St Nick isn't Santa Claus.

When I was a little girl, St. Nicholas left me small gifts every December 6th. The tradition in our north side of Chicago Slovenian community (there are many ethnic variations on this tradition) was that the night of December 5th, every child in the house got to pick out a pan (I always picked the roaster because it was the biggest) and leave it on the kitchen table. That night, while you were sleeping, St. Nicholas would come in to the house and full your pan with small goodies. In the morning my pan would be filled with whole walnuts, really big and beautiful oranges and apples, a pomegranate, chocolates, and small treasures like coloring books and hair pretties. I loved it. It was so much fun to get gifts (even if they were small) so close to Christmas. Now that my little guys are old enough, I am starting this tradition with them this Monday.

I had been planning on giving the boys Waldorf doll superheros for Christmas...but then I had a thought. They get so many gifts from friends and family that my hand-made presents might get lost in the shuffle. Maybe it would be a better idea to let St. Nicholas bring them some little superhero guys, with matching boy sized capes and masks, avoiding the insanity that is the gift-giving season.

It breaks down like this: I have the first doll done (as I've posted about here) and the second doll is almost complete. I just need to crochet his hair. Sweater #1 is all knitted up and sweater #2 needs sleeves and is very close to completed. Now I just have to get through the sewing. For both dolls, I have little corduroys, masks and superhero capes left to make as well as big boy sized capes and masks. It seemed like a fun idea to make matching superhero gear for the kids and I found a really fun cape tutorial here. I think I'm going to invent my own pattern for the masks...I'll fill you in on that next week.

A pile of stuff I need to make!

So, it has been very busy here at chez Ooo! Shiny! this week. Holiday crafting is in full force. I also have the second little holiday sweater well underway. The back is all knitted up and I have about 50% of the front left to do. I'm feeling pretty good about getting it done before the celebrations start.

Bogie's sweater in progress.

 Whew, it will be so nice when it is all done!

–Cassandra

P.S. Some of you may be wanting to know more about St. Nicholas day. For those of you who aren't familiar with St. Nicholas, here is a quick history from Wikipedia. And here is a wonderful site about international traditions. Enjoy!

Cute as a button!

He's done! He's done! He has blond curly hair and blue eyes. I just love him!

I actually crocheted the dreaded little wig and it didn't kill me. For whatever reason I have an aversion to crochet. I knit like a fiend but a crochet hook gives me a shudder. I looked at the directions and a few youtube videos, trying to figure out what I was doing and it was no use. I ended up having to [humbly] ask a work acquaintance who crochets for some help. She started me off on the right foot and in no time I had a little blond wig all done. It was easy! I was so surprised that there wasn't a tutorial video specifically for this on youtube. I think I might have to make one and stick it out there at some point.

Embroidering the eyes and mouth was a cinch and I was so proud to be all finished. I conquered my shark! The hard part is over. I have to tell you, this little guy has a very nice weight and because of the lavender in the stuffing, smells awesome! The cotton knit supplied in the kit is so incredibly soft. This little guy is so cuddly.



Now on to the clothes! The kit came with some clothes patterns (mostly for girl dolls) that include simple elastic-waisted pants. I have some light tan baby corduroy in my fabric stash that will work nicely. For a top I think I'd like to knit a little striped sweater. I checked Ravelry for patterns and didn't see anything that tripped my trigger, so, I'm going to design my own. I've never done that before so I'm pretty excited to start on it! I also plan on making him a little superhero cape. Then, he will truly be finished...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cassandra

More Human Every Day

Happy monday everyone! My kitchen has piles of dishes, the floors need a sweep and there is a small mountain range of laundry developing on my closet floor... but I made nice progress on my Waldorf doll! It was one of those weekends where I felt more crafty than tidy. I made a deal with myself to clean a little every day this week in order to make up for neglecting all of my "shoulds". It was well worth it because I feel like I really took a bite out of the project.

What was nice about this phase of the project was all of the couch-time it provided me. Lots of hand-sewing and stuffing. I was able to get through quite a few episodes of "Celebrity Ghost Stories" and "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" that were on my DVR. And hey, before you judge me for watching trashy celebrity reality TV, ask yourself how you could resist hearing Dick Van Patten or Christopher Knight (Peter Brady) tell their own real-life paranormal experiences. I mean really, I'm only human here!

Okay, back on track. So, I stretched the knit flesh-tone fabric over the head form and sewed it up the back of the head. It's not the most beautiful sewing I've ever done, but it is nice and tight and the seam will be covered up by the wig later.



From the picture in the directions, it seems like the head fabric was supposed to cover the entire 2nd ball of muslin. The fabric from the kit wasn't big enough to stretch over that part on mine. I'm sure the kit supplied contained the right amount of fabric and this was just "user error" on my part. So, I whip-stitched the bottom of the knit to the muslin to hold it tight.

