Lani's cool giveaway...

Lani's giving away spots in some of her classes over on her blog:
http://lanipuppetmaker.blogspot.com/2008/12/three-give-away-offers-from-me-to-you.html
I've done some of her Happiness/Art things are they're really cool.

Abundance Totem

I need to update more frequently! Sorry about that. Is there some easier process than the eight-million-steps that I need to do to get things from my camera to blogger?

Anyway. I made this Abundance totem several years ago now, when I discovered the Connecticut quarter. That's it, on her abdomen, that big, beautiful tree.

This is to remind me that Abundance comes in many forms.

And also, that every time I start a long bead embroidery project, by the end I swear I will never do another one.

They say it's my birthday/Good Dreams Angel

...and I'm getting a new CAMERA! So I will now be able to take pictures of my new stuff. But in the mean time, I thought I would start posting some of my older work that hasn't been blogged.

(I've been knitting a lot this winter, and haven't taken very good pictures, but I will eventually make an entire knitting post.)

So this doll is the first doll I made when I discovered that there were people selling doll patterns on the internet. When I was in high school I used to make dolls from the 1950s sewing books in the library, and corny patterns in Family Circle, but then I found that there were these awesome patterns online. I think this was probably in the mid-to-late 1990s? I discovered the mother-of-all interesting doll makers, elinor peace bailey.
This pattern is elinor's "Retro Guardian Angel". From the first doll I made starting then, I knew I wanted them to have a purpose, not be merely decorative or play-things, and this doll is my Angel of Good Dreams - she guards against nightmares. Her little bag is full of herbs for good dreams. I made her little slippers to go with her flannel sheep pajamas.

unfinished doll

This doll is in progress. It was meant to be a valentines doll, then I gave it green hair and decided it was a christmas doll, but now I'm thinking I might make it pink and go back to the original idea.

And it will get arms, which aren't there yet.
An original pattern by ME.

lellerphant bag

for the meedle seester's birthday, made from a felted sweater. Sorry for the dark photo.

Felted flower (a separate pin) directions from Betz White.
Purse directions here: dabbled.org

i'm alive! ALIVE! and here are some pictures.

Two presents from patterns from other blogs!
I like that little blog connection even if these people don't know me.

These were presents for my friend Megan
who I've known online for ages and ages and who I first wrote to because I was so in awe of her beadwork.

The gingerbread man pattern is from Elsie Marley. I painted the icing on with acrylic because I didn't have rickrack.
The thread holder pattern is from The Stitching Room. It's so adorable! I thought it would end up being smaller than it was, because said it was for holding the cut off ends of your threads when you're sewing, but it ends up being several inches across.

This one was an experiment in color for me. I wanted to use the gold fabric because it reminded me of something Megan would use, but it is *absolutely* not something I would normally use and I didn't know what to mix with it, so it was the perfect opportunity to use my 3-in-1 Color Tool. I'm really happy with the final color combination, which I NEVER would have come up with by myself!

Suddenly I saw it.

Every time I do a craft show, someone (or several someones) comes up to me and says "do you know that all of the dolls you make look like you?"
Sometimes I am offended if they are particularly ugly.
I never mean them to look like me.
This one, when it was done, I kept looking at its face and thinking, MAN, I am so sick of this face I keep drawing.
Then I held it up to the camera - it had to be my webcam because the other camera was broken - and there it was...
um.
I saw it.
Yikes.

Anyway, this doll, which you are seeing backwards in my webcam, says "Bon Appetit" and is my Aunt Beast's 2007 Christmas present in honor of her redecorated kitchen. I would have liked it to have crazy wooly hair but I'm housesitting and there is no crazy wooliness to be found unless I shave the dog.

Busy busy busy

There is a lot of crafting going on over here, but I can't really SHOW it yet! Here is an older doll, I think from last year, for your holiday blog enjoyment.

Ok, I really have to get back to work. Things happening today are all coming from Instructables, for The Boy, things like a bike seat cover for protecting it from the rain, and a Cholula Holster (that one is sort of a joke, but only sort of), and maybe boxers made out of Patriots fabric I found at a tag sale, and I don't know what-all else.

And I want to decorate! And make little houses out of old cards!