my girl and her favorite outfits: you might recognize some of them...
a peak at the back neck gathers
a peak at the inside melange of blues and hand quilting
Voila a soft blue velvet coat for those freezing January days. I slowly quilted the inside layer over the Christmas break while watching a plethora of BBC movies. The quilting adds weight to the coat, providing warmth and lushness in stitched layers. The inside has much entertainment potential too: a menagerie of blues melt into a mind-wandering ocean of heavy sand and blue-dyed linen. A large pocket serves to hold all the laminated watercolor paper dolls of my girl and her many outfits. (No I did not copy the ingenious Black Apple; I've been working on these for quite some time...) If you're not skilled with brush and pen, perhaps you could make some personalized dolls from photographs of your girl. I described how to do this in a post last year. And if you've already ordered a wanderings pattern, I'll soon post some more tips for sewing the hood with fur...not the simplest endeavor. But well worth the adventure...
31 comments:
i've been following this blog for a while--the photos you take are so inspiring. not to mention the way you use your hands to create such beautiful work!
what a jaw-droppingly beautiful coat...
So lush and beautiful~ Wherever do you find your fabrics?
Just a thought:
Sometimes I see someone else's creation (like the paper dolls)and I can flip 6 months back in my sketch book and show you my drawings for the exact same design...I just remind myself that there is 'nothing new under the sun' - we are all unique, but the same...
Zana
The coat is just lovely. I was also curious about the linen fabric, it's wonderful! Where did you get it?
Melissa -
Those watercolors are so beautiful. I love, love, love them!!!
And that COAT!!!! Gorgeous.
oh my...wow, I love the watercolour drawings and the coat is amazing!!
love that coat!!!!
Unbelievably gorgeous! Ooo la la! My daughter sang special music at church last week wearing your dress pattern in turquoise corduroy with tall brown boots. It was adorable. Keep it up, like I've said before, there aren't any patterns this unique or "doable" out there so your market is amazing!
Such a special coat! I'm sure she'll treasure it for years after it has been outgrown. Thanks for the tip on paper dolls...literally, just this week I was trying to think of how to create my own handmade paper dolls. A timely post.
That's adorable.
I have a cheat/workaround for custom paper dolls -- I found free paper dolls online and Photoshopped my daughter's head onto the doll. (The one I used was Shirley Temple.) Then I borrowed my sister Mary's idea to use a magnet cartridge in my Xyron to make a magnetic paper doll from it. Here's a link to how I did mine.
There are other free paper dolls to be found online, although finding ones that match your child's age can be tricky. And of course hand-painted or photographed depictions of a child's actual clothing is the very coolest. (Your daughters are so lucky!)
Oh, we also figured out how to use the "print screen" feature and Photoshop to make a magnetic paper doll from one of my daughter's Webkinz (link here.) This one is a lot of work for something they could just play on the computer, but my daughter loved the portability of it.
My son also hand-drew clothing to make a magnetic paper doll from a Pokemon Pikachu -- but it looks like I never put photos of that on my blog.
Have you heard of Woodkins? I've often thought it would be cool to make a custom Woodkin with my kids' faces and bodies. Or a custom wooden puzzle with photos of them and their favorite toys would be fun. (So many fun ideas; so little time.)
love the sketches.
The coat is incredible, so soft and warm!! And the paintings are adorable. I want to try more watercolour painting- i love the look of it, so clean and pretty. My sister gave me a how to book for my birthday. You have inspired me to give it a good go!
gorgeous. i want a little girl solely to put her in that jacket.
Superbe manteau! J'adore les couleurs, les détails, les finitions...
Bravo!
You make me want to watercolour right a way, sadly I don't have the time because we are going away for the weekend and I have to pack our bags, the dog, feed the cat....but iron all our stuff first :(
Love this version of the wanderings coat! Do you buy your velvet fabric online? Our wanderings coat is lying on the table but I can't find the right outer-fabric.
Have a nice weekend!
scrumptious coat!
love the inside of the coat! You do such lovely work!
This is one of the most beautiful coats I've ever seen! Love the color and it looks like you could just crawl up in it and stay so cozy and warm. I love that you did all the quilting inside. It will be a treasure that your daughter will keep forever.
I plan on making a coat with a pocket for paperdolls too when my granddaughter gets old enough!
Love your blog!
Dawn
Just gorgeous!!!
Happy Friday!
:)
you are giving your daughter so much to treasure and love when she gets older.
this is a wonderful idea for play and to preserve this time of her life. i love it... just like i love everything else you two do!!!
melissa
i love the blue velvet and the illustrated paper dolls.
i was wondering will you be making any more of the kits for the inside of the coat.
enjoy the weekend
oh these paper dolls....how fun!!! you girls never cease to amaze
Aaaahhh It's beautiful ! The coat is beautiful ! Cute paper dolls ! C'est magnifique !
That coat is gorgeous. The whole wardrobe is, but I am drooling over that coat!
That coat is gorgeous. I absolutely love the material and H's entire wardrobe. I found an amazing fabric store on the west side called Boom. I am headed there tomorrow with a friend. Do you want me to check anything out for you?
xo
this is crazy adorable.
Hi Melissa..
That little blue coat is so beautiful!!! I'm new to your blog and love it. I think I read you are from
New Jersey too!! So nice to meet other crafty ladies close by.
I couldnt find an email address for you so I'm commenting. : )
Jennifer
www.PinkyBrownInc.blogspot.com
That is so lovely; it kills me!
I am now wondering why you aren't an illustrator!! Your style is so wonderful. Sometimes I think we don't see how wonderful our own work is... it takes a stranger to tell you how great you are! Melissa-- YOU'RE GREAT!!!!
I just saw you on Adriana's list of awards, and I must say you make such incredibly unique and original things. I'm charmed :)and will certainly follow your creatons!
Forget the kids.I need a grown up girl version.
Its so cute..Couldn't help commenting:)
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