Broken flipper repair shop

I went prepared for a long day of waiting.. to get the cast off, for xrays, for specalists to check all was good to go...

 And then, quick as a flash (two hours) AH! The big girl can stretch her toes, scratch the itchy bits and WASH! I am here to tell you that after five weeks inside a cast that foot was ripe!

The making of a belly button (a tutorial)

I give all the dolls I make a belly button. Perhaps it is the midwife in me; a belly button makes it someone's baby - a remnant of the maternal link...

Belly buttons are scar tissue, an indentation (innie) or protrustion (outie), made where the umbilical cord broke away from the abdomen. The size and shape of a belly button has nothing to do with clamping, tying, cutting or not - it is what it is. It is not genetic and you can't blame the midwife.

To make a little button for your baby doll you will need a small piece of scrap body fabric a couple of inches long and less than an inch wide, sharp scissors and a needle and thread. You doll should be stuffed but preferably without its head yet on (Tho I have done it when the doll is complete, it can be a bit fiddlier tis all).

Along the long side, fold the fabric into thirds and begin whip stitching the sides so that it kind of makes a flat tube.

When you have stitched about an inch, roll (scroll) the tube so your stitches are on the inside and whip stitch the bottom to hold it in place.

Keep rolling and stitching til you get it the size and shape you want then snip off the excess fabric on a diagonal and carefull fold in the raw edges and neatly stitch in place.

Then try it on for size and pick your position.

To start with, secure your spot on the abdomen with a couple of stitches (I don't cut my threads between the making of and the placing on so it is pretty secure) and then secure the belly button by working around in ladder stitch three or four times.

First through the lower edge of the button

and then through the skin of the abdomen.

You can be sure that inquisitive fingers will pull at and play with the belly button so be sure it is on tight! To finish I like to pull it and make a bit of an indent. To do that I come up through the center of the button and then back down into the abdomen stuffing. Now depending on the length of your thread and your preference you can either come down and out somewhere in the groin or up through the neck hole - either way make sure you catch plenty of stuffing and then turn around and go back where you came out and back into the belly button.

Tie it off really securely, make three knots, and then bury your thread into the body somewhere before snipping off.

She doesn't look so cute headless, and armless but I tell you she has a VERY cute bottom!

Bit a bling for a broken limb

The big girl broke her foot.

The big girl's mother took two days to take her to the hospital.

The big girl's mother felt a bit bad.

The big girl's mother is seriously back in the good books!

Dancing on her pincushion

My friend 'Bloom of we bloom here has become quite famous on her own little pincushion; her clever creations are popping up all over the web in a pretty spiderweb of links... she is quite pleased and some time ago announce to me her delight, with the phrase "I'm dancing on my pincushion" ... I had an idea.

If she was to actually dance on her pincushion she would no doubt squash the poor little thing and probably in a serves you right kinda way poke herself in the toe with a pin.

The other thing you need to know about Margaret is that she is rather fond of those little wooden peg dolls, I am willing to bet that at any given moment there are at least 20 scattered or clustered around her living room and more lined up patiently waiting for painting or tweaking.

Being Jewish the Blooms do not celebrate Christmas which was fabulous for me because I could send her this as a kind of Happy New Year gifty.

She pirouettes to the twinkling tune of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the flowers which quite serendipitously happens to be one of her "favorite melodies of all time, ever"

Sometime I surprise even myself with my silliness; that tutu is quite simply the smallest I have ever made.

A silly story

When I was a youngish adult my parents went away somewhere for a bit and I went back home to look after the cats (and the house). Mum told me a story when they got back.

Dad was freting about the cats, were they ok? were they being fed? He announced that he would ring my sister, let's call her 'Lucy', to see if they were ok:

Mum said "Lucy? why would you call Lucy?"
Dad ~ "because she is looking after them!"
Mum ~ "No she is not"
Dad ~ "Oh! well, I'll call the other one then"

Hence forth I have been known as 'the other one'

I have had laryngitis for the past couple of days, my voice is barely an audible whisper (and unfortunately not at all husky and sexy). This evening I called my mum.

