Afghan, and Doll Skirt Finished

Okay, it's been a week and do I have a treat for you! Well, maybe the treat is more for me, but I think you'll like it, maybe not as much. Sooo, I finished my Victorian Ruffled Afghan! Woohoo! And here's a little story.

I didn't want to complete the entire 4" ruffle around the squares because I thought it would take away from the look I wanted. I wanted a smaller ruffle, just an added softness. So here is a photo of that.

Now ON TO SEWING! This blog entry is really about ruffles and gathers. The afghan had them and now my doll's clothes has them - all over the place! All right, let me interject something here...

So, I'm broke. I'm always broke. Even when I have money, I'm broke. I don't like spending money frivolously. This isn't a bad thing - I've come to realize. It really pushes me to be more creative. I wouldn't classify myself as a lazy person; I'm efficient. My point to this interjection is that if I can get a ruffle for my dress without spending the time it takes to run to the store, match up the fabrics, pay the money and then come home again, I will. I creatively made this ruffle for my doll dress!

First, I sewed 3" wide strips of fabric that equalled the length of two yards. I finished the raw edge of the maroon fabric with my serger, but this can be done with the zigzag stitch and look quite decorative. A cording foot could also be used to finish the edge in a cute fashion. I used crochet thread in my lower looper to achieve the look in the following photo. Then I ran the fabric through my ruffler foot.

Here's a video on how to make a ruffle using the ruffler foot. (I know how everyone likes videos and my last one went over quite nicely! Thanks for watching. Hopefully is was entertaining at the very least. I'll also add the Ruffler Foot video to the "videos" tab.) I purchased my foot from the local fabric store - it wasn't a special order and if you have a 40% off coupon, use it!) I feel a tad awkward making a video but I hope you can follow it with ease. I am not a ham. :)



After I made the ruffle, I added some vintage lace. Even though the light blue color doesn't match exactly, I liked the look it gave to the skirt. I strategically pinned the ruffle and the lace to the skirt fabric so I could sew them both on at the same time. Remember, I'm efficient! :D

I carefully sewed the lace onto the skirt. I went as slow as I needed to in order to get a nice straight stitch.

This was a new method for me to gather my doll's skirt waist. I used a very long strand of crochet thread and zigzagged over it using invisible thread/nylon thread.

After I finished with the gathering cord, I firmly held the tails and eased the fabric into the gathers that I wanted. I used a doll making needle to pull the threads to the front of the doll. I plan on adding beads to the stands and tying it in a bow. I think it will look cute!

Some of you know that I've taken a little over a month to go through some rooms in my home to clean out the clutter. Well, today is the day for the Lupus Foundation to pick it up! Here's the first shipment. Among the lot is a nice vintage Christmas tree. I thought it was perfect timing and someone could have a new tree this year. It's quite nice, but I'm downsizing, cleaning out clutter and creating an easy way of life for me and my husband. Last year, I bought a short Christmas tree that sits on a table. Hopefully, I can find a table the right size to set up in front of our living room window.

Back to the doll for a quick second. I'm not too pleased with the lace I have for the doll's apron, but I might make it work. I don't know yet. I'd like to make a pair of pants soon and I might pick up some lace that I like more when I make a trip to the fabric shop. I crocheted a winter cap and I have to make a flower for it yet too. Photos of that will come soon. I wanted to finish it first. My Sweetie liked my cap so much that he requested one for Christmas! That made me feel good!

It's time for me to close. I'm going to begin my day. I've spent more time here than I intended - how efficient is that?? :P

See you next week!

No Bunny!

I know that I have mentioned a couple of times that I want to get a stuffed bunny going, but my heart wasn't into it when I started it this weekend. I folded my cut pattern pieces and put them in a large plastic envelop to store it until I want to begin the bunny again.

So if my heart wasn't into the bunny, what was my heart into? A doll. But not just any doll - a cloth doll. But not just any cloth doll, not like the Sophie doll I started a year ago. The doll project I started this week is an Art Cloth Doll! My goal is to see how elaborate I can make the details. I want fine detail - makeup, jewelry, painted nails and beautiful lace trimmings! Okay, this all a goal - something for me to work towards. I think I've found my niche.

I've wanted to make an art cloth doll for over a year. I used to rent the books from the library often and just drool over the work people have put into making these! They are so cool! I've started storing the littlest scraps of neat and unusual fabrics and beads so I could decorate nicely when the time came. The time is almost here. I'm in the process of constructing the doll body. I don't have a name for her yet, but I will share it when it solidifies. Here she is in pieces.

There is quite a bit of hand sewing. I am learning to enjoy it. More detail work!

To make the elbow, you draw a thread from seam to opposite seam tightly to squish the elbow and then wrap your thread around it a few times. The floral fabric shown here is her bodice.

