I've had dolls on the brain lately! I've always been fascinated by handmade dolls and doll construction. I've always wanted to make cloth dolls, but felt so intimidated by them. They require so many steps, embroidering the facial features, using the sewing machine (my nemesis!), stuffing parts, yarn hair... it just seems so skeery, right? Haha, I know. They don't really look that hard to make, I've just never commited to making one. But as you've seen on my blog, I have a thing for dolls! I just love them, especially vintage-inspired ones. Even though I've kind of lost interest in my Blythes (GASP, I know... hopefully temporarily), I'm super excited about jumping into this world of doll-making.
That rag doll on the far left in this photo is amazing! I wish I still had it! : )
I found these A-MAZING sewing doll patterns in a vintage craft book I found a few weeks ago at a thrift store. It's from The Complete Encyclopedia of Crafts series, Volume 21, copyright 1975. I love how HUGE these dolls are! Like big pillows. I'm determined to make one. I favor the horse, the cat is cute, too, but...
... *THIS* GIANT lion pillow!! Ohmagah. So awesome. I want to make this for the boys. I showed it to Ethan and he was like "uh-huuuh." I think what's so perfect about these is the combination of patterned fabrics and colors.
These are cute, too, from Better Homes & Gardens, Gifts to Make Yourself, 1972 book. My favs are Humpty (the braided yarn legs and arms, and little tuft of yarn hair, and gingham body! eek!) and also Hansel & Gretel.
Honestly, the biggest problem I have is finding the time to make things. I know so many people feel this way. Life moves so fast.. you know, in the words of Ferris Bueller "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Or miss out on making dolls. ; )
I tend to stick with short turnaround projects because I know I can get them done fast. Sometimes I just don't feel like I have the time to commit to anything I can't finish in a few hours. That makes me sad. Becoming a small business owner this year has really depleted a lot of my free time... not to complain, because I love the work! I know we all feel this way, don't we? Never enough time in the day.
But you know what? I vow to make more time for these projects I've always wanted to try. To make the time. I think when you're your own boss, it's hard to put restrictions on when you can and can't work, you know? You're sort of always working, in between all the other things that life requires (being a parent, hello?!)
So recently, I found some felt doll patterns on Etsy that I'm going to make. I figured I would start with something easy (no machine sewing!), and it's something I can make while watching shows at night on the couch. And felt is so user-friendly. I'm really excited.
Here's to trying new things and making time.
