Work in Progress

Just to show that I haven't been sitting around doing nothing - here's some evidence of hard work. I've been following along with Gail Wilson's Kate Greenaway on-line class. The dolls are done and are waiting for their clothing (to be made in the new year!). The hair line is a variation from the pattern - I started with Gail's guidelines, then modified it based on my impression of the artwork in a Kate Greenaway book I had borrowed from the library. These little dolls have been a lot of fun so far. I can wait to get them dressed and on display with my other Gail Wilson dolls.

Christmas Cactus

I have been busy working on a few dolls, but they aren't ready for pictures yet. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a picture of my Christmas cactus, which has been blooming, one blossom at a time, on my desk at work.

Ella the Elephant

This is Ella the Elephant. I made her using a pair of socks and a pattern from Q. D. Patooties. Lisa posted her pattern, which is free, here: http://www.twincubs.com/freepattern.html

This project went really fast! I used buttons from my button box for her eyes, and I had a piece of felt, the ribbon and stuffing on hand, too.

My husband isn't always all that interested in the things I make, but he actually took Ella with him to show her off to another member of our family. He wants me to make him a gray one. My daughter wants a baby blue one. My son wants a red one and a smaller orange one. My kids think we should have holiday elephants and use the socks that they sell for the different holiday seasons - can you imagine a candy-cane elephant? They can. I think they'll be lucky to get their own! Especially with my on-line class starting next weekend!

A lot to come

I am so excited. I have signed up for an online Gail Wilson class - my first on line class with Gail. We'll be making 2 dolls based on Kate Greenaway illustrations. The little girl in the blue dress on the left side of my blog is a Kate Greenaway drawing. I can't wait to learn more from Gail!

Last night, I finished something I want to share with you. I hope I can take a picture of it in the next day or so. It was something that I was able to make for less than $5 and took less than 2 hours - and the instructions were free. I found them while surfing through other blogs. I'll share the link when I post the picture. How's that for a teaser?

Peanut Butter

Today I finished making Peanut Butter. He began ad a kit from Edinburgh Imports. His pattern was by Pam Holton Designs. He's about 8" tall and is jointed with cotter pins and discs. He's sewn entirely by hand, and I finished him in a week - that's pretty quick for me!



His smile is a bit lop-sided. I think his tongue might be stuck to the roof of his mouth!

Early American Companion Doll

I am working on more little bear kits, and a mohair teddy bear, so I hope that I'll have some photos of new things to post soon. I thought I'd share something I worked on earlier this year.

This summer, I made the Early American Companion Doll - another Gail Wilson kit. I finally took her outside so I could get some good pictures of her. She's a wonderful little doll, and I am hoping to begin working on her outfit kit as soon as I finish the bear kits.

Bear Work in Progress

I'm a big fan of Gail Wilson Designs. I love making her kits. Several sales ago, I purchased all of the felt teddy bear kits, except that she only had instructions for their home, not the kit. I thought that I would make the home using Gail's instructions, but everything sat in a box under my bed for a long time. Then I saw what people were doing with the CD houses that Michael's has been carrying. I got to thinking that maybe that would work for my bears - at least temporarily. The house was painted with a primer, blue paint from my family room, off white paint from trim work somewhere in my house, and a dark brown from Gail. I then used acrylics to paint grass and flowers around the house.

Here's one side.


Here's the back. It is a little plain, but it is the back, after all.


Here is the other side. I printed brick paper from the web (http://www.printmini.com/printables/). Before gluing it to the chimney, I sprayed it with a matte sealer.

I made 5 little felt bears from the Gail Wilson bear kit. The first one I made was given to my daughter. Their arms and legs are rolls of felt. I still have to dress them, but here they are.

I made the table and chairs kit, and the high chair kit. The high chair was a surprise - when I stirred the paint, I realized it was purple! I love purple, but the photo of it didn't turn out so well.

This is the baby bear's bed. It has a mattress, pillow, pillowcase trimmed with lace, and a pieced quilt that is actually like a pillowcase for the mattress.


Here are the bears with their table and chairs on the first floor of the little house. I used left-over dollhouse flooring on the floors. I will put fabric or scrapbook paper on the back walls when all the furniture and accessories are done and I have a better idea of what will coordinate with everything.

This is a young bear in the little bed upstairs.

I have more kits to make and will post my progress here. Not all of it will fit in the house, so I will have to figure out how to make it all work.