...when I was cleaning my basement: a bunch of forgotten projects, a few still waiting patiently for some last touches... As I keep telling my children, cleaning up does have its pluses and finding one's lost treasures is at the top of the list!
I made the faceless stuffed doll with Eva (our third born) probably when she was 10 or 11 (she's 13 now); one winter afternoon, we drew it out together, made a pattern, sewed it up in fabrics Eva chose, stuffed it and meant to finish it up the next day by giving it a face, hair and some extra clothes to stay warm...
Hmm... poor girl needs to be sewn up soon or else she'll lose all her sweet plumpness!
My appliqué phase... Like the babushka above, I appliqued the dahlia-like flower on a bag which I still have to finish as it needs to be lined. I love appliqueing (it's by far my favourite sewing technique!) and rediscovering these bags makes me want to get back into it!
I also found some of my babushkas which I had made a garland with by attaching a few on some pompom trim which I then hung across my old workspace... I would love to revisit these dolls as well at some point!
And then there's the dachshund stuffie I started making quite a few years ago out of some tweedy wool fabric... While he seems well-fed, all bouncy and begging for his daily walk in this shot, he was not so when I found him in the basement, un-stuffed, moth-eaten with one big hole in his backside... shamefully unloved! I thought of him (or should I say his mere shell) though one Saturday evening a couple of weeks ago when Nico and I were the only ones at home and Nico, who had a bad case of January blahs, mused that if she had a puppy she would most certainly not be feeling as she did. After a quick perusing of online puppy classifieds (just for fun, at least for me...), I showed Nico the dachshund shell and suggested that we make a puppy out of it... Nico jumped at the idea!
We got right to it and our dachshund grew before our eyes as we stuffed it, gave it some well-needed eyes and an essential puppy nose, and to hide his unseemly moth hole, we blanket-stitched him a heart tattoo. Nico also insisted that we make him a collar as well as a leash so she could take him for walks. (I so remember doing just that with my dog stuffies when I was Nico's age by tying some string around their necks and dragging them all over the house... Did you do that as well?) To make these doggie accessories, we ran out to the hardware store and got some chain for the leash and used some fake suede I had lying around to make the ever-important dog collar. And voilà... a sweet puppy ready to love, except for one last thing: puppy is still without a name... any thoughts? (Oh yeah, even though I've been calling it a he all along, it's actually a she...)
Thank you so much for your comments to my last post, especially all your advice about our beer-capped basement column; while your thoughts have been very helpful, the debate is still raging around here!... I do hope that you are enjoying a very sweet Valentine's Day today with all those closest to your heart... Thanks for the visit and 'talk to you again very soon!
Not only is it fun to find old, unfinished projects (because they are usually almost finished!), it feels really good to get them done. I love the look on the babushks's face, looking at the doll with no face!
Posted by: Patty Radish | February 14, 2013 at 08:21 PM
Your nearly forgotten treasures are so sweet! xo
Posted by: Karen | February 14, 2013 at 11:38 PM
The finds are real treasures - especially the dachshund he is just wonderful.
Posted by: Anna S | February 15, 2013 at 03:28 AM
adoro le matrioske...io le colleziono, queste sono meravigliose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: simo | February 15, 2013 at 04:34 AM
The heart tattoo is perfect and very apt too! Great to find so many lovely half finished projects, you will quickly feel like you have made so much progress as they will be over so quickly ... look forward to seeing the end results :)
Posted by: eskimo*rose | February 15, 2013 at 05:52 AM
love the Duchshund dog with it pink heart x
Posted by: found and sewn | February 16, 2013 at 03:32 AM
The dog is just adorable!
Posted by: Annie | February 16, 2013 at 08:19 AM
such sweetness! love your babushkas! xo Heather
Posted by: Heather | February 16, 2013 at 04:28 PM
oh how lovely! i love that at the end he was actually a she :)
Posted by: may | February 16, 2013 at 06:47 PM
Hmm - I hate to be too obvious but how about Miss Patch? Or, I don't know why but she looks a bit like a Henrietta. What a lovely bunch of treasures to come across - I look forward to seeing some of them finished x Jane
Posted by: Jane | February 17, 2013 at 03:19 AM
Oh what treasure you found!
Love your Dachshund, he is most definitely a (Henry) Higgins just find him a deerstalker hat and a pipe.
Carol xx
Posted by: Carol | February 18, 2013 at 01:05 PM
p.s. I know she is a girl, but it is the "tweed"!
Then again perhaps she could be Miss Jane Marple.
Posted by: Carol | February 18, 2013 at 01:07 PM
What lovely crafts, smiling from being uncovered! The fabrics you use are always so lovely, bright, and cheery! May I ask where you often find them?
Blessings,
Amber
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