A Rag Doll for Christmas

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Jennifer Wingard

Mackenzie (aka Punky) is quite demanding this year about what she wants for “Ho Ho Ho” (aka Christmas…Christmas is one tough word to say when you’re a primarily non-verbal child). She wants a “bike-a-bike” and a bear and a doll and books and a purse and shoes and boots…and…and…and…(it continues in this manner for a while and each request is punctuated by the corresponding word in sign language) and she wants her “bike-a-bike” NOW! I know this because she has informed me of this at least 7,642 times in the last two days. I had nightmares all night in which an evil Punky chanted in a sing-songy voice, “I want my bike-a-bike” and when I refused to give it to her she went all Firestarter on me and howled with laughter as I burst into flames.

The bike is safely (for now) ensconced where she can’t get her hands on it yet, so we’ll move on to other Christmas presents. For the doll, she fell in love with the Black Apple Doll (template and instructions and a video are all on the webpage) from Emily Winfield Martin.

Here is the Punky version:

Punky's Black Apple Doll

Here’s my big secret regarding this particular doll…I put her stupid arms on upside down. I have a feeling this blog is going to turn into more of a crafting misadventure blog than I’d like. *Sigh* In my defense, it’s bloody difficult to pay attention to what you’re doing when you have four kids hanging on you, two cats scrambling over everything, and one huge dog who thinks he should take up residence in your lap. However, that’s no excuse for putting arms on upside down. I guess I’ll have to make her another one eventually…perhaps with the arms attached correctly. The older girls think she looks like she’s getting ready to give out hugs, so they like the mistake. It does sort of look like she’s ready to throw her arms around you (or maybe she just woke up from her nap and she’s stretching). Either way, she’s here to stay, flaws and all.

Purse

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Jennifer Wingard

I’m in shock, but the purse I was making yesterday actually turned out quite well for the first purse I’ve attempted to make. Girl child #1 who was being incredibly picky about the stupid bag yesterday has declared her love for it today. According to her less grumpy self today, she loves it more than the bike she picked out for Christmas. Color me happy!

Oval Pleated Bag

Oval Pleated Bag Lining

Pay no attention to the disaster that is the background of the picture. I’m not exactly the most organized person on the best of days, but I’ve got baskets of fabric everywhere, the ironing board out, and I’ve ignored the mess the kids have made of the bookshelves while I’ve been working on the ridiculous number of projects on my plate lately.

Overwhelmed

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Jennifer Wingard

Today, I’m hard at work and completely overwhelmed with all of the things I still need to get done for Christmas. Sadly, I didn’t get all my materials or everyone’s wish lists before the beginning of December, so I’m WAY behind.

I am making progress though, thank God. The apron patterns for the kiddos are made, the fabric is washed and dried and waiting to be ironed so I can cut the aprons out and put them together tonight after the freaks are asleep.

I’ve been hard at work on bags for the girls. Kearsey is a country bumpkin and wanted jean and pink cowgirl material for her purse. At least the jean is cute…the other material…well, let’s just say that if it weren’t for my fanatical daughter, I wouldn’t have bought it.

Oval Pleated Bag in progress

Next week or after New Year’s, I’ll post some pictures of the finished bag, and maybe even a free pattern for the bag if I can recover enough from the holiday insanity to draw one up and post it. I made it super simply without interfacing or box pleats at the bottom because the jean is so heavy that it kind of stands on its own, but I’ll add the box pleats and interfacing into the pattern when I make it and make one showing them used just to give you some perspective.

I’ve got another bag to make as well, for Arianna, but I’m using a pattern I got from Keyka Lou. If you head to her shop, she’s retiring some patterns, and those being retired are on sale for $3.00 US each. I picked up four. I’m a sucker for her bags. They’re gorgeous.

We finally managed to get out and pick up our groceries, the kids’ bikes for Christmas, and our Christmas tree last night, so we’ll either be decorating tonight (not bloody likely since I have my ironing board set up right where the tree has to go) or tomorrow afternoon when Eddie gets out of work since he only has a half day tomorrow.

Speaking of my lovely husband, he’s currently out in the garage working on the wooden bowl he’s carving for me. So far, it’s gorgeous. I might just start pimping his work out and selling it. I could certainly support my fabric and yarn addictions if I did so. Will post pics after Christmas since it’s not done yet.

So how close are you to completing your Christmas prep? On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being, “Oh dear Lord, I’m drowning” and 10 being “I’m the shiz-nit because I’m absolutely totally prepared”) I’m nearing a three, I think. Like I said, way behind.

New Winner

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Jennifer Wingard

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day 2011 Due to not hearing from the initial winner of the Giveaway Day, I’ve had to move to the second number on the sequence from Random.org. That would be #21, Tara B. who wrote:

Oh, these wash cloths bring back so many memories! one of my favorite Christmas traditions was when we would get a “christmas carepackage” from my grandma…they always incuded handmade dish cloths…just like the ones you make!!

Congratulations, Tara! I’ve sent you an email requesting your mailing information. Please be sure to check your spam folder if you have not received an email from me (jwingard@chezcrazy.com). If I don’t hear from you in 48 hours, I’ll move on to the next in the sequence.

Happy Birthday to Arianna!

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Jennifer Wingard

Today it’s my Scary Ari’s birthday. Today, she finally gets to sit in the car sans car seat. Hooray!

Ari is my tomboy. My boy crazy tomboy. She’s the rule breaker of the century. No, seriously. She’s never heard any rule she hasn’t almost immediately tried to break. She doesn’t like to be clean. And still, at 8 years old, she spends most of her time doing this (she has perfected it since birth):