Me ~ "Hi Mum"
Mum ~ "Hello darling, what is wrong?"
Me ~ "I have laryngitis"
Mum ~ "Again?"
Me ~ "I've had it before?"
Mum ~ "Yes, I think so, a few months ago"
Me ~ "Oh? (feeling rather foolish to have forgotten such a thing), well then, yes"
Mum ~ "Are you at work?"
Me ~ "No, why would I be at work?"
Mum ~ "Well you were earlier"
Me ~ "Mum, it is me, the other one"

Did you know...

that when an Alpaca gives birth she is said to have unpacked?
It’s a fabulous play on words don't you agree? ~ horses foal, cows calve, sheep lamb and alpacas unpack!
A baby alpaca is called a cria.

I knitted this super cute Alpaca was from one of Linda's menagerie of animal patterns (her etsy shop)...Linda if you are listening how easy would it to be to knit up a cria?.. I think I fancy this girl 'unpacking'

ps.. I was very tempted to stick a few pins in her ~ she might make a handy pincushion? What? you don't know about my lucky pincushion swap? Come join in!

* Just because I thought it was interesting: Females are ready to mate two weeks after they unpack, the act of mating causes them to ovulate. The male seduces the female by orgling (singing). If the female is receptive she sits and allows him to mate.  If she’s not receptive she spits at him!
Two weeks after a female has mated they do a ‘spit-off’ – if she has conceived she will spit at him, if she hasn’t she’ll be ready to mate again and will sit.  Breeders call this a ‘sit or spit' ~ ha!what a great way to confirm a pregnancy.
Info from here.

Dammit doll...a tutorial

Probably about 15 years ago; anyway long before I had a personal computer or had even heard of the the world wide web, I made my mum a doll, a dammit doll. She was pretty funky with mad hair and a heart embroidered onto her bottom. I honestly don't know where I found the words that went with her ~ mum loved her and I am prety sure she used her more than a few times for her intended purpose.

I made another the other week to send to a friend ( I had to get mum to send me a picture of my original one so I could make a pattern). I took pictures along the way just in case someone else needed to vent a little frustration.

You will need some fabric, anything you fancy really, I used cotton calico both times. Umm threads, scissors, pins, stuffing, some kind of yarn for hair...think that is about it.

Download the pattern template from here.

Double your fabric over, right sides together and trace around the templates onto the fabric with a pencil or marker (you will need two arms so trace two sets).

Before cutting, machine sew, with a small straight stitch, on your trace lines ~ make sure you leave the top of the arms and where marked on the body, open for turning and later joining.

Cut out your pieces with a small seam allowance and turn them right way out. You might need to use a knitting needle or chopstick to smooth the inner seams.

Stuff the arms about two thirds up the length, pin the top ~ compare your arms to make sure they are even then baste across your pin line, set them aside.

Now stuff your body, poke your stuiffing down into the legs with that knitting needle or chopstick you used earlier. Fill up her tummy and head til you like the feel of her. Next, making sure you turn her arms so that her thumbs are facing in by her side, stuff the empty arm segment into her armpit and sew her arms to her body using a ladder or some other invisible stitch.

Next pin along her groin as is marked on the pattern and sew a running stitch through both front and back layers of fabric and the stuffing ~ it gives her a better shape. At this point she makes a rather funny voodoo pincushion...which reminds me I'm hosting a pincushion swap this month ~ want to join in the fun? have a look here.

Now, to embellish!
I am partial to the belly button, almost all my dolls get one. This is only a little doll so a neat little bullion belly button does nicely. First make a stitch as long as you think you need a belly button to be, but don't come all the way through the fabric. Wrap your thread around the needle 8-10 times then hold them taught and pull your needle and thread through the loops. Curl it round and secure it. (I am quite sure if you google bullion stitch you will get a far better explanation and probably even a step by step video!)

