Waldorf - Inspired Doll Take 2

Taller but daintier than her older brother, and sewing-wise, this little girl is a vast improvement on my first attempt. She's a full 12 inches tall, made from a pattern I drafted. Her hair is 100% sport weight alpaca and is so soft! I had an easier time on the eyes this go-around too, but they're still not quite where I want them to be.

Making doll clothes without a real pattern tries my patience severely, so I kept it simple. Once I settle on a body pattern I'm 100% happy with, I'll officially draft more sophisticated clothing. I made her for a friend of a friend that is having a little girl in September. They have a bumblebee theme going and I just happened to have some bee fabric scraps leftover from the Loose Change Quilt I made a couple of years ago.

*I'm slowly making a doll army*

Sneak Peak

My First Waldorf - Inspired Doll

*What's up?*

I made this little guy for my son after coming across Waldorf dolls while I was searching for safe, non-toxic baby toys. 

(Side Note: My personal crazy is worrying about toxic toys and house cleaners. I have a theory that China is slowly trying to take over the West by giving our children toys with heavy metals. Again, this is just my own personal crazy, no need to comment.)

Ben likes him, he started waving at him when he was just a head. He likes to play with him, but the last time he did, he pulled out a few strands of the hair that I spent so much time carefully tacking down. So, the little guy is on the shelf for now. (I guess I'm one of those moms.)

The pattern I used for the body can be found here. Everything said and done, the doll is 11'' tall.

The t-shirt was made from this pattern.

The pants I made on my own, that pattern needs work.

This website has the best list of doll-making resources that I've seen out there.

*Goodbye!*

Toilet Paper Rolls and Hot Glue

I made this dahlia-esque wall decoration using this tutorial. I saved toilet paper rolls for a couple of months, cut them and my finger up with a rotary cutter,  and glued them all together. Volia! In one measly nap time, I actually accomplished something creative.

I hung it in my downstairs bathroom, fitting, no?

It could stand a coat of spray paint because up close its humble origins are evident. From a distance though, I think it could pass as some over-priced decor from Anthropologie.

If I Had a Million Dollars...

I would buy this farm.

Actually, I only need $ 595,000 plus closing costs. And some money to get alpacas and such. Anyone want to help a city girl realize her fiber farm dreams? I'll let you make a reality tv show out of it.

"Glee" in Real Life - My Kid's Summer Mix Tape

Kids' music is pretty terrible. I gave the Wiggles a shot one day and I didn't even make through one song. The lyrics were something like "Fruit salad, yummy yummy, fruit salad yummy!". Is that anyway to teach the beauty of the English language and the power of song?

Ben loves being sung to and we recently signed up for a music class. (Does a 7 month old need a formal music class? No. Does mom need to get out the house? Yes.) The research-based fancy-schmancy music class songs are definitely a cut above the Wiggles, and I can make it through the CD a couple of times, but there's only so much I can take.

With that being said and a summer road trip coming up, it's mix tape time. Here are my picks for a playlist that everyone can enjoy.



Paul Simon - Loves Me Like a Rock
The Beatles - Twist and Shout
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Home (does have the word "ass" in it once)
The Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Birds
The White Stripes - We're Going to be Friends
Dave Matthews Band - So Much to Say
Collective Soul - Shine
Bob Marley & the Wailers - Three Little Birds
Cab Calloway - Hi De Ho Man (Ben has loved this since he was 3 months old)
Feist - 1,2,3,4
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, be Happy

Please send me your suggestions!




Found this during my blog ramblings today. These kids look so happy, confident and engaged and their teacher seems really amazing. From what I can tell from watching their videos, these kids are 5th / 6th grade. Look how many boys there are! Look how they are all participating! If you search "PS22 chorus" on YouTube, you can see all of their great work covering pop songs.

Whimsy Tree

It is too hot to knit. Not even the siren song of my KSD cashmere sock yarn can entice me to pick up the sticks. I've been really inspired by all of the embroidery posted over at Feeling Stitchy, so I decided to do some of my own.

I sketched out the trunk and branches and did the leaves freehand. The fabric is some old velvet I've had in the stash forever.

It's by no means perfect, but I'm pretty pleased with my first embroidery effort in years. Perhaps there are some pillow cases or tea towels in my future.