I married into a family of very crafty ladies. I don’t mean that they’re scheming…though they can pull off some good surprises when they want to….I mean that they all have wonderfully creative minds and share a bent towards the craft genres. Lisa has been quilting for several years now and has expanded her sewing talents. Jessica and Kirsten were both avid scrapbookers but have taken on other craft interests as well…Kirsten also leaning how to sew two years ago. You’d think that because I learned how to sew when I was 10 it would have had some bearing on my abilities in comparison, but no…a 25 year head start means squat unless you continue to put in the time…these ladies put in the time!
It’s also become a Christmas tradition in the family for us lady crafters to create the same gift for all of the girl cousins (Hannah and Olivia have six girl cousins ranging in ages from 3 to 11) and the same or similar gift for the three boys. The boys are pretty simple…they’re close in age, love legos, Star Wars and games…but the girls…the girls are getting so difficult! Last year I made skirts for the younger girls and then bought things for the older two. I was told later that even though the older girls liked the purchased items I’d given them, they’d felt left out of the matching fun of the skirts I’d made for the younger girls. Yikes! How to keep sewing relevant things for girls heading into their teens? Christmas is pressure enough, but figuring out one answer for the big exchange on Christmas Eve was panic-filled.
I follow several craft and fabric blogs, and kept an eye open this year for something that would work for our Woodbury Women. Early on I found Retro Mama‘s blog and her Etsy store and I was drawn in. I liked her eye, style, fabric choices, and simple whimsy. I had to admit some jealousy of the fact that she has quite a following and makes some money doing these fun projects and creating patterns when they are so simple. Just looking at them I could figure out the process and cut of the pieces without seeing the pattern. I could do that! But here she was selling branded patterns and stuffed creations while I was appreciating them. Props to Retro. One of her creations caught my attention though and I spent the money to buy the pattern for Greta. Greta is a cute little stuffed doll with all kinds of options on personalizing it to the recipient! Hmm. Wheels turning. Fabric scanning. I even owned the felt. Hmm! I posed a question to the crafty ladies when the cousins were not around…”Would the girls like a doll made to look like them?…Stylized, but you know?” Everyone tentatively agreed, without actually seeing the pattern and I had my plan. Even the older girls would get dolls…even if it meant they left it on a shelf…at least they would all be included. It would be a memento.
I didn’t get the chance to get started on these dolls until a couple of weeks before Christmas. Several other to-do’s and projects had taken the forefront, but then the prospect of going back to an office job loomed and I buckled down to my scissors and pins to get Christmas under the tree before I had to start wearing nylons again every day. 
I chose colors for the dresses that matched the favorites of the girls I was sewing for. I made sure their hair color was right, of course, but I also cut the hair to reflect the amount of curl or lack of it for each girl (Jessica’s daughters have pretty straight locks, but my own girls still have ringlets). I thought about eye color and even tried to remember what side their hair parted on. It was actually pretty fun to think about each girl individually and wonder if they’d like this or that combination of dress and tights. I also found it interesting how even the distribution of coloring was! Two blondes, two brunettes, two red-heads, and two with light brown hair.
The pattern wasn’t difficult, per se, but making eight separate dolls was admittedly time-consuming, when I didn’t really have a lot of time to spare.
Rather grisly to say that I had a bag of arms and legs on hand, but handy too (pardon the “handy” pun while we’re at it).
I was up sewing together the dolls until after midnight on Friday night because the Woodbury clan were getting together on Christmas Eve morning, Saturday, for brunch. Flight schedules and in-law requests designated our get-together to that time, but it was quite fun. Okay…realizing at the last minute that because we are living in the home of the parents where these parties tend to be meant a rush of cleaning too and the rounding up of plates and utensils and the emptying of the counters for space for food which was just a bit more stress, and Jon helped there, but the dolls were the biggest time hogs for my night. I did get to sit and watch White Christmas and the Christmas Story while stuffing and stitching up the final bits. Awesome tradition there. Jon also helped me box and wrap everything, and by 3 a.m. when I finally went to bed I was feeling pretty good about things.
Once the present opening began, the kids had a blast with matching but personalized aprons sewn by Lisa, and bean bag pillows from Kirsten. Then the boxes from us got handed out and my anticipation reached its height. Wrapping paper gone. Boxes open. Dolls tumble out. Each girl paused for a moment to take it in and then little Kira dove on top of hers with a shout of, “Oh! I wuv you dowwy!” The other girls were only a moment behind in hugging or saying “Cute!” or “Wow!” As the presents ended the girls used their bean bag pillows for the dolls to take naps and the aprons became blankets, and the middle of the room became a dolly sleepover. Of course the real compliments came from the moms as they got the chance to look over the dolls and I was able to explain some of the fabric and accessory choices. They were a huge hit and Hannah and Olivia continue to play with theirs or at least fight over Hannah’s in the green dress. I get used to lack of sleep sometimes, but such heartfelt praise for a gift is rare, and I am happy that everything was well-received.
More than that…Lindsay Cousins Kelsea and Chloe were visiting one day during the construction of the Woodbury Eight and showed some jealousy. Well…maybe not jealously, but they wanted dolls too! I promised that after Christmas when I had some more time, they could come over for another play day and we would make them their own dolls. These girls would even get to choose their own fabrics and accessories. That happened, and it was pretty fun. Yes, I have gotten so good at the doll-making that we were able to complete two dolls from start to stuffing in one afternoon! Score! Both of the girls were fantastic to turn and stuff the arms and legs while I sewed dresses and faces, and Lisa was very patient to wait around at the end while we were doing the last bits of hand-stitching and even did some stuffing herself, but both girls were able to take their dolls home with them. Like I told Lisa…I may have given K & C too many options for their dolls…and they accepted a few more than I had used for any of the other girls…but I enjoyed their joy in getting their way. The color choices were either ALL pink or ALL blue, where I like some contrast and color opposition (Chloe’s dress had a little purple in the pattern which would have been fun to accent with the shoes or appliques, but she loved the monochrome, and that’s what counts), but I liked the touch of flowers on the shoes and lace at the neck. I may have to put together a few more just to see what options I can create. Of course, then I have to find a way to sell them, but that’s another problem for another day.
Yay for well-received crafty Holiday goodness!
