Velveteen Sunday Brunch Jacket

I've been saving this Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush Velveteen (in "Memory") for a long, long time with another oliver + s Sunday Brunch Jacket for Louisa in mind.

When she was two, I made her a size 2. This time, I made a size 6. She is only four and a half, but I wanted it to fit next year, and now I know this jacket runs small. (It is meant to be fitted.)

Waldorf Style Mermaid Doll

Louisa's number one request for Christmas was "a mermaid doll." I have been wanting to tackle a handmade doll for a while—first inspired by this fabulous one, and then reinvigorated by the Little Amigo pattern in Growing Up Sew Liberated, as well as by recently reading Heaven On Earth (a great book about early childhood by a local preschool teacher and the founder of the Charlottesville Waldorf School).

I didn't keep the doll a secret because I can't usually finish crafts very quickly if I don't work on them a little bit during the day while Louisa is around. Plus it was more fun to involve her in picking the fabrics and yarn.

Holiday Bow Tie

To match his big sister's snowflake Sunki dress, Leo got a bow tie for his Christmas outfit.

Since I was using a Figgy's pattern for Louisa, I decided to try the little boy bow tie tutorial from the Figgy's blog. It is a slightly bigger bow (verging on clownish?) than the one I made for him this summer, but it did keep it shape a little better.

The fabric again is Let it Snow in Eggnog Green from the Dear Mr. Claus collection by Cosmo Cricket with Kona Cotton in Holly for the neck band.