it was time to work on christmas stuff. I'm doing "To Many Men", this year.  As in snowmen. I get the feeling we will have lots of snow and I really am not looking forward to that.
The low pressure systems coming through make my joints hurt and swell. When does the "growing old gracefully" start? I must have been behind the door when that was handed out. lol.
  Well, here is the first of many things to come. My christmas wreath is finished. Done in a style in keeping with the too many men theme. Sparkling accents with the green and white colors, and just a touch of deep berry, to add interest. I hope you like it.

 

Rushing Toward Winter

Just seems like now, winter is almost upon us, and it's really cold out there. I still need to finish cleaning up outside, and hopefully this next week it will warm up enough to do just that.
Seems like yesterday it was spring, and then finally it was summer {for about a month} then now it feels like winter.
  I am not ready for it yet, but I guess that really doesn't matter.
  I still have a chair to match this sofa to finish, and lots of other sewing. So I guess I will retreat to the sewing room and ignore the winter winds. I will try not to be so long in posting, but the canning got the better of me this spring/summer. I just finished 26 pints of red corn. I still have to clean out the fridge.
Will it never end? lol.
Later!

Mackenzie-childs in Miniature

Sometimes you see something and think "wouldn't that be cute made up for my doll.?" {Will I do anyway, and there is no harm in my playing with my dolls. It's relaxing!}
  So I was on this web site and saw some beautiful sofa's and chairs and stools. I had to make something up for my 22" ball jointed doll. Nothing like a little creative designing to get one up and moving. You can take a look at their web site and compare with my sofa and stool. I still have the chair to make up yet. So what do you think? It's not  perfect, but then neither am I.

 And here is the doll relaxing…

I love the designs and creative look, and there is even a mini dollhouse done up in the Mackenzie-childs look. So cute…..

Is it nesting?

Or something else? I have been moving my sewing/craft room around, and around and around. Trying to find the perfect way for it to fit into the space I have. Half of the room is the computer/ printer etc., along with a large craft box holding all my scrapbooking supplies {and a bit more. lol}
  The other half is the sewing side. Two sewing machine {that are set up, two more under the table}, a serger, and a large embroidery machine. Of course there are all the "things" that go along with each side. Needless to say, both sides are full. And overflowing.
  I don't seem to remember having this problem when I was younger, maybe that was because I couldn't afford all the "toys". The boys have their toys and we have ours. Now to just make it fit. lol.
The front addition has all my miniatures, dollhouses {yet to be made} and little building equipment, like a saw etc. More supplies for completed houses like furniture etc, then I will ever use.
  Filing cabinets full of patterns etc. So how do you make it fit?  I want to make things accessible but not take up all the room. My cutting table is in the kitchen. It's the only place I can open it up to use it right now. The hall is lined with cabinets full of dolls, and the books spill out everywhere including the bookcases.
  I am forever changing things around hoping this time it will all fit and I feel like I can live with it.
My biggest worry is that I will never find "just the right way" to put it all away, so I can get at it.
  How do you deal with "nesting"?

What really is "Sewing"?

Lately I have noticed the lack of 40's common abilities. By that I mean like baking bread, knitting, sewing to make/complete a dress, or item for use in the house {curtains,tablecloths, quilts} It seems like
all this next generation can do is stare at a small rectangular box, and build muscles in the thumbs.
  When did we lose all our common sense, and knowledge that could provide the day to day supplies to survive. They don't teach much of that in school anymore. We use to learn how to cook, sew, set a table, shop, manage a household, as well as learn a skill in order to provide for a family, if need be.
  Sadly, now-a-days you don't see that much interest  And then when they are, because you made it, they think if it's not imported , it's not worth as much. So there again, what is going on  is effecting day-to-day life. On top of that, far to many are so in debt to credit cards, house payments, car payments, and payments for "toys", that should something happen, they would have nothing . Major loss on a giant scale.
  Even worse is the loss of creative minds. People that can come up with something out of the blue, and figure out how to design and put it together. Kids just want to tex one another and play games.
  I would go back to that gentler time where no-one usually heard the word stress, much less dealt with it, on a daily bases.Not quite horse and buggy, but not quite to the moon. That wonderful time when I was a child and you could have fun  playing in the warm rain and the water running along the cub.
  Something so simple and innocent with a child's wonder and joy. Remember kick the can, hide and seek, Rover come over? When was the last time you sat in a swing, dangled your feet and pushed off to see how high you could go? Or spent an hour in a hammock watching the clouds form shapes?
Whatever has become of the joy of using one's own brain?

Sewing Machine cover

I have been wanting to get a cover made for my new black Singer for some time.
At last I got it done, and it turned out really nice, even had some matching colors.

{the walls are a kiwi green} Still have to make a cover for the serger, but I am getting there.

Mackinsey-Childs style chairs

I wanted to redo the chair seats on these two doll chairs for some time.
Then I stumbled across the Mackinsey-childs web site. I had gotten they catalog
and love the style that they did. So…. here are the two chairs in that style

Very different for me to create, but they turned out really nice.

Then I wanted to recreate a stool I saw there. So here it is and I call it a "Tuffet".

These are for my larger dolls, they are not miniature .
Too cute!

My Little Witchy-poo

This is her little suitcase to care her overnight things, for when flying isn't a good thing. It's made out of a Nut pod, and there is a zipper across the orange top edge. She is quite the little dress up cutie.

