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

Scripture Covers

Our Primary presidency has been encouraging all the kids to bring their scriptures to Primary each week. I've kind of been a slacker, and my kids didn't even have any scriptures. But I went to the thrift store today and got Zaylee and Thomas each a hardcover Book of Mormon that they can bring to church.

And of course, I can't get them each a Book of Mormon without making each of them a scripture cover to go with it!

I used this tutorial from delia creates. It was very easy to follow and the cases both turned out really cute. I think I like Zaylee's a little bit more, just because the fabric is so colorful and fun. Anyway, the kids are really excited to have their own scriptures and to have such fun scripture covers to carry them around in.

Of course, coming from the thrift store, the books have been written in. The kids don't mind though, I don't think they even noticed.

Linking to tatertots & jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

The Kids' Easter Outfits

Just a quick post to share the outfits I made for the kids to wear on Easter Sunday. I used Simplicity 2316, a skirt and jacket combo. Each of the girls got their own special little skirt and jacket, and I think they turned out so cute. Then I used the same jacket pattern to make a vest for Thomas. I just made it more angular in the front, instead of curved, and didn't add sleeves, and sewed on buttons instead of ribbons.

It was hard to get good pictures, the sun kept getting in the kids' eyes, leading to some funny facial expressions. But they were good sports about it.

I love Thomas' face in this one

Admiring our little cherry tree-to-be

Aahhh, so bright!

The kids were all pleased with their cute new clothes, and compliments abounded at church. It's so fun making clothes for the kids. :)

I made a podeagi

I love babywearing, especially with homemade carriers. I have a mei tai, a wrap, a sling, and now I can add podeagi to the list. I'm really excited about this one, because not only is a podeagi super easy to use, but come August when the baby is born, it will be nice to have a carrier that is very light and not bulky. The blanket portion, which is not weight bearing, is made of two layers of quilting fabric. The straps are made from some old curtains we weren't using. Since the straps are the weight bearing portion of the carrier, they needed to be made of sturdy fabric. The curtain I cut up is fairly heavy and sturdy, and also has a really pretty sheen to it that makes the podeagi extra special.

To make the podeagi, I sort of used the tutorial for Melanie's Podeagi Baby Carrier, though I used my own measurements to tailor fit my body and what I wanted. I used two different fabrics for the blanket. That way the podeagi is reversible. The blanket is about 22" wide x 29" long. The straps are a total of about 150" long and 2.5" wide. There is a layer of fleece padding in the straps along the blanket and extending out for several inches, to cover the shoulders. Much more comfortable.

Here are some action shots. Audrey absolutely loves being worn in a baby carrier. She gets so excited as I'm strapping her on. This is fun, but has a flip side - she always throws a fit when it's time to take off the carrier and put her down!

Linked to Tatertots & Jello.

Diaper Bag

I'm expecting a baby in August, and need a new diaper bag. Previously, I have used the black vinyl bags that came free from the hospital. Not very cute, but they did the job. This time I decided I was going to make my own so I could have something a bit more stylish.

I used this tutorial from crafty couple. Just a couple notes - She states to cut the side panels 6" x 13", but the rest of the bag is only 11 1/2" high. So the panels should actually be cut 6" x 11 1/2" to match the rest of the bag. Also, instead of using interfacing to stiffen up the exterior fabric, I just saved myself a step by using heavy home decor fabric. It worked great. Here's some pictures of my finished diaper bag.

Front outside of bag

A pocket on each side for stuff like bottles, sippy cups or keys.

Two pockets on the outside under the front flap, for stuff like my Kindle and wallet.

Very roomy on the inside, with pockets for stuff like lotion, ointment, cell phone, whatever.

I left the bag pretty plain, but it is easy to accessorize with decorative pins,
which makes it easy to change the decorations whenever the mood strikes.

I'm pretty pleased with how this bag turned out. It's always exciting to create something new and have it turn out just the way you want.