Small's new outfit

The first doll I ever made for Zora is named Small. Here she is, right after I made her.
I was really proud of her at the time, but since then, have always been bothered by her proportions. Her arms are just way (way!) too long, for example. Or, her legs are too short. Or, her head is too small. So, of course, she is Zora's favorite doll, and as of late, her absolutely favorite toy. With her new ballet craze, Small has come in particularly handy. She dances Small all over the house, swinging her by her too-long arms (which are actually perfect for her now that this is her primary function). So, the problem was, Zora didn't feel that Small's outfit was right for a ballerina. She has been a naked ballerina for weeks. But Zora wanted her to have a diaper - so the other morning, I made her a diaper.

It was so great, because it was the first time that I made something for Zora, in front of Zora, that she had asked for (well, besides socks). She was so excited as I put the snaps on. Then, I decided, why stop there, so I whipped her up a little ballerina outfit out of the hem of one of my old skirts and the cut-off long sleeve of one of Zora's old shirts.

Oh my, does she love this outfit! She immediately took her up and started doing lifts and turns and swinging her about.



Her feet have barely touched the ground since.
Speaking of feet, I made her some shoes (by Z's request) the next afternoon before we took Small to the library with us. SO cool. I have so been looking forward to making doll clothes for and with Zora - it is the beginning of an era, I can feel it!
After their dance session, Zora showered Small with gifts (all of her halloween booty!), and then read her a book.

nighttime slippers

I made these slippers for Zora to wear at night, while she sleeps. They are wool felt. I used to make her shoes like this when she was a newborn (these, for example)
These toddler sized slippers seem so much bigger!

Kitty Hat for Halloween

We wanted Zora to be a hybrid of her two favorite things this year - a kitty and a ballerina. Of course, that meant that I had to sit down right away and knit her a kitty hat to match! Darn. :) Lee was so great, getting her psyched about it - he would show her the picture of the kitty hat in stitch and bitch (I used this pattern and altered it in size and knitted the ears differently), and tell her "Zora's going to have a kitty hat!" over and over. I was grateful. The other cool part about this project was that I used a skein of Cascade 220 that I had hated and was surprised I hadn't gotten rid of it! I ordered it online for a different project about two years ago, thinking it would be a much different pink. As it turns out, it was the perfect pink for this hat!
Here is the whole ensemble (a blurry, but perfect, picture):