The doll she is completed.

So this year I am attempting a completely handmade Christmas. But I assume that as time runs out to Christmas, "completely" will become somewhat or mostly ;)
This will be our first Christmas without Mum and that's pretty awful. I hope by making something handmade from the many patterns, fabric, laces, ribbons, yarn and what-not that came from Mum, that everyone will have something from Mum this christmas.

I made this doll for my niece. It started out as a UFO from a year ago. I had got this far, and then buried it in a box, and several bags of UFO's. I found all it's pieces while tidying up and organising my sewing room!

I think the most time consuming thing about making it was the stitching around the thumbs. Each time I went to stuff it, it split. I had to sew it a number of times. This fabric wasn't the best choice. It frayed easily. I also stuffed up the order of things. Then I wouldn't have ended up in this turning out mess!

But eventually she came good, but the nightmare of stitching on the head was, well, ahead...

I avoided that job for such a long time! and in the end I just went for it, and it really stitched up in no time..what was I so afraid of!?!

By Friday she was ready for the fun part! I used this boucle style yarn from a spotlight sale for her hair. First the fringe, I measured the length i wanted, then doubled it (it helps to wind it around and around a piece of stiff card) then i used some kitchen silicon paper strips wrapped around the yarn and used the sewing machine to sew right down the middle of the yarn. The paper holds the yarn flat but together and it stops the sewing machine eating the yarn. It also tears off really easily around the stitches. I left it on to pin place it, then ripped off the paper and hand stitched each piece of yarn to her head along the same line as the sewing machine stitch. Then you flip the back sections of yarn forward over the front section and no stitches can be seen.

We ended up getting this freezing cold rain shower Friday, that turned into a really cold night. What better to do than pull out Buffy the Vampire Slayer boxed set and stitch on the rest of the hair. You follow the same procedure as with the fringe, but down the centre of the head, a bit like a crazy mohawk. The Boucle yarn hides any stitches. Then I selected every second or  so strands of the yarn and stitched them further down the head about ear level (if she had ears) and stitched them down. This way, even when my niece decides to un-braid the hair, the doll head will still be covered and not mohawked! but some of her lovely long hair will still free.

So this is what she looked like finished. 

She's very cute, I'd quite like to keep her, awww but my niece will love her! If I were to make her again, (which I will have to as I had cut out 4 of these at once) I would alter the thumbs to make them easier to sew. Also the soles of her feet were too big for her leg parts, so they would need to be altered. I would also change the face or remove the darts in the chin area, to me they just look wrinkly. 

What every doll needs is clothing. So this week so far, I have stitched up a dress, some shorts, top, skirt, handbag, shoes undies and a head scarf!

Now I'm exhausted and she is being wrapped up for christmas! Yay! one down, 20 more to go!

Also some exciting packages came yesterday that made me almost squeal and be overly, overly excitable when saying thank you at the delivery man, as he handed them over.... I believe he now feels that I am a weirdo...but never-the-less, One package came from olivia in Germany as part of a Swap-bot.com swap of craft leftovers.
It was an envelope filled with, yarn, stickers, knitting needles, an ornament kit, tape, beads, a stamp, pieces of fabric and a lovely postcard.

The second package was an order I placed ages ago from Bendigo Woolen Mills. They've been super-busy with a huge sale on.
It's 100% cotton, it's 4 ply, (very very thin and a bit scary for me) as I am a beginner knitter. I bought it to knit up some stuff for Garry's cousin who is having a baby in march. It's so very cute and pretty colours too.

I had not knitted rib before last night, I was learning and making heaps of mistakes, so last nights attempt was very very poor! today I will have to pull it all back and start again. The great thing about it is that it is not wool, and so it is not so icky and fluffy and warm to knit in this hot muggy weather we've been having the past couple of days.
I was so excited I started knitting it straight away, despite having not finished heaps of other things - I know I know!!
The pattern came form mums knitting stash, I photocopied it to keep the original nice. It is from New Idea magazine, March 1976 just a few months before I was born!! I don't know if Mum ever knitted it...I hope so! I am making this first one striped, because I love little stripes. It also means I can use all the colours at once!
That's what I've been up to:)