Don't Worry, Be Hippy

This is the last in my latest series of comfort dolls. Four cuties are on their way to Pat Winter for her project now. I love stitching up these little girls so I hope it's a win-win for giver and receiver. And a big thank you to Pat for continuing with this project and giving it so much loving attention.

I chose Barbara Ana's design for this one. Added a few beads and substituted a crocheted flower for the stitched one. Plus I gave her a nose and a smile. The original is eyes only. Barbara's designs could cheer up anyone I think.

eduCATed

Sometimes it's really hard to find the right chart. Just when I think there would a myriad of choices for a particular occasion, there often turns out to be very little that's appropriate. Or I can't seem to find the appropriate thing anyway. My cousin is graduating from college with a degree in civil engineering. It's always hard to find boy designs, but for graduation designs, everything was either too sappy or way too babyish for my taste whether for boy or girl. Finally, when I wasn't looking for a design anymore, I found this cute cat design by Bent Creek in Lynn's gallery. Purrr...fect for a smarty-pants bookmark. Now I can go to the barbecue Sunday with a personalized gift to match the impersonal check (which I'm sure the grad will appreciate with or without a bookmark).

ABC Envelope Bag

When I saw this cute little sampler, "Y a d'la joie", from Anne-les-Petites-Croix, I couldn't resist stitching it. Didn't know what I would do with it, but I just like the spring-summery feeling. The fabric is 35-count linen from Vikki Clayton, one of the neutrals I got in a grab bag.

I had previously saved this link to an envelope bag tutorial. I had planned to try this out for a mail-art envelope, but I decided to use it for a little bag to carry instead. And for fun, I crocheted an edging to attach as well. The bag has a much more old-fashioned girl, shabby chic look than I would usually go for, but it was fun to make.

Reluctant Scholar

Here's my latest comfort doll. She looks a bit sad, but I think she's just tentative on her first day of school. This is a Carol Emmer design from an old issue of Leisure Arts "For the Love of Cross Stitch" magazine. I still like these kinds of designs with a lot of fractionals, back stitching and shading for contours. I used Pat Winter's Inner Child Doll method of sewing on the backing by just wrapping it to the front, folding over and hand-stitching a buttonhole stitch in pearl cotton to close it. No turning inside out and no machine stitching at all. I think I need more practice, but it worked out ok.



My partner, Jane, in the Stitchin' Fingers biscornu exchange sent me a gorgeous biscornu from a Floss Box design. Didn't she do a lovely job?