How many reindeer were there?

Even with my memory being great when I was younger I still cannot recall the reindeer names... I always miss one- or more! Just how many were there really?

Well, I have completed 6 so far... seems like a normal number for a set. How many sets I get made will depend on how quickly I get my other gifts completed.

Here is the fabric version, I have put a tutorial for them in my textile tutorial page. Why not have a go yourself? They don't take too long, but are well worth the effort. I shall be making a few more sets, and probably use a couple of different shapes too... well, it is Yule.

Yule decorations already??

Well, sad to say, Yes! In all the shops already....I am one of these people who, although enjoying the notion of celebration, is totally fed up with the increasing over production/saturation and ongoing ruthlessness of retail xmas. The exploitation of staff at xmas, and the bullying of customers to buy more, for ever longer periods of time really makes me mad. Yes, you guessed it- I worked for a big retail store, one of the many who care only about year on profits... but enough of that... xmas should be about friendship, love, sharing and remembering. So on with the sharing....

So, Yule decorations already? Sadly, if you're actually making them then they need to be finished in good time, so I have started super early this year, and as Palma has started the 2012 Wichtel Swap already I've begun my countdown for crafting.

The swap calls for a hanging decoration and this years theme is "Reindeer". I had a good mooch online to see what was about, but wanted to do something original. I know a cutout isn't particularly original in itself, but I hoped that collaging the paper might go some way to help. 

So I spent yesterday gluing, pressing, cutting and sewing... not so difficult, but sometimes it's simple ideas that work out best... see what you think.

The sewing was pretty hard on the fingers so I actually resorted to digging out my rarely used thimble- unheard of! 

I really like how they've turned out so I'm going to spend tomorrow joining fabrics to make quilted versions... I'll let you know how they go...

MATCHBOX FUN...

I'm getting into the swing of making themed matchboxes now... the latest monthly theme over at milliande's is "Asian" So much to play with there so I did a bit of research into kanjis... beautiful characters that signify a word or thought... I found several that were fitting so I decided to make a little concertina wall hanging.

These are the cover and boxes... lucky I had a small set of oriental stamps waiting for such a project, and my copic markers needing breaking in too!

This is the full length. It draws up with cord. I'm not sure whether to put a translation in with them, or leave it for my swap partners to research and find each kanji... but I've ordered them so that they create a loose meaning... maybe I'll leave it a month, then forward the translation!

Too old for dollies?

One has to ask that question occaisionally, and I'm not sure of the answer anymore! Regarding playing - maybe, but a return to creating them after 30+ years... well, maybe I'm not too old for that.

Lois is hosting an Equinox doll swap ready for the Vernal equinox on march 22nd. I couldn't resist... it has been so many years since I created a doll of any kind, and not having an interest in them generally I never felt the need. But to have a handmade doll celebrating the equinoxes seemed like a fun and relevant thing to do. In fact I'm going to do the Summer/ Winter solstice doll too to create  a matching pair.

I had a quick look online for inspiration, and set about re-honing my ability for pattern making. I rough sketch first and then work out the details like positioning,tucks etc. Although these are very simple flat  dolls, I am also going to make a doll with arms and legs while I have all the materials to hand- I'll be keeping this one as half of my celebration pair.

Here are the finished flat dolls... ready to be posted off... and a half finished proper doll ready to be embellished. I'll post pics of it when it's done, but in the meantime I'll be putting the tutorial over in the how-to's textiles section.

Goddess pattern, spring side

Goddess pattern, autumn side

Leggy doll ready to embellish