Miss Jane

I find it interesting how characteristics of my children are finding their way into the dolls I am finishing up for them.
Today I finished up Miss Jane for my third daughter Hannah. Hannah came bouncing into the kitchen with the unfinished doll this morning and informed me that her doll is named Jane after Jane Eyre. Hannah has never watched the movies (nor will she till she reads the book herself). She knows it is my favorite book of all time thought and knows that anything I love that much has to simply be wonderful.

Miss Jane is perfect from her wispy yellow hair to her dainty little linen bloomers.

She also came with a lovely white petticoat trimmed with lace.

Her bright blue eyes match those of her mistress and sparkle with humor and affection.

I have to show you a Jane Eyre treasure we found while emptying my mother's house for her.

Marvelous isn't it!

1907 edition

This book was given to my Grandmother on her 18th birthday in 1913 by her favorite "Cousin Aunt".

Effie Cooper Russell was the first cousin of my Great Grandmother, Zina B Cannon. Effie's mother died when she was a baby and her mother asked that little Effie be raised by her sister Mary Turpin Bennion. Zina B was older than Effie and was raised like her little sister. The family always lovingly called her "Aunt Effie". She never had any children.

I can only imagine what delight my grandmother, Zina Lenore Cannon Wood, took in reading this wonderful book for the first time. The volume is falling apart and is held together by some very old tape.

I can't wait till Miss Hannah and her sisters are old enough read Jane Eyre themselves.

Adeliza

A young lady came into our lives this afternoon

with a hand full of luck,

a heart full of hope,

flaming red hair, and a tiny smile.

Miss Adeliza totally and completely won our hearts.

She came with real linen pantaloons,

and with her apron

ready to lend a helping hand and get the work done.

It didn't take long before our tall dark and handsome friend noticed her.

Who can resist a handlebar mustache.

He dismounted long enough to make her acquaintance and then rode off into the sunset with his trusty steed.

Will he come visit again?

Her little heart flutters.

(Yes I have finished one more UFO!)

Ol' JEB

I finished another UFO in my sewing room. I made dolls for my kids about a year and a half ago and didn't get around to making them cloths. Well today I finished one.

I figured I would start with the youngest and work my way up.

I asked Bubby if he wanted a doll?

YES

What kind?

A Boy

Did he want a pirate, cowboy or something else?

COWBOY!

What do cowboys wear?

Yellow shirts, blue pants and hats

He kept running in and out checking on the progress. He really enjoyed the details.

You gotta have a pocket of a hanky.

He couldn't wait for me to finish but insisted on a horse for Ol' JEB to ride. Then he had to show me how it all works.

WooHoo another guilt project finished and one happy boy to boot!

I Have A Little Turtle

Turtles
I Have a Little Turtle
I have a little turtle,

He lives in a box.

He swims in the puddle

And he climbs on the rocks.

He snapped at a minnow

He snapped at a flea

He snapped at a mosquito

And he snapped at me.
He caught the minnow,

He caught the flea,

He caught the mosquito,

But he didn't catch me!

He is just too much.
I had to make him when I got my pattern from

Wee Wonderfuls.

He really is quite sweet and friendly.

Gloria

We have had a new arrival here at the Byrd House.
She was rather shy at first. Didn't like the camera in her face.

Then her true monkey side came out and she just got really curious. She had to check everything out and wouldn't sit still for pictures.

We finally got her settled down and ready for a nap before going to her new mommy, Gwendoline.

Spring Craftiness

My girls and I had a crafting fix this week. I just have to post the fun things we made.
Sarah came to me and begged me to teach her how to make a Not So Sock Monkey. She loved little Ivan and wanted one she could have (sorry Ivan is mine). So I worked out the pattern for her and she did 99% of it by herself. I was very pleased with her work. Sarah is 9 now.
Well Hannah was so excited about what Sarah was doing so she begged me to let her make one too. I did and she did 75% of it all by herself. Keep in mind that Hannah is 4.
Here are their Monkey Sisters.

Here are their little curly tails.

Caroline started a monkey too but got tired of waiting for help and went off to play. She did make this for me this spring so I figured I would share it with you. I just love it. It is so like her.

Well I got bitten by the Crafty bug and had to make this little doll. Her name is Alice.

Oops.

She is just too cute. I had a Raggedy Anne Doll when I was really little that one of my sisters made. I don't know what happened to it. I have always wanted another one. Now I have one.
I bought the pattern from Christine Zorn's Etsy Store HERE. She sells the pattern and finished dolls. I love the dolls with petals. You can also get her dolls at her Ebay store HERE.
Go check them out.

