It's De-Lovely!

I just had to have Cindee Moyer's new pattern, 'It's De-Lovely!' and they are a joy to make, even when you goof as many times as I did when making this pair! First, I cut the faces the wrong way (as if I've never made a doll before!) and so they are very long slim faces. Hers is not so bad, but I'm not happy with his, nor his expression. To top it off, I stuck my finger in his eye (poor guy) while the paint was wet, and smudged his cheek, creating, now, an ill-concealed scar. I may yet make a whole new head for him. Then, again, maybe not. I'll be making another pair or two very soon, I'm sure. Like, tomorrow!! At least one of them should turn out to look like Cindee's.   A delightful, delovely design!!

February Drawing....ELIZABETH

AND THE WINNER IS...

Winner of the January Doll Giveaway is....CASSIE RAFFERTY...
I put all the names in a pile and let my daughter's cat, Wicket, choose the winner.

Cassie, please contact me at clothdollsbyvada@gmail.com, include your mailing address so I may send you your choice of Perque or Pierre.  Congratulations on being the first winner of this monthly giveaway.

Happy New Year! Enter to win....

• Happy New Year to all! And to help make the year 2012 a little happier each month, and also to help clear my overcrowded craft room shelves, I have decided to give away a doll a month---Twelve in 'Twelve.

Visit here each month, leave a comment, and your name will be entered for that month's drawing!!

•  In the cold winter, a good cup of tea (or coffee) warms the tummy and a bit of whimsy warms the spirit. So January's Doll of the Month is the 6-inch tall "Tea-Pot" which I named Perque, adapted from Jill Maas' pattern Happy Harry Have-a-heart.

If you have trouble leaving a comment below, email me: clothdollsbyvada@gmail.com 

OR...As an added incentive to enter, (January 'bonus') the winner gets to choose between Perque and his brother, Pierre.

Quilter's Retreat at the Beach

Well, here she is at the beach!! He name is Thelma, and she has brought along her newly finished quilt, to sit on, as well as her tote bag full of quilting books and a well-furnished sewing box. Looks like she is already getting a bit of sunburn, but oh, it feels so good to relax here in the warm sun.

Quilter's retreat

Work in progress. I will make her a quilt to sprawl out on, on the beach, as soon as she chooses the fabrics for it. And decorate her sewing box.

(The doll is made from the pattern ,The Beach Babe, by Jane Coughlan.)

Time for a cookie break!

Zesty Orange Sugar Cookies.
1 cup margarine, very soft, almost melted
1 cup sugarWhisk together well. Add
Zest of 1 large orange, prepped in blender with ¼ cup sugar
1 egg.
1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk well. Add
2 2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder.Mix well. Form into one-inch balls. Bake on ungreased sheet at 375* 12-15 minutes.

Tip for zest: Any time you have an orange: Just peel it with a sharp carrot peeler. Put the zest peeling in a food chopper or blender, with ¼ cup sugar, chop to desire bit sizes. It will begin to liquify the sugar. This can be stored in a zip-lock baggie in fridge or freezer for later use. Also works for lemon peel. One large orange or two small ones, makes enough for a batch of citrus-y cookies or pumpkin bread, etc.

Another new member of the quilting club

Ellen is made the same as Evelyn, being sisters, cut out at the same time but of different fabrics. Ellen is made of dollskin. Her hair is alpaca roving.
Here is the text from her tag (She's already gone 'shopping'!):

An avid quilter, Ellen heads off to her quilting club meeting, where she will put the finishing touches to her small quilt. Dressed in stylish skirt and tee shirt, her alpaca hair freshly ‘done’, handmade earrings and bracelet, necklace of threads, custom-made shoes of polymer clay, and secure on her removable stand, Ellen is well equipped, from wrist pin cushion, scissors, rotary cutter, and hoop, to a basket full of fabrics, batting, books, needles, thimble, and more, even her some-times needed ‘reading glasses’!

Ellen, like all the rest of us, is a one-of-a-kind, unique personality.

I finished her!!

 Evelyn, the quilter, is 21 inches tall. She has her basket all packed with fat quarters, batting, and all the accessories she'll need for her afternoon with the quilting club. She needs to put a few finishing touches on her latest small-quilt project. Her hair is wool roving, her dress made from a scarf, and she wears comfy sneakers. (Her ankles are a bit swollen from all those hours she stands at her work table, but ohh, she does enjoy it!)

Time for a snack

Time for a break from Dolls and Patterns. It's your turn to do that. Scroll down, order the pattern, and make a nativity set to decorate your home or someone else's.
Meanwhile, I'm going to bake something. I'll even share the recipe. This is my favorite.... I call it My Yummie Yam Bread. It is equally scrumptious made with sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or pumpkin. And be generous with the orange peel.
1 cup sugar,  1/2 cup oil or melted butter, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons orange zest, 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes.  Beat well with mixer.
Add: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon soda, 1 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Beat well.
Add 1/2 cup each: nuts and raisins.   Bake in greased pan at 350* about an hour.
Easy way to do the orange peel: Peel a whole large orange with a carrot peeler. Chop the peeling up a little, run it in a food processer, chopper or blender, with 1/4 cup of the sugar, until finely chopped. Works like a charm!.  Enjoy!

Pattern on Etsy

You can now order the nativity set pattern from my new shop on Etsy:
Vada's Doll Patterns
http://www.etsy.com/listing/82852394/nativity-cloth-doll-patterns
The CD is priced at $25.00. Includes all nine figures.

Pattern Finished!

Today I will put the finishing touches on the pattern for the Nativity set (below)!
It will be available on CD. With all nine figures included, it would be a very large packet. By grouping it into several pdf files, the needed parts can be printed accurately. It will included pattern piece for the dolls (four pages of those), and for all the costumes (14 pages of those). Plus another 12 pages of instructions, illustrated with color pictures. 
This pattern is an intermediate level, requires some experience in dollmaking: faces, hair, etc.
Email me to order a copy. Make a set for your mantle! Or a great gift!
vadawesley@hotmail.com  or vada428@windstream.net