Valentine's Day for Helen

my girl Helen has fallen in love with little wooden dolls. she takes them everywhere, talks to them incessantly, and loves, loves, loves them. recently Clara has also become enraptured by these little beauties. Helen is not so wild about sharing these treasures.

so, as any overly doting mother would do, i headed over to our favorite wooden doll shop on Etsy. imagine my *horror* when i realized the shop is only carrying sewing patterns now!

i've gotten a jump start on Valentines' Day for my little lovies and have begun painting them myself. i was very nervous about it(didn't want *wonky* dolls), but i think these are pretty darned cute!...here's a peek at what my girls will be be getting from me this Valentine's Day...

CPSIA Celebrity Basket Trio

yesterday i was given the opportunity to submit items to be reviewed for inclusion into celebrity gift baskets. exciting! these baskets will be filled with handmade items from tiny businesses like mine. each basket will include a letter explaining that the items inside will no longer be available once the CPSIA takes effect on February 10, 2009. it is hoped that the women gifted will take up the cause and speak on behalf of small businesses!

i spent the day yesterday (and most of the night!) drafting a new pattern specifically for this event. "Nat" had been rolling around in my brain for quite sometime, and this prompted me to get him/her done!!

these are the dolls i submitted for review. i'll show you pictures of "original Nat" soon...my light failed (danged winter light!), and i had to photograph these first. poor Nat got left in the dark...literally!

tell me what you think!!

her own sense of style

my girl Helen...she knows what she likes!
(note the blue jeans peeking out)

Dresses for Ms. Monkey

there is a delightful woman whom i have known for what seems like forever. she's the kind of woman who won't ask much, but for whom you'd do absolutely anything...and without words, it's unspoken that this road of friendship freely travels both ways.

she's also the kind of woman who happily traded her given name for the moniker "Monkey". well, Monkey and i have a mutual friend who's stunningly beautiful children are in desperate need of dresses as Christmas gifts (from Monkey, of course).

when Monkey asked, i happily obliged. these babies are headed to Australia!

i wonder if koalas and monkeys get along......

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
love, Mario, Luigi, and the fairies

Christmas Clothes for Big Sister/Little Brother

a family friend asked me to make a matching set of Christmas clothes for his 5 year old "girly" niece and his 2 year old nephew. it was a fun project for me...and i think i may have found the fabric for my girls' Christmas dresses, too!

the dress is a classic a-line trimmed in wine piping with fantastic buttons that appear to change color in the light. the spray of roses on a deep green background is perfect for Christmas Eve, but it's not so overtly holiday that a girly-girl wouldn't wear it again. the dress is reversible and features a mod floral print on the other side. of course, the piping shows from either direction, and i used the same cool buttons on the inside. the dress is designed so that she can wear it for a LONG time. it will be a dress for a year or more, and then...voila! a tunic top for at least the next two years. i LOVE this design!

for the nephew, i chose to make a super-comfy pair of pants in a coordinating-with-sister green print. the cuffs are the best part, i think. they sing in a wine stripe that is reminisent of a candy cane...or maybe a barber pole...either way it's classic, not cliche. to top off his little number, i made a tie from the same fabric as the pant cuffs.

oh! i hope they send photos of the kiddos in their outfits! i imagine them to be just precious!!

Pastor Deb's Stole

i'm not sure i'm happy with this...but then, i rarely am. i plan to send it to her with a note that offers more thread work or bead work. since the very first stole i made was such a knockout...all the rest pale in comparison.

i'm trying to be kind to myself...it is a lovely stole, and it's exactly what Pastor Deb and i discussed...so, i should be thrilled, right?