Donut

I was craving some sugar yesterday and had to have a donut. Thank heaven Daylight Donuts and Krispy Kreme are too far away. Soooooo..... I made my own donut. I have wanted a donut pincushion for a long time. Now I have one! It was so fun and fast to make.
I will not post a tutorial as there is a much better one here. I will let the experts Tute you on this one.

Mama and Baby Byrd

Do I really need to write anything here? Doesn't she say it all? I HAD to make this last night when I saw it. Sometimes you just have to do something just for mama. This little Mama Byrd sits above my desk and watches over my crafting dreams till I get time to work on them.
Here is her little baby.

Here is a fuzzy close up. Sorry.

She is just too much fun. I am going to have to help the girls make their own little babies and eggs today to play with. (They keep sneaking off with this mama to play with her.)

If you got the bug not and just HAVE to make one, the tutorial and pattern are at MollyChicken.

Big Blue

I so wanted to post the April Apron pattern here today but it isn't going to happen. It is simple but it just didn't happen this weekend. Some other things happened instead.
Sarah went to her first sleepover. We all missed her so much.
Joe fixed tin foil dinners without burning anything down. They were fantastic!
We listened to 4 sessions of General Conference from the convenience of our own living room.
My Monkey Diaper fabric came and I had to sit down and make this.

I make clothe diapers for Jeddie and love it. I have about 12 more cut out and just need to sew them up. You can get the pattern here. The fabric is not available yet. When it is, I will post a link.
I also made this.

Here is his back side.

Rebecca and Clara came over and were looking at the pattern and so I decided to whip one out. He is for Jeddie. The red smudge on the face is strawberry freezer jam from Jeddie's kiss. He is now sleeping tucked in Jeddies arms. Too cute.
You can get the pattern here. It was pretty easy to make but the feet are a little tricky. I am going to have to work at that. All the other kids want one now. I will have to see what I can do.
I start working tomorrow at the health department as a peer lactation consultant. I am pretty excited about that. I get to take Jeddie with me in a baby carrier. I hope he co-operates.

Easter Bunnies

My niece and I have been working on this doll. I am thinking of making a pattern for it if there is enough interest.

I got a custom order for one of these for Easter this year so I made up several at once and they sold really fast before I could get them loaded in here. I have 3 left and they are posted in my Etsy store now.
I have a Dark Chocolate Bunny,

A Carmel Bunny,

And a Marshmallow White Bunny.

Each mama bunny has 3 baby bunnies hidden in her skirt.

My girls love them. So does Jeddie. I am trying to work up a Daddy bunny version now with pockets or a backpack for babies. Little boys need to play "Family" too.

New Monkeys

New Not So Sock Monkeys have arrived on the scene.

These ones are actually making it over to my store. You can visit them here.

Family Portrait

I have been busy making monkeys. I love making Not So Sock Monkeys. My children have tried to request colors and fabrics but I have to tell them no. The monkeys choose what colors they will be and then claim their owners.
Here are all the monkeys I have made this month so far.

I have found that making them from fleece is much easier to work with but I love the look and feel of the cotton monkeys. The little one in the middle is the newest.
His name is Ivan.

His name is Ivan, not because he is terrible, but because he was born during the terrible Ice Storm of 2007. He is made 100% by hand from 100% felted wool and is stuffed with hand washed, hand carded raw wool I cleaned myself. Joe helped card it for me. He is 100% hand stitched with pearl cotton. I love him. I made him for my etsy shop but I don't know. How can you sell one of your babies? I made him by candle light when I could snatch a few moments to myself between keeping fires going, cooking, and trying to keep my family warm. Jeddie loves the baby monkey. That makes it hard to part with him too.
I have thoughts of making him a sister out of red wool felt that is just calling my name to be made into a little monkey. He is only about 5 inches tall and can sit in your hand.
Here are some others that joined our family.

This little guy is on his way to California for little Sammy's 2nd birthday. He is so snuggley. I just love to squeeze him. His ears are made from Michael Miller fabric too. My favorite fabric designer.
These are two sister monkeys.

They are very small and are for Sarah and Caroline. They like the fact that their monkeys are definitely girly and that they are so small. I have been hearing baby money noises all week. I cut these out before the storm but didn't get them sewn up until the power was back on.

A New Friend

I had to make another one! I can't get enough of monkeys right now. I want to play and play and play with them. All my kids want me to make them one. I love the idea of playing with different materials. I even have other animals popping into my head.

This big red guy is made out of polar fleece and is so soft and cuddly. He was so much easier to sew up because the fleece gives so much better when you sew it than the heavy cotton I made the purple one out of.

I do love them both. So do JEB and Hannah. Hannah had them talking to each other and played so many grand games with them today. She says they need baby monkeys though. I will have to see what I can do. :o)