Kokeshi pincushion

I lived in Japan for several years as a teenager. One of my favorite aspects of the culture is the cute little dolls and other trinkets that they make. Hachinohe horses, scroll dolls, washi boxes, and especially kokeshi dolls - I just love them! So my newest pincushion is a sweet crocheted kokeshi doll. Isn't she adorable?

 

I used this pattern from Ravelry, with a few changes. I added a few rows to the body, and didn't add sleeves. Also I made a little obi tie for the back.

Seed beads for the eyes, and some straight pins in the hair complete the doll. She's glued onto a simple empty thread spool. Eventually I might paint the spool a different color, but for now I like it just as it is.

Little Kokeshi is a bit dwarfed by Miss Dress Form. Eventually I want to have a whole row of pincushions of different heights, colors, and styles, all lined next to my sewing machine. And yes, they will probably all have names. Won't that be fun?

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

Iron Craft - Orange

The second Iron Craft Challenge of 2013 is Orange. This could be something that is the color orange, or something made with oranges. Not my favorite color, but as was pointed out on the challenge post, this is supposed to be a challenge. So I embraced it and dug through my fabric stash to find something orange.

I have had my eye on these dress form mannequin pin cushions from The DIY Dish for quite some time. I love dress forms, and I love pin cushions. I think that combining the two is just an adorable stroke of genius.

The butterfly fabric is a fat quarter I got from Wal-Mart a while back. My fabric stash is fairly limited when it comes to orange, so I'm glad I was able to find something this cute. I do wish that I had cut it so that the big butterfly in the front would be right side up, something I'll keep in mind if I make any more of these (and I probably will because it's so easy, cute, and fun).

The candlestick came from the thrift store. While I was there, I picked up a variety of different stand possibilities. I ended up choosing this glass candlestick because I thought it matched the big bead at the top of the dress form.

But how cute will these be for other pincushions in the future!

The flower is a small strip of rolled felt, with a pretty button from my stash.

Now that I've made this adorable pincushion, I find myself suddenly obsessed with pincushions! I have a couple already, a plain tomato and a patchwork square. But now I want to make more and more, because I think little Miss Dress Form looks lonely. She needs some friends. Like these! Or these! And one of these would be fun too. :)

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

Iron Craft Challenge - Cotton

Well, I'm working on jumping back into the saddle and posting on my blog again! I have joined Iron Craft at justcraftyenough, where a new crafting challenge is posted every two weeks. 2013's inaugural challenge theme is Cotton. So many possibilities, and I'm excited to see what my fellow Iron Crafters have come up with!

I eventually decided to take the crochet route. I crocheted this lacy little dress for my daughter's 18-inch doll.

It's kind of funny, I think I'm more interested in dressing this doll than my daughter is. She's more interested in bugs, spooky things, science, nature collections, and stuff like that. I say more power to her - I loved science stuff when I was younger too, and still do. But maybe someday she'll decide that playing dress-up with dolls is fun too.

So here I am, slowly adding pretty things to the limited wardrobe of this poor, unappreciated little doll. I should have cleaned her up a bit for the pictures - her hair is a mess and her face is covered in crayon. Makes me glad I never went out and spent big bucks on an authentic American Girls doll - this one is a cheaper version and it was a hand-me-down from a friend besides. :)

Close-up of front

Close-up of back

The dress is made from size 10 cotton thread. The dress pattern is found here. I found the pattern a bit difficult to read, the instructions aren't very clear in some places. That's okay, I wanted something that would challenge myself a bit. My dress ended up a little different than the original, especially in the back. But it's still a very sweet little dress.

Linking to Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap-Up Party