Wooden People with Stringy Hair

The landscape is barren and white and the air is below freezing. We still have ONE more week until we move from our "temporary housing situation" (thank you, in-laws) to our new home. What to do with ourselves?
One trip to Hobby Lobby was worth about 4 days of kid-occupying creativity.
I bought:
wooden clothespins
markers
3 fabrics
2 yarns
glue

The girls loved the activity, of course, but I was surprised that the boys really got into it. Alex was designing dresses and Peter took clothespin dolls to a new level as you can see in the photo of the mummies.

The span of the kids' ages (3-9) made for an amusing assortment of doll details.

I think this guy is my favorite.

This one's labeled "M.r Mesy"

Once someone thought of adding a bellybutton, all the dolls acquired belly buttons, some of them inconveniently placed.

This is something I amused myself with as a child, but recently my sister-in-law reminded me of the idea when she made a Little Wooden Doll Kit for a refreshingly unconventional birthday present.

Reefer Coats

My mom made these coats for the boys for Christmas. They're pretty sharp, aren't they? I've enjoyed seeing them wear them out and about and have been getting more "Are they TWINS?" comments than usual. Yes, same size. No, not twins.

Yes, it's too cold here for fall/spring jackets, but since we just moved to a freezing climate from a warm climate, the boys haven't adjusted to wearing all that bulk just to stay warm.

About face! Turn left!

The pattern is from Ottobre 5-2006-20. It's lined, as you can see, and has welt pockets. My mom also added inner "secret" pockets. I'm not sure if those are in the pattern or not, but the boys sure love those.

The horse coat was a test version my mom made this fall. Very few boys get to wear embroidered corduroy, huh?

21 Wale Cord a la Ikat Bag

Continuing with my series featuring other people's work while I am machine-less....

These fabulous skirts are Ikat Bag originals, Christmas gifts from Aunty L.

I managed to scrounge up coordinating and matching shirts for the photo shoot. Generally, the girls prefer something equally interesting on top (stripes, flowers, polka dots ...).

Don't you love the fabric and the rick rack? I recently saw the flowered cord at fabric.com, if you're interested.

An Irish Compliment

Thanks much to Millie, from Needles and Haystacks, for passing on this award. Besides admiring her creations, I've enjoyed reading about her rustic cow- and children- (and fabric-)filled life in what is probably the most beautiful place on earth - Ireland.

Funnily enough, our smallest daughter Molly's usual nickname is "Milly", which was taken from the classic children's book series Milly-Molly-Mandy.

21 Wale Cord Jumper

Since I won't see my sewing machines again until approximately 25 days and 4 hours from now, I thought I'd do a series reveling in some things other people have made. Exactly two (2) of my family members regularly stitch amazing things with precise attention to detail. (Did I inherit that precision? Apparently not.)

First up is this pinafore jumper my mom made for Grace for Christmas. The pattern is from Ottobre 4-2009-11 with quite a bit added to the length.

I love this brown paisley cord. Well, I love any corduroy, of course, but the brown tones are nice and subdued in contrast to the light and fluffy pinks Grace usually chooses.

Pockets with buttoned flaps.

Back zip, which certainly could be omitted.