A crafty recap

Boy, I have been lax about blogging, and I really don't know why. I've just had a reluctance to write my thoughts down. There have been so many moments worth remembering, both big (inauguration!) and small (Vivian spazzing out to "Twist & Shout" during her music class), that I almost don't know where to start. So instead of tackling anything deep or meaningful, I'll just post some pretty pictures.

It's still January, so I think it's still ok to post some photos of my Christmas crafty projects.

On the left is Gigi, the doll I made for Vivian. She's made of muslin, and stuffed with scrap cotton quilt batting. Her hair is a merino wool sock yarn, and her dress is made from some left-over quilt squares from the crazy 9-patch baby quilt I made last year. I love how she turned out, but Viv hasn't completely warmed to her yet (she's more into stuffed animals than dolls right now).

Next, we have my version of the popular Emmeline apron from Sew Liberated. I made this for my mom, and I love the fabric I used, a vintage cotton I bought on ebay (featuring a guitar player in a sombrero on a donkey).

If I were to make this again for me, I'd definitely increase the width of the bust. I wish the pattern had noted that it was not exactly one size fits all, as I have now seen many others having this same issue.

Another project I tackled this christmas was compiling a box of dress-up clothes for my 3-year-old great-niece (Richard's sister's granddaughter—the generations are screwy in his family). I had so much fun brainstorming items for this box.

I ended up making a red tutu, a lace dress and green sparkly robe. I also included a yellow feather boa (who doesn't love a feather boa?), a black Lone Ranger-style mask and tiara. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn wasn't able to come to our family Christmas in Kingsburg last weekend, so I didn't get to see her open the box, but I hope she really enjoys it.