Sweet Kokeshi is Completed!

You may remember some weeks ago that I blogged about a cute kokeshi doll pattern by Melly and Me which I was planning on sewing for Operation Christmas Child (see this post).  I was really excited to give this pattern a go as it is so pretty and seemed quite straightforward.

 

I decided that this would be a great portable craft to bring along on my travels around the Northern Territory and, since we didn't do much sightseeing at night because of the kids, I managed to complete kokeshi's hair, face and most of her kimono while we were on holiday.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am not the most confident of embroiderers and did find it a little hard going with the more delicate details on the kokeshi.  Her mouth took me two attempts to get right, and it still looks a little crooked to me.  Also, as you can see, I cheated for the flowers and did them in lazy daisy stitch rather than back stitching 10 small flowers and one large one (yes, I am a coward, ha ha).

Another deviation from the pattern was that I used a different colour scheme, opting to use a pink and blue combination rather than a straight red.  Not that I don't love red or the original design, but I just can't help myself when it comes to mixing and matching colours!

Of course, my little girls have asked me if I would PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make them a kokeshi each since she is so beautiful.  I told them maybe, because right now, I don't know if I can face any more hand sewing!  If I do make more of these pretty dolls, I will probably only do so in VERY GOOD light - I nearly went cross-eyed sewing her in very bad hotel lighting.  I would also read the instructions next time...something which I failed to do this time round, resulting in  a few problems and the need for unpicking.  I hope my post has inspired you to try something new or different!