Kate Greenaway Class Dolls

At last, I have finished my Kate Greenaway class dolls. Gail Wilson's online class was fantastic. I have made a lot of her doll kits, but this was my first class, and my first boy doll. I learned a lot during the class and know that I'll be able to use what I learned on future dolls.

Another very long project nearly finished today

I started crocheting these granny squares about 3 years ago, I think. While we were in North Carolina, I finally managed to crochet them all together. I've been adding the borders over the past week while watching television. I say it is "almost" finished because it still needs to be "blocked" - maybe that's something I can do next weekend.

More Elephants!

Not a great picture, but these elephants wanted to make their presence known! They were all started the week before Christmas. The red and blue ones were finished the day before we left for North Carolina for this kids, and the grey one was finished on New Year's Day for hubby. The red and grey socks were smaller socks that I found at the grocery store when I couldn't find the colors I wanted at other stores. The quality wasn't so good - more losely knitted and the grey just wouldn't stretch the way I wanted it to. Anyway, they are being enjoyed now and that's one more thing crossed off of my "to do" list!

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?