Her fingers have been stuffed and defined by the stitching between them. I did one of her hands by hand sewing and the other by machine. The machine worked hand turned out better. The stitching was tighter which created a fuller finger form. :) These little fingers will be painted as a finishing touch. :D

I'm using Cloth Doll Artistry to learn how to make my own art doll. If this doll is enjoyable enough for me, I just may become a "doll maker" in my spare time! :) I've asked my ma to set up another sew day with me. She's working on kitchen curtains - country house style. Hopefully I will get to work on the doll a little more this week! If not, I will make time this weekend for sure!

Until next week...

Little Wallets

All right! My mom accepted the sew day invite and we stitched to our hearts content! We made Little Wallets by Valori Wells Designs. It was so much fun to put these little cuties together.

The directions on the card said to trace the patterns to make templates, so that's what I did. I used card stock for the template material.

The card stock makes a nice firm edge to trace around. We needed 2 of each pattern template.

My mom chose a beautiful holiday fabric, while I chose a pretty rose patterned fabric.

Here is an image of the layout before we sew it all together. We were instructed to sew the pockets and then turn and press them to get a nice edge in the wallet.

This is the Little Wallet after everything is sewn together!

My mom had decided to use a decorative stitch so I wanted to also. Her stitch mimicked the pine tree bristle really well. I used the same principle in choosing my decorative stitch. I used a rounded leaf.

I'm not quite sure what I will sew up next, but I do have my bunny pattern cut out for a stuffed bunny. Time has been holding me back on that project. I'm still trying to go through stuff in the house to donate it. November 30th will come up quickly now, so I want to focus on getting that done. I'm hoping to make a good dent at the very least. :) Maybe I can make time for a small sewing project. :D

Until next week...

Crochet Ruffled Gingham

Okay! It's been 1 week since I last posted. This planner thing is keeping me going strong. I must be a planner - 'cept when it comes to fitness and food!! LOL

I have been sewing, but not with woven or knitted fabrics. I pulled out my crocheted Afghan squares that took me two winters to complete (150 squares total). Last year I was hung up on the "whip stitch" that I was supposed to use to connect the squares, but this is what I finally decided to do, if you can make it out from the photograph. The blanket is not for a competition, so I did what would work best for me. :)

Here's the Afghan spread out over our sofa, so you can see that it's not too large. It's not completed as you can see - still need to sew the rows together and make the ruffle border. I think the directions said the finished size was 40" X 60". I'm sure the kitty will take it over unless I keep it in our bedroom. I loved the colors of the Afghan in the book, so that's why I went with this pallet, but I don't decorate in these colors. It's just going to be random throw that I love. It's a really soft yarn. :)

I haven't been feeling the best. This is day 3 with a sore throat, but it hasn't gone to my head or chest. It's just lingering. I do plan on drinking herbal tea several times today and hopefully a walk. I have energy for it. YAY! I've invited my ma over for a sew day - we have purchased fabric to make cute little card wallets. We picked up the pattern from Bear Patch Quilting in White Bear Lake, MN. I haven't heard back from her, but I invited her to come over on Friday. That means I'll have another project to post next week! I have a gorgeous rose patterned fabric that I'm so excited to use!

Okay, I better scoot off to get my walk in.

Until next week...

Update of the Previous Post

★★★ Okay, I had to post this! I finished sewing the last two columns on. Now, ON TO THE BORDER!!! Laura suggested I take a shade of brown in. :) I am leaning towards that color myself.

★★★ Toodles.

Quilting the "Winning Hand"

★★★ This past week I've been stitching away at my king size quilt. I am not even half-way done at this point-the point where I've left off. If you remember, I had to sew on these annoying little triangles before I could sew the lattice to the block. Here are the finished blocks with all of their yellow triangles. I wanted to lay out all the blocks so I could see my most crappy sewing and then hide it (by rearranging square layout) as best that I could.

Well after 100 triangles or so, it was time for the lattice strips. At this point, I'm beginning to see how it will come together nicely.

And this last photo is where I've left off. Argh! I have two more columns to sew together before I can begin my border. I'm starting to love it, love it, love it. It looks fancier than I intended.

I watched Sewing With Nancy today and I had an idea to pintuck my first border. To do this, I'll need a piece of border fabric twice as long as the original length. I haven't decided for sure. It's taken me 15 years to get around to this and I might just want to get it done--no more fussing! I have to buy a border fabric and I'm not sure what color to choose. I have a small pallet to choose from: yellow, white, green, and brown. I'm tired of green, but a light shade of brown might look nice. Our carpeting has brown flecks in it. :) I'll have to finish the step I am on before I can make decisions. Any suggestions?

That's all for now.
Until next week...★★★