Then I moved on to sewing the seams on the arms and legs:



I used a very open zigzag stitch (as recommended in the pattern) and double-stitched in areas that would have more stress on them. I then had these 3 components:



From here I proceeded to stuff the arms and the legs. I got really excited because it was starting to look like something, finally! And the cotton knit fabric felt so soft. I'm going to love this doll, I just know it. A while ago I head read on a blog that I love, Clean, that Rachel used some lavender in the body stuffing to make the doll smell good. I loved that idea so I took some bulk lavender and made a sachet to place in the center of the trunk of the body. I just took a piece of scrap fabric and sewed up a quick little pouch that would fit nicely in there.



The last part I was able to accomplish this weekend was to sew the arms to the head-shoulder area. Again, it is not my prettiest sewing, but I reinforced it 3 or 4 times and made sure it was durable. This area will be covered up by the body fabric so it's really not that big of a deal. I'm very concerned with this little guy being sturdy. I mean really, this is for a rough little boy who is more likely to play "construction site" or "superhero" with it than something gentle.



This Frankenstein creature is really creeping my husband out. I need to get this thing put together so that he can see how cute it really is. Talk to you soon!

Cassandra

Heads will roll!

I opened the bag. I ripped it in half on purpose… there would be no turning back. And then I realized that there was far less to be frightened of in the big bag than I thought. It was 90% wool roving, 10% other supplies. I can do this!

With my newfound swagger, I dove into step 1. The head form. In Waldorf Doll making, the head form is made from a loosely woven muslin tube, stuffed with wool roving.

Getting this just right was one of the things that kept me away from the doll kit. I thought that I would fumble with the tying and my stuffing would be lumpy. What reinforced my belief that this step would be difficult was the fact that the company I bought the kit from sells the head forms already made. But you know what? It was fine. I read the directions carefully and just went step by step. They were awesome. The illustrations were very helpful too. And it didn’t hurt that I had watched the dollmaking video all the way through before I even started. I think that helped a lot in keeping me from getting confused on the steps.

And then, voila! Little Finn has a head! Well, the start of one anyway. And, if can I toot my own horn, it looks a heck of a lot like the picture in the directions. Go me! Once I got into the directions of the kit I bought I was pleased to find out that this kit supplies dental floss to use for shaping the head. In the video tutorial I watched, the head was shaped with dollmaker’s string that had been soaked in water. The wet string didn’t look too difficult but the dental floss was really easy to work with and pulled tight in a snap. I was a bit concerned about it’s longevity, but I assume that the good people who assembled the kit know whereof they speak.

The directions for this doll did not include making a nose. Some Waldorf Dolls have noses, some don’t. I really wanted to do a nose so I used the instructions on this page and it was a cinch. I am a bit concerned that I made it a little too small. But, I’m sure it will be fine. The idea is really just the “impression” of a nose anyway.

So, this is where I am, the next step is to stretch the knit fabric tightly over the head and secure. I will write about that and more on my next post! Talk to you soon!

Cassandra

My Shark

Remember in Jaws how Quint knew that shark was a creature not to be taken lightly? He’d been around the block a few times and, even though he had not seen the shark in person, he knew it would not go down without a big fight. Well, that is how I feel about a certain sewing project in my queue.

Meet the Waldorf Doll kit.




Yes, I even bought a kit. And I’m still intimidated. I haven’t even removed the bits from the bag yet. Maybe it’s the knit fabric that requires me to use a ball-point needle. (I have this vision of puckering fabric and me… seam ripping… and ripping.) Or maybe it’s the crazy head shaping process and wig making. I dunno.

The other day I rented a dvd from the library called “Waldorf Doll Making Instructional DVD” by Sarah Kous. She was lovely. The directions were clear and well illustrated. Even that did not cure my procrastination. It has been staring at me from the corner while I’ve made new pillowcases for my bed, baby blankets for my babies (and other babies), throw pillows, pajamas, and more.

But now it’s time. It’s time for me to make a little fabric boy to be a buddy to my 3 year old Finn. And, just because I am creepy like that, I am making one that looks just like him. That is the real appeal of this project for me. I need to get over it and just dive in.

My dear friend and blogmate Alex would say I have “paralysis of analysis”. In so many words, I am over-thinking it. Truth be told, I am a competent sewer, a reasonably intelligent person, and have the encouragement of others who have slain the Waldorf Doll shark and lived to tell the tale.

So, lucky you! You get to read/see the blow-by-blow of my adventure in Waldorf Doll making. This will be a short series from me with the ups, downs and hopefully good tips I am learning along the way. I hope that it is helpful, informative and fun.

Cassandra