Miss Aine

Oliver was invited to a party for twin boys. So I made twin cats, each with their own fish. Hopefully they like them.

My stall at the market yesterday. Last one done before Christmas. Now I just have to drop the last of the toys into the Artists Gift Gallery on Dawson Street, Dublin, so that Jenni has some more stock. And a little pic of an Anna doll requested through the shop. I hadn't made one of these in over a year so I had to get my daughter's to look at to remind myself! Now on to a few custom orders, and then my own custom Christmas presents!!

I got myself two new models last weekend. A DesignaFriend doll and a Zapf doll, both 18 inch.  Now I'll be able to get some nice photos when I make more dolls clothes.

A Pickles pattern I found on Ravelry. It got quite heavy towards the end, and it's only a small blanket! The cable pattern was easy to remember and helped the knitting to work up quickly. I will definitely remember this pattern for future baby gifts.

My best friend is due her second child in about two weeks (Her first is nearly 9 years old so it's a nice big gap!). So i needed to make something special.  I picked out a nice combination of colours that would be gender neutral and pulled out the Moderne Baby Blanket pattern as its worked really for me twice before. This time not so though. Although the yarn was all dk weight they all seemed to knit up differently. From the offset it seemed wrong, but I persevered, thinking I could block it out at the end. But that didn't square it up. And neither did adding a border. It's an absolute mess. I may weave in the ends and just give it to the kids for their teddies. My second disaster is a jumper I knit for my God-daughter, who will soon have a new sibling. I could try it on Emily for size. Although she's a year and a half younger she's tall and is actually bigger than my god-daughter now.  This jumper hasn't been blocked but it just seems all wrong. The neckline is...

Emily is going to a party at Build-A-Bear Workshop so I thought some build-a-bear sized clothes would be a good present. I picked up a little cardboard suitcase in Tiger and searched Google, Pinterest and Ravelry for a few patterns. The final touch is some wings, with elastic straps, so the bear can play dress-up. Now Emily wants all the same clothes for her bear!

From Blarney Castle, Co. Cork, Ireland.

After a lot of packing, my husband's cd's are all up in the attic, and I have some beautiful storage space for my wool!

All from the blog 'it's always autumn', it's from the Free Teddy Bear dress blogpost. (Can't link on my iPad but it comes up easy if you google it) The pattern was very quick and easy to follow and the dress is reversible which is always a bonus!

I just added this lot to my Etsy shop. www.missaine.etsy.com All complete and ready to ship. I've also been working on these dolls to replenish the Artists Gift Gallery in on Dawson Street in Dublin City.

The shop I've been selling my doll dresses to has closed down - sniff! I have been considering selling the dresses myself online. But I didn't have a large enough doll, and 20 inch vintage plastic dolls can be very expensive. So I was over the moon to find this beauty at our local, annual garden fete for only €1! I gave her a bit of a wash and brushed her hair to tidy her up a bit. I think she will make a very good model! Now I need to research when she was made. She has no distinct marking apart from DTD 6 on the back, and a Made in England stamp. I also need to work out how best to style her hair. More time on Pinterest for me so!

The paper bag I had been using to hold my pegs finally died, So I decided to make myself a new fabric one. I found an old baby hanger and drew around it on some red cordroy fabric. Then I cut out a hole to put the pegs in and out.  But I cut the hole too big! So I picked a fabric to add as an insert rather than starting from scratch. A little bit of lace to girly it up, and a few motifs cut from the fabric and machine-sewn into the front on the bag.  Then I stitched up the side and inserted the hanger. Viola! And here it is in action.

Emily requested a new dress for her baby doll this morning. I didn't quite make a dress, but I hope she'll be happy with baby's new outfit!

Emily is going to a party on Monday for the little sister of one of her friends. And this morning I realised I'd no gift. And no little dresses left in my stash. All the dresses I have are age 2-4, and this little girl is only turning one. So out came the sewing machine and a good mix of fabrics. I'd forgotten how much I love making little girls' dresses, mixing colours and patterns. This dress has quite a summer feel in fresh blues and peachy orange.  Now if we could just get some summer weather here in Ireland!

A rainbow pony for a rainbow-tastic day. What a day to be Irish!

I've been working on some custom doll dresses over the last few days. I think they are just adorable. The prints are just beautiful. I'd love to make some in little girl sizes. And maybe a shift dress or two in my size!!

There's not been much crafting done the last week or so. The kids are off school for two weeks so we headed down to my folks in Wex for a few days. The weather has been glorious, just like the summer, so it was a great time to be in the Sunny South East! Rock climbing with Granny and their Aunty Katie. Enjoying the beach at Kilmore Quay, where we also got our dinner at the best chipper in the world. The Salter Chipper has the best fish and chips I've ever had, probably because the chipper is right across the road from the quay-side where the fishing boats unload. You can't get fresher fish than that! Sunbathing. At a Teddy Bear's picnic in Rathwood, Co. Carlow on the trip home. They met Goldilocks and the three bears, took a ride on a train, made their own teddies to bring home, fed some geese and had a picnic. It was well worth a visit and we will definitely go back there again. Now we're back home and it's back to household chores. But at least the weather...

Emily turns seven today. It's hard to believe! We had her party yesterday afternoon at an indoor play centre near our house, and it was princess themed. So I put on my baking hat and made a castle cake. It started to go a bit dodgy mid-way through but I think I managed to pull it off in the end. She was happy with it so that's all that matters really.

So I spent most of today making cake for Emily's birthday party tomorrow. I just need to assemble and decorate it in the morning. I've only done a tiny bit of sewing over the last few days. One task was to see faces on all these doll bodies. Now I have to make them some clothes. But first a coffee break!