Saturday, April 16, 2011

Twin gifts

Our friends Ella and Zoe are turning 5 next week, and their Rainbow Birthday Party is today!  We met in an Early Childhood/Family Education class when they were 2 and my girls were 3.  Their mom is just about the sweetest person in the world, and it has been such fun to compare notes on being a mom of twin girls.

So I knew I wanted to make something really special for their birthday.
Here is what I came up with!
"Ruby Lou" doll pattern can be found at Sew Much Ado

Twin Rainbow Quilts
My own creation, but was inspired by this quilt I found on flickr.

Close up of the pebble quilting.
Fun to do, and I LOVE how it turned out!


Soft minky dots for the backing.



One skirt just wouldn't be enough, would it?
A girl needs a change of clothing!
These little dolls were a really fun project, and I had lots of help along the way from my twins, complete with planning how they wanted their dolls to look -- I promised to make them each one after these gifts were finished!  It turns out that 5 year old fingers are perfect for stuffing those narrow arms and legs.  And it was really fun to see the amazed look on their faces after I sewed the heads together and then turned them inside out - it was like the dolls came alive!  The only thing that I would change about the pattern is to embroider the faces first -- this seemed much easier, rather than waiting until the end and having to bury the embroidery knots up in the hairline somewhere.  I also lined the face and the body with interfacing prior to doing the embroidery.  And the faces/arms/legs are just a neutral Kona cotton, not muslin as the pattern suggests.

23 comments:

  1. I can't decide what's cuter--the dolls or that quilt! Nice work. :)

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  2. Wow - what amazing gifts and such beautiful work!

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  3. Big wow! Those quilts are fantastic!

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  4. Those are so cute...both the dolls and the quilts! That pebble quilting looks really nice, was that hard to do?

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  5. There are going to be two very happy little girls very soon!

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  6. Very beautiful quilts and gifts!

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  7. They are just beautiful - I'm sure the girls will love them.

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  8. what a great idea they are so cute

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  9. you are amazing michelle -- and your gifts were the hit of the party!! i am blown away by what you put together -- the dolls are so adorable and the colors/patterns are so neat. many of the other moms were checking your work out once the kids were playing ..... it's very impressive! and so, so so thoughtful : )

    when we got home ella and zoe made beds for their dolls, and then quickly figured out they skirts fit their other dolls too : ) they think it's really neat their dolls have their own quilts (rainbow colors of course!) and the extra skirts and hair ribbons too.

    THANK YOU!! very special gift (and a sweet blog post too!).
    : ) jeremi

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  10. Those dolls are adorable!! But my heart is on those quilts!!! So beautiful:-) I'm a new follower, I love your blog, I'm a new quilter also, I would so love if you got the chance to stop by my blog @ http://sewhappiness.blogspot.com
    Hope you have a great week:)
    Eleni

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  11. Gosh, you were so thoughtful - it's no wonder the girls and their family appreciated your gifts very much - this is really inspiring! Your work is just beautiful, and even more so because it came from the heart.

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  12. Wow, you sure are an awesome friend! Your dolls turned out adorable, and I love those quilts too! I hope you don't mind me sharing your dolls in a post sometime, they're too cute to not show everyone :).

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  13. michelle, just wanted you to know ella has told me twice now her doll that you made her is her favorite gift (and then she's quick to say she loves her other presents too) -- she has slept with it both nights (zoe too), but ella is quite taken by all the sewing you did. last night she was focusing on the eyes : ) thanks again!!

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  14. i love the rainbows!! what color did you use for the white?

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  15. The bubble quilting is great! Love it!

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  16. Super cute!! Those dolls are adorable!

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  17. Beautiful dolls and gorgeous quilts.

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  18. Your quilts are very refreshing...different AND pretty! ...I WUV-WUV the dolls!! I am such a sucker for dolls!

    hugZ.
    annie
    rubyslipperz106.blogspot.com

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  19. Those are awesome, thoughtful gifts. What a great idea!

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  20. Wow, I love these quilts and dolls. We would love to feature you at QUiltstory! Let us know!

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  21. Cute quilts and dolls, love the pebbling.

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