here's Milli!

If you've read the blog over the last couple of weeks, you have seen a little of my quest to make Team UmiZoomi dolls for Lydia for Christmas.  While she was out yesterday, I had some prime sewing time to finish Milli!  I'm most critical of my own work, so I could point out a number of flaws.  But none are likely to be noticed by a 5 year old on Christmas morning as she is flipping out over it!

See the original post here and progress here.

See finished Geo and Bot.

Update:  I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls.  Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time.  My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us.  I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas.  Hope that helps!

team umizoomi dolls - progress!

I'm home with a cold this morning.  But since Lydia is gone with the rest of the family, it was too perfect an opportunity to work on her Team UmiZoomi dolls for Christmas!  So I bravely soldiered on and made a pattern, then started painting faces.

What I finally decided to do about a pattern was to print out Nickelodeon's Milli paper doll, enlarge it a bit, and use it as a guide to make the pattern pieces.  Geo is basically just like Milli, only with no dress, so I'm going to use the same pattern for both.

I intended to use fine point Sharpies for the face, but those bled too badly on my fabric.  So I fished through my fabric paints and found close enough matches for the colors I needed.  The features are so tiny, I painted them with the tip of a toothpick.  I used my handy dandy light box to copy the face onto the fabric.  Again, Geo's face is nearly like Milli's; the few differences I could spot were that his eyes don't extend quite so far on the sides, he normally has one eyebrow raised, and I chose to do a sideways grin to make his a little different.

If you're making your own Team Umizoomi dolls this Christmas and are posting your own progress, feel free to leave a comment with a link so we can all see!  And you may also see the previous post for other pattern ideas.

See the finished Milli doll here!

Also see Bot and Geo.


Update:  I am so flattered by the requests I have received to make sets of Team UmiZoomi dolls.  Even though it breaks my heart, I turn down these requests due to copyright issues, CPSIA red tape, and lack of time.  My purpose in writing these posts was to gather information, so that we parents could try and fill the gap Nickelodeon has left for us.  I continually refer people to the first and second posts in this series for sewing and crochet pattern ideas.  Hope that helps!

finished off

Some have asked for more information about the handstitching project a couple of posts ago, so I thought I'd show the finished product.  It's a moleskine cover, pretty much as the one in the Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin.  Since it's from a book, I can't give much detail as far as how-to, but you can see that it's not really that complicated.  A kit can be ordered from Alabama Chanin, or it can be made from purchased fabric (as this one), or it could be made from pieces of a t-shirt.  I used the stencil provided in the book for the leaf design.

My changes are:
a heart inside the front cover;

signed and dated inside the back cover;

and a bookmark, which I think is essential.  One of the properties of knit jersey is that it curls when you pull it.  That can be annoying, but can also be used to your advantage.  I just cut a strip of jersey with a leaf shape on the end, then cut another leaf to match, and stitched around the two leaf shapes together.  (This keeps the leaf itself from curling so much.)  Then I pulled the strip, and there's a sort of a vine-looking thing.

To attach it, I just tucked the top end between the two layers, and stitched it in place while stitching the folded-in ends to enclose the book cover.

a herd of unicorns

These unicorns are actually lip balm cozies!  I made them for Lydia to give to her little friends for Christmas (with all natural lip balm inside, of course).  The pattern is by Funky Orange, and you can find it here.

Did I mention that Lydia loves unicorns these days?  She also arranged the unicorns for the photo for me.  ;)

the gentle art of hand sewing

One of the tales I've not told from my Incredibly Busy Summer is of the workshop I was fortunate to attend in August.  For some time, I've admired Natalie Chanin's work.  She hails from my hometown of Florence, Alabama.  She left to work internationally in the fashion industry, but a few years ago came back to Florence to start a new kind of company.  The emphasis is on hand sewing, using sustainable and even recycled materials, and helping bring jobs to the community.  Another aspect of her work is teaching these techniques so that sewing does not become a dead art.  She has written two books - Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style.  They are not your run-of-the-mill craft books; in addition to the simple instructions for projects, they contain wonderful recipes and stories.  I have enjoyed reading them because the stories are all about places and people I know!

So, back to the workshop:  it was a dream come true to be able to go.  The money to attend was a very generous gift.  I was nervous at the prospect of sitting in a room full of people who'd been able to pay their own way, because I thought I would feel out of place.  But in truth, I met some delightful ladies that day, besides Ms. Chanin herself.  And the lunch was just amazing.  Good Southern fare, but over-the-top delicious.

I didn't really expect to learn anything new as far as stitches or techniques, but the application was new to me.  I really had to get over my professional-seamstress OCD to try something new - *gasp!* Exposed knots??  Unfinished edges??  But it's really freeing to not have to worry about the finishing and just concentrate on the decoration.  And seeing some of the garments in person - even without finished hems and seams and all that, they are exquisite.  And I might add, they take more time than you'd think.  But the work is pleasant and mindless; no counting or fretting, just tie knots and follow the lines.

It was a good day, and I'm glad to have something new to add to my repertoire.  The photo is of a project I've started for a Christmas gift - wish me luck!