Project Pob Doll - Mission Completed!

Its been a long job, but I must say a thoroughly enjoyable one; finally Pob doll is complete! 

This is the original pattern.  I have loads of doll patterns, but I just cant stop making this one, I love it!  Probably because this is what mum used to make dolls for me when I was wee...  That and I just love the face, no other doll patterns amuse me as much!  To make Pob doll I needed to give him a big nose.. 

 The hair was a little trickier than usual, my fault though.  I just HAD to use this tweed wool & mohair mix because it was the perfect colour for red head Pob.  Unfortunately it was a bugger to sew with and kept breaking if I tugged, and as some bits were thicker than others it needed a good old tug.  Its also thinner than the stuff I usually used, so I had a lot more hair to sew on than normal!  Being a tweedy wool its also ever so slightly oily, so it kind of sticks to its self as opposed to fluffing out and covering the "scalp".  So, again, lots more hair to sew on!

I do think it worked out okay in the end though. 

Making the clothes is always the most fun part of the doll.  Pob doll had to be scruffy indie student, so one of my favourite tshirt logos was the Happy Mondays "Madchester".  My other favourite was the inspiral carpets Moo cow, but for embroidery I went with Madchester for its bold colours and easy stitching...  Okay, so I've probably broken some copyright law somewhere, but its a one off, its not being sold or anything... 

One printer, one iron on transfer pen, some interfacing, embroidery floss and here you go.  (note for future - iron on transfer pen v.v. effective, ironing board cover should be protected...)

Next up, the jeans.  I couldn't find an old pair of light washed out denim, so had to make do with what I had.  I did have a go at "aging" the jeans...  cheese grater, bleach and a toothbrush, then a couple of tumble dries..

Footwear...  Hate doing doll shoes.  These are my attempt at dessie boots...

Not too impressed with how they turned out, but I was completely out of ideas.

Last but not least, the first of my own wee labels...  Ellie cat features too..

Anyway.  Job done!  One Pob doll on its way to a students reunion weekend...  Hope he survives...

Scary!

Its been a sleepy few days.  Luckily with my man home at the moment it was actually very nice just to sit on the sofa and do sod all!  Which is great since I really wasn't up to much.  I even scared Ellie cat yesterday when I went into automatic behaviour at tea time.  Somehow the boiling water for my cuppa went over my bowl of chili, my cornbread went into the microwave (instead of the cold chili) thankfully nothing went under the grill in place of the cornbread so no fires!  But, worst of all, Ellie cats desperately awaited biscuits went into the bin instead of her food bowl...  That's when I came round, getting a carefully extended single claw in the butt from a not at all impressed wee cat. 

Anyway... after a few days of feeling as life like as a deflated lead balloon and sleeping lots, I've finally had a good day and boy did I use it! 
Project "Pob doll"...  mission - create a doll caricature of my brother as he was at 17 to send in his place to his uni mates reunion. 

Now some things have to be said.  
                    

 "Caricature -  A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject's distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect." 

And, my brother did grow into his ears and is now a pretty handsome chap.  

Too much like a pumpkin..

I did not find the head easy at all...  In total I went through 7 head attempts!

better.. I think

Front, back and ears!

Eventually I settled on the shape and then it was all easy going, just piecing the parts together.  I drew a face on it, embroidered it.

Then stuffed it....  

Now I have a mass of red hair to sew on the head... Then I'll finish the stuffing, stitch him up, and make some clothes for him. 

Still a way to go yet!  In hindsight I made the features of the face too big.  And the ears a maybe a bit low.  And do the french knots really look like freckles?  Hopefully the hair will make a big difference...  frankly right now he looks pretty freaky!





Off to a good start

I've had a few good days in a row, so I've been busy on the first of the mini quilts I want to make for a few peoples Christmas pressies.  Thankfully all my naps have been right after I ate, and whenever I sat on the sofa, so not too many mishaps this week! 

Did have a bit of a zone out at one point, thought I was doing quite well then realised I didn't quite remember doing the last few strips...  Sure enough when I checked them I'd put one in wrong side out.  There's a reason half my seam rippers are blunt!  Its called "Automatic Behaviour".  Basically my brain kind of thinks "yep, okay, we know what to do here.  Body, get going, brain, have a quick kip."  Happens all the time.  I'm sure for most people getting into a rhythm when doing something is a great way to get things done quicker and easier.  Not me.  No...  that's just prime opportunity for screw ups. 

The worst trigger for me seems to be our stairs!  Two steps and my brain thinks "okay, up means going to the bathroom, you can do that in your sleep" or "down, that means going to the kitchen for a cup of tea, no need for brain to be awake for that one".  Needless to say I drink lots of tea and my boyfriend thinks I have a micro bladder...  I, on the other hand, get extremely frustrated knowing that's not why I was actually using the stairs in the first place, and it seems to take half a dozen trips before I manage to get whatever I'm going for... but I might as well drink the tea.

Anyway... mini quilt no 1, top done!

I'm not entirely sure I got the bottom panel right, but I do rather like my monkey face :-) 

Next step, basting the quilt top / batting / backing sandwich...  I've got some basting spray to try out this time, so I'm looking forward to finding out if that's any easier than pinning the whole lot with safety pins.  Then I need to decide how I'm going to quilt it.  I've only just got a sewing machine that can drop the dogs and free hand, will I be brave enough just to get stuck in and try it out? 

Introduction

This is Ellie cat, my little shadow, who needed her own space on the shelves to stop her sneaking onto my knee when I'm trying to sew.  She's not your normal independent cat, she prefers to follow me around and take her naps wherever I am, like I do... 
Hopefully this will be a blog about whatever I'm up to in the sewing cupboard, but I'll probably make a few references to my Narcolepsy from time to time - I hope you don't mind!

My new sewing machine arrived last week, and I must say it's a lot of fun to use.  I've got a freehand embroidery foot too, so I plan to learn how to use it soon. 
One of the (many) drawbacks of having Narcolepsy is a fairly limited concentration span, so I tend to have lots of projects on the go at the same time.  Gets a bit messy, but it means I can pick whatever project I feel I have the energy / concentration to do at that particular time.  For instance, some days I just want something to do that doesn't require too much thought (time for embroidery or simple straight line sewing!), and sometimes I need something that isn't in any way repetitive (no point piecing a quilt top then, as I've learned the hard way when I found I'd joined half the squares of a quilt back to front).  And sometimes I just need to give up and go sleep somewhere else, once I've peeled my face off the top of the sewing machine...

At the moment I have 2 main projects on the go.  I'm making a doll which is to be a caricature of my brother (long story) and I'm almost done cutting out the pieces for one of the lap quilts I'm making as Christmas gifts for friends and family.  But I have a good dozen projects in mind, just wish I could stay awake long enough to get on with all of them!