Mending Lucy

Lucy is my daughter's doll. I made her when Emma was only 3 1/2 year old, and she has been very well loved. Sadly, she has become rather 'ill' of late, with her fabric running in places. Her hair has worn thin, no longer fluffy as in the picture to the left, which was taken when Lucy was 'born.' Her face, arms and legs are no longer pink, but a murky beige. She is a dingy, sad looking doll.

But is she ever loved. When I first gave Lucy to Emma, she was just another doll. There were others, and Lucy was forgotten more often than not. To help her bond, when we moved one time from the Maritimes to Ontario (a long, two day trip), we packed up all the other toys for the moving truck and Lucy was the only toy Emma had for the next fortnight. That was the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship, and Lucy has become a full-fledged member of our family. But she is in sad shape, and so I've begun mending her. This is Lucy's hand before and after; really, I should be ashamed that I let her get in such bad shape!

Emma's not too pleased at the ridges that my mattress stitch made. I wish I had my grandmother's mending skills. But Emma still gave Lucy a terrific hug when she was given her back!

Woodland Elf Hat

I found a cute pattern in a book I have out from the library: Bend-the-Rules Sewing. It's a woodland elf cap! For the material I used a green wool sweater I bought at my local thrift shop. I felted it in the washer/dryer, and then followed the relatively easy cutting and sewing instructions.

And finally, here is the finished project, modelled on Rowan's head. The hat was meant for Ben, but he's very particular about which hats he wears, so he just kept pulling it off.

Sewing bug

The sewing bug hit about the same time as my cold bug. I've been working on a summer dress for Emma. Here's the skirt pieces, ready to be pieced together, along with the finished bodice.

I finished it this morning. The problem with sewing, for me, is getting the correct size. Emma is tall but very, very thin. According to the pattern back, Emma is a size 3 chest size, and size 8 length. So, I cut out a size 7 and lengthened, as a compromise. It still ended up way too large through the chest. I had to tuck in 2 1/4 " in either side of the zipper, and it's still loose! For my next go, I think I'll try to make size 4 width, but size 8 length all-round (including the bodice).My sewing has inspired the kids. Emma made dresses for her paper dolls out of fabric scraps while I was sewing, and I gave Rowan a piece of material with a threaded needle secured to it. Here he is busy at work.And here is the finished project. Rowan wasn't sure what it was, but I think it's a ball.