On to her face.
I drew very lightly with pencil to give myself something to work with.

Then back stitched a black outline and filled in with colour.

I gave her bottom a little tattoo ~ she was made with love.

Hair! I used a spun silk mess ~ see!

I managed to unknot it enough to get a dozen or so lengths to work with. I doubled the lengths and with a sharp needle and thread stitched her hair along the seam.

When her hair was all done I gave her to the wee girl for a few wacks against the table (needed to check durability) She whizzed her about so fast she is a mere blurr!

So I slowed her down for a final picture!

When you want to throw the phone
And kick the desk and shout.
Here's a littlt "Dammit Doll"
You cannot live without.
Just grasp it firmly by the legs
And find a place to slam it,
And as you whack the stuffing out
Yell DAMMIT, DAMMIT, DAMMIT.

And that pincushion swap is still open

Grammar Grafitti

Several times a day I go past this sign, it makes me cranky.

I saw the man 'planting' it in the ground. I said to him, said I "that's gramatically incorrect". He looked at my blankly, looked back at the sign and delared that it was not.
"Yes it is, it should read houses"
"no it shouldn't"
"but there are many houses, not just a house"
"but house five is this way" (he waved an arm in the general direction)
"yes but so are houses six through to 17"

He muttered something and went back to planting.

I began to doubt my grammar, I am a terrible speller so I could be wrong here too. I asked my mum, she knows about this kind of thing. Mum assured me I was right and he was a twit (I doubt very much that she used the word twit).

So....

It was a bit of a squeeze and VERY difficult to write with the silly little brush thing but I think I have made my point.

(Now, no picking up poor grammar in this post please!)

Where is the green sheep?

Well this one, and the accompaning story, is in California. Celebrating with a wee Bloom who has just made his first full lap of the sun.

I love *Mem Fox, well I don't actually know her but I love her books (most of them; there are a couple of dodgy ones...Night noises comes to mind). My wee girl enjoyed this book so much when she was about one...not talking but raising both her hands, palms up, and looking at me quizzically each time I asked the question "where is the green sheep". As she got older she would grab the book and turn the pages madly to find him - squealing with delight when she did.

 

Now that she is very nearly two the enthusiasm has not waned...she is learning colours and opposites, nouns and a bit of all round cuteness.

Happy birthday baby Bloom ...and to your mamma who loved you long before you were born. xx

If you fancy making a sheep, a rainbow of sheep or just a little white sheep visit Linda's etsy shop mamma4earth for this pattern... you might just find yourself buying a few extra patterns...alpaca, lion, goose, hedgehog....(I did) And if you can't knit, Linda will knit one for you!

*Mem Fox is probably Australia’s most highly regarded picture-book author. Her first book, Possum Magic, is the best selling children’s book ever in Australia, with sales of over three and a half million cpoies. Mem has written over thirty picture books for children and five non-fiction books for adults, including the best-selling Reading Magic, aimed at parents of very young children.I can highly recommend Reading Magic...my copy is missing, borrowed and not returned (they obviously thought highly of it too).

My baby is a cover girl

It is not what you think! I have not forced my wee child into a life of modelling. I have a friend, Tanya, who is a photographer and who over the past 18months or so has 'borrowed' my wee girl for some commercial shoots ~ there has been no payment other than a few clothes and a whole stack of modern cloth nappies and of course a stack of beautiful pictures.

It started with her tiny toes and cute bottom ~ here she is modelling for Agoo leg huggers

Then she got her face on the Agoo website

Then she did a bit for Eko Peko

And of course we scored big with a whole stack of nappies from Cushie Tushies

Anyway she is retired now ~ best to go out on a high don't you agree? I'm going to move over now and let her dance on my pincushion.

All pics by Tanya Love of Love Bytes photography