Miss Aine

My latest design to be published is with I Like Knitting magazine - The Clever Fox and Wild Deer Headbands. The photos are taken from the magazine's website. These headbands are knit with Studio Donegal Soft Donegal, a wonderfully soft yarn that is perfect for a headband.  I Like Knitting have a competition on at the moment to win the yarn https://www.ilikeknitting.com/ilk-blog/clever-fox-and-wild-deer-headbands-studio-donegal-giveaway/

I haven’t doing a huge amount of sewing lately. But I trying to get back into it, and get to grips with the rules around CE marking (which I only learned about recently). I’m continuing with the redesign of my rag dolls. The one on the right had a funny body shape and the arms stuck out wrong. The one on the left fits better with the shape I was going for. Next up will be to work out a pattern for the hair, and I’m waiting on CE compliant felt so that I can work on the face.

My little family of Pica Pau characters has been growing. I have absolutely loved making some of the creations in the book. I’m not a very experienced crocheter so this book has taught me quite a bit about different construction techniques. And the overall design of the toys is just adorable. Only another 14 toys to make!

For a while now I’ve wanted to develop a fabric doll with a rounder head. I do like the rag dolls I currently make, but they can’t wear hats well because of their wide flat heads.  So today I finally got out the paper, fabric and sewing machine. I hadn’t done any sewing since Christmas - I think sewing 50-odd dolls in the run up to Christmas wore me out! The first prototype had a square head. The second had a better shaped head but the neck was far too long and skinny to support the weight of the head. The third (on the right) is getting in the right direction. It has a flatter face with the back of the head being more rounded. Now I just need to get more stuffing and keep sewing!

A recently completed commission of a scarf with the logo of a GAA club in Co. Wicklow. I’m really happy with how my colourwork turned out.

This poor little penguin lost the stitching on one of his feet. Luckily it was a quick fix!