Dolly

First apologies for the mess the blog lay-out is in. I just don't seem to get hang of the new system and don't know when I have time to try to sort it out.

When adopting the adoptive parents are encourage to buy one toy for the child to have with him/her during the whole transition phase, moving from the foster home to the adoptive home with the child. Being me I made one. I chose to make a Waldorf style doll with our daughter's hair and eye colour. I believe that a toy made with love and thinking of the recipient carries a different energy from a toy purchased from a shop.

The doll is filled with sheep wool, in true Waldorf style. I used an excellent book "Making Waldorf Dolls" by Maricristin Sealy as my guide. The book has very "homemade" looks, as the illustrations are drawings. It is not a hip lay-out at all, but the contents are great. I have used several patterns from it and it is herewith declared as one of my treasured sewing bibles.

This is what Elf Daughter's Dolly gets up to:

 
Dolly is a free spirit!

More showing presents while we are sniffy, wobbly and throatachy

She has gone mad you might think....posting several posts a day after leaving the blog occasionally for a month. There is an explanation: Christmas has been spent having my two boys' faces in various shades of gray, sniffing, coughing and sneezing. Until this morning I did brilliantly - not a symptom in sight. Now I have a sore throat and very wobbly limbs. I have my hopes up that a day's rest will work wonders and that I am feeling all shiny and new tomorrow morning. Meanwhile I have been putting up my blog roll, although I must admit that in reality it is longer. These are however the blogs I visit most frequently. I might well add a few, as I notice that I have forgotten some "oh so important ones".
I even had a look at some other designs, but none took my fancy, using the blogger has its limitations, but it's free and free is good in my book.

Here is the apron I made for Elf husband, as he is the bread baker in our family.  Can you see the D-rings for the adjustable strap? They are actually two key rings, which I sent the husband to buy in town before Christmas without telling him what I intended to use them for.

I gave him the River Cottage handbook for Bread, which has been a hit. If you like to make real bread and maybe dream of building a little bread oven in your garden, this is your book. It is the best bread book either of us has ever read. In addition it is really pleasing to hold being "book sized" and hardcover with old fashioned texture to the cover. Should I now add that I like the scent of new books and shoes?

I have to tell you that we have aprons in our house, but I have abused them with bleach and paint and varnish and you name it...This time we keep the nice one(s) for cooking only. (I have the fabric ready to make a new apron for me too).

Book Review for Sewing People

I find the issue of crafty and sewing books quite tricky. While I generally LOVE books and I especially love a good craft/sewing book, I am not easily pleased. I mean I find most books of this kind inspirational one way or another, but not enough for wanting to own them. Often there are a couple of nice things and the rest don't appeal.  And then there is a category called TREASURES. I won't part with my treasures, I sleep next to them (ok, they are stacked on the floor, I do not snuggle with them). These two books belong to that category. You might already know them, but in case you have not heard of them, now is a good time to add them to your wish list.

Cal Patch's Desing-it-Yourself Clothes; Patternmaking Simplified is good both for beginners and more experienced sewers. It starts with how to take your own measurements and takes you through step-by-step how to create your own patterns for basic pieces.

When you have mastered them, you will also feel confident changing the patterns to make exactly what you wanted to have and it will fit. Or change some ready made patterns to be moreto your taste.

If you are more experienced there are several good tips and techniques to be learnt. (Well, there was and is plenty here for me at least).

The book is visually pleasing, with beautiful photos and nice lay-out.

Cal Patch used to design for Urban Outfitters and Free People before launching her own line of clothing. She has also taught pattern making and sewing for yonks and that shows in clear instructions. She knows how confusing it all can be for a beginner.

Lisa Lam's book "The Bag Making Bible" is just that, at least for me. She is the insanely creative and skillful girl who is behind the blog and internet shop called Uhandbag. She has written eight different patterns into this book, and all of them look good. What actually pleases me most in this book is that it has chapters on different parts of a bag and how to construct them. For example in the chapter on pockets

you can learn how to make a slip pocket, lined slip pocket, bellows pocket, elasticated top pocket and darted corner pocket.

There is also a whole chapter about closures (among other topics, this is truly a bible):

This means that you can dream up a bag and then have Lisa at hand explaining you how to sew the different bits. I need this kind of weekend bag, definitely.

I am looking for the fabric for mine, have not decided as yet whether I want it in canvas or in wax cloth.

The book is absolutely packed with good hints and tips and the pictures are eye candy too. I love bags and clothes, but have my own style and go through periods of intensely liking a colour or certain colours. Combine that with hate of shopping and wanting certain quality and finish in my clothing and bags with limited finances and you start to see why I like these books. That I also adore sewing and creating and get all giddy with it, is obviously a bonus.

Both books have the format in common; there are projects there, but in essence they give you tools to create whatever you fancy. And boy, they do it well!  These books won't be on my list, because I own them already, but I would love to hear if you have any treasures in your bookshelf.

A Homage to Tingatinga Painting and a Craft Book

The time flies and I keep promising to myself to update the blog. A great deal of the time is going into gardening and sometomes it feels as if my other life is suspended.  Now, at the moment I am still engaged in the BIG present making and cannot show any of that as the receiving person obviously should be the first to see. So I think I need to blog about some older projects.
The picture above hangs on my living room wall together with this one:

They are painted by Tanzanian Tingatinga artists Mbwana and Hassani from the Tingatinga artist co-operative in Dar es Salaam.  I get immense joy of seeing them daily and appreciate them more than words can tell.

Around the Easter we went visiting down South and my sister-in-law S took me to a QD store where they had wooden boxes for craft use for sale. These ones were £2 each!

 
I really wanted a couple of them to put little items in and hang in my living room. I have painted one of them and the second one is work in process. I chose the theme of those two Tingatinga paintings by making "polka dots" on black background and painting the insides with bright orange. Painting outlines of the figures is typical of Tingatinga, so I decided to paint the self edges with white to imitate this.

Craft books are a tricky topic. As I don't want to own more than what I use and find inspirational, I am quite picky. I find magazines often dissapointing and rather keep my money to invest in a good book. This book came with the mail today.

I ordered the Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy after reading about it in couple of other blogs. It looks really useful and is pretty to look at. Some of the entries are old favourites, but it does not hurt to have a reminder of them. Older children can also do many of the activities by themselves. The pictures and the layout are really yummy and clear at the same time.
 I like the fact that the book's point of departure is using natural or recycled materials with a few widely available and cheap bought ones. Here are a couple of pages from the book for you to admire.

Go and borrow it from the library to see whether you want to own it. I think it will be used here in the hut and also when I am supply teaching and lacking something to do.

Have a lovely weekend and tell me if you have come across any lovely and useful craft books lately.