I like these little dolls and have a number of them I made a few years back. I decided to make up one for myself as a Halloween decoration. Here is how she turned out.

The Flannel Quilt

My first and only quilt made entirely of flannel is done. I had to add prairie points and that has taken me awhile. I found a new way of doing them that added piping around the binding, and it really turned out nice. So take a look and see what you think. I still have the pillow shams and window valences to do yet, but the quilt is so nice I may make another flannel one some time in the future when I find the right kind of flannel.
  This has been quilted with pumpkins and vine leaves.

I don't know if you can see the quilting or not, but there are pumpkins and leaves.

And these are my quilt weights. Like paper weights, but they keep the quilt in place instead. lol. Taffy and Mischief.

And it's Framed!

At long last the piece I did for my Dad is framed and I will be taking it over to him soon. These are Matin Marauders. My father was a bombardier in WW11. So I wanted to do something special for him and so this piece was created.I have never done anything like it before. It is 38" x 45" and done entirely of fabric. The frame is perfect as it looks like rivets around the outside edge. A one of a kind. Called
"Racing a tailwind"

The Cat's Meow

I finished another quilt top, and this one is so colorful and playful with it's cat theme, you just have to smile. It will go to my machine quilter next month, when I pick up my flannel quilt, valences, and pillow shams.
  I'm not to sure what I will be doing next, but the Glacier star I'm not ready for. lol. More than likely it will be another of the little quilts for the monthly swap. A spooky theme this time. And I know what I want to do.
So enjoy the quilt, it is the Cat's Meow!

A Myth Maker

I have been wanting to make one ever sense I finished my secret keeper.
So here he is. He brought along his pet frog.

And together don't they look like quite a couple?

Little blue gown

Here is Cosette in her new little blue party gown. She said lots of lace please, and that's just what she got. It's only wrong if the person making it thinks it is. lol.
   After all creating these things is for the fun of it, and to enjoy. When someone tries to take the joy out of what your doing, it's usually to make them feel superior to you, and not because you did anything wrong. I miss the good old days when people were taught to think before they opened their mouths, and then if you couldn't say anything nice… you just didn't say anything at all.
Whatever happened to manners ?

  Well, Cosette doesn't care if you think her lace is to big for her… she likes it. lol.
And her pet donkey thinks she might have a carrot in her pocket  just for her.
We're still thinking up a name for the donkey.

And I found a little pincushion that makes a perfect armchair for her.

She is making herself right to home, and now I know why I bought these things a long time ago.

This little chest I have had for many years. One of the few things that survived the moves and all the other things that happen in ones life. It had dried out pretty badly and didn't look very good, but a good dose of Glo and some sanding and it looks as good as new. It's the perfect size for little Cosette.
  Funny what we manage to hang onto, and in my case I am lucky to have much left at all. Every little thing brings back memories of one time or another, as if it was yesterday. So much was lost or stolen.

Rosebuds for Cosette

I want6ed to make up something for this tiny little doll by Hellen Kish. Cosette, reminds me of a fairytale entitled Thumblina. All about a tiny little girl no bigger than your thumb, and all her misadventures. So making these rosebud furniture pieces were perfect for her. She still needs a bed,
 but that's next. At least she has her nighty and housecoat of pink chiffon.
PLay clothes and a party dress is coming up next as well.
I love little things.She will make a good travel doll.

And lets not forget her pet rabbit, Snowflake.

The Rosebud chair

And her bed time fairy bower….

Something old

Well it went like this…..
Something old….. many of the techniques  I used are very old.
 Something new…… most of the fabric is new
Something borrowed    … your lace which is coming back to you on the quilt.
Something blue….. blue satin ribbon and blue fabric



I found the fabric and went a little nuts. lol…. But when I get an idea I usually follow it through, no matter what.

 I don't know if you can see it better here or not but the top is smocked

 Eyelet and ecru pieces were laid down in crazy quilt fashion.

I quilted it with a random machine stitch, and added a twisting leaf design from my machine as well in green.
Then the heart shape, leaves, and last the flowers.
I added the embroidered saying, ribbons, lace etc on last, and
it was finished.
Oh I did the binding as well. lol.
Perhaps Kris can post some more pictures with close ups?

Finished my first knitted lace shawl.

This pattern is called "Skywalker", and after ripping out about 5 times in various places, I didn't know if I was going to finish or not.
But it's done, and on to the next project.

That was a lot of work. And I only had a tiny little ball of yarn left over at the end. I didn't know if I was going to make it or not.
I think it's caller perseverance.

Miniature French Nosegay

From the quilt swap, I can now post a picture of the quilt I made to send to my partner. I reduced the french nosegay pattern, and made up this little 12" x 12" quilt, with matching pillow.
  I loved this pattern and thought it would make up really cute. I think it did, don't you?

  

New big things

The Koi Quilt…. it's been awhile coming but at last I got it done, and then it went to the quilters to be machine quilter. We talked about what would look good on this one and came up with several ideas, one of them being lilly pads and for the corners sponge coral.
Then I left it in her hands. I brought it home a couple of days ago and finished the binding. I love this quilt!
  You can see why below.

Each of the bands have quilting, and the center {while it's hard to see} the fish look like they are jumping off the quilt as they are puffed up from the loft of the batting. They look like the real koi I have out in the pond.

It's bright and vibrant and I'm so glad I have a really good machine quilter to complement my work. Without her it wouldn't look the same, and I'd never get it finished, as I can't do hand quilting anymore. So what do you think?