Lucy - Waldorf Doll

I will get faster eventually at making Waldorf Dolls, but for now, they take me an age – there is so much involved!!!! And I still have plenty to learn, but I think this one is better than the last, so I must be getting there. 

Her dungarees are made from cotton velvet, lined with a Tilda cotton fabric ………. note to self: DO NOT sew with velvet again – it moves!!!! 😊

 

You’ll see in the first photo that she’s being very sensible and wearing her mask ….. sorry, just had to do it 😊

 

She loves her boots!!

I hope you're all happy and keeping well.

Getting there ................

Well, my next Waldorf style doll is finished, BUT she's a little bit bare at the moment!! and so needs something nice to wear. She's thinking she would like some velvet dungarees (see beautiful cotton velvet draped to protect her modesty 😉) - mind you, sewing velvet ……….. ?? enough said! She I may yet have a change of mind 😄
We have the time though ………….. did I mention I'm now retired??!!
She needs a name too!

I've recently celebrated turning 60 (hence retirement) and thought you might enjoy seeing some of the balloons my darling!! eldest nephew organised for me ……… he does love a laugh (at my expense). I think they're brilliant! The 'Hip Hip Replacement' is referring to the knee replacement I had about 18 months ago. You can't get knee, knee replacement, because clearly that wouldn't be funny, so 'Hip' was the next best thing. I keep on trying to explain to this 33-year old nephew that he too will, one day, become old and decrepit 😄

So, I hope everyone is managing to keep well and safe and enjoying plenty of crafty time.

A pink velvet elephant - really?!!

And once again ………. it’s been a while, I know!!! I can’t even say I’ve been prolific, but I have a couple of things to show – in the velvet line, as mentioned in my last post, which was ages and ages ago! So, first of all meet Abigail

Yes, I know, a pink velvet elephant – well what else?? Abigail is from a pattern by Angela from PC Bangles (Etsy). I love baby elephants, don’t you, they’re so cute. Did anyone (in the UK) recently watch ‘Elephant Diaries’ on BBC2? I spent most of my time crying, laughing and cooing – it was lovely! 

Her cardigan is hand knitted by me …. the pattern was made up as I went along as I don’t happen to have a knitting pattern for a 7-inch elephant LOL. It’s not perfect, but I think Abi loves it; and it’s keeping her warm!! If anyone knows of any clothes knitting patterns for small toys, I’d be grateful for a link.

Did I mention how flippin’ difficult velvet is to sew with!!!! It frays constantly. In the end, I put some of that Fray Check around the edges, but I was covered all over with bits from where it was fraying – I think that’s because it’s a pile fabric rather than a woven fabric like cotton – the end result feels lovely though. All hand stitched too. That too is because of the pile – have you ever attempted to machine-sew velvet – it moves and contorts all over the place! So, pinning, tacking AND THEN hand-sewing is the only answer

Anyway, my other velvet finish is this heart scissor keep. 

This is from the Maggie Bonanomi book I bought not long ago – the one with the velvet green peapod pincushion (last post)! Again, all hand-stitched because of the movement of the velvet; and also because it has cardboard between the velvet and the cotton to keep it firm. 

The velvet is some I hand-dyed not so long ago and I was very pleased with this colour in particular – kind of a chocolatey brown and I managed to find some nice vintage style fabric that goes well with it from my stash. I hope you like this too!

So that’s it for now – I might be back a bit sooner, because I do have another couple of things to show (NOT velvet), but I’ll leave them for another day

Bye bye for now

Advice please!

I recently contacted David of ‘David’s Cottage Down The Hill’ blog, because the more I looked at his header picture, the more I loved the gorgeous green velvet peapod pinkeep – it’s so quirky. Probably one of those things you either love, or think very odd!! David kindly told me it was from Maggie Bonanomi’s book ‘Thistle Down Moon’. Anyhow I eventually managed to track the book down (had to send to America for it as usual, as this country just hasn’t really cottoned on to prim and the like yet – barely at any rate!!). What a lovely book!

This is the one in the book, but also check out David's version, which is really lovely!

The next thing I needed and couldn’t find over here either was the pea green cotton velvet – no surprise there then!! And I was just about to click ‘buy now’ on an American website when I actually put my brain into gear and set about searching for plain white cotton velvet in the UK that I could dye …………… another major task, googling and searching with little luck; sending for samples (no good – too heavy weight), when, again the old brain cranked up, and I thought “I’ll just go and try the ‘Fancy Silk Store’ near the market, before I resort to buying from abroad, and didn’t I just find a massive roll of plain white cotton velvet at only £6.99 a metre – how excited was I?!! So, out I came just a little later with 3 metres of the velvet (yes the pinkeep is only about 8 inches long!!! LOL) and several packets of different colour hand dyes. Well, what fun I’ve had dying the velvet all sorts of lovely colours and in particular, peapod green. It dyed so easily and feels beautifully soft – I was so chuffed with myself. And of course, saved myself a fortune by not ordering it from America!

So, back to the pinkeep itself! This is the first one I made up, with my own addition – the darker green leafy bit at the end made from wool fabric. The pinkeep is lined with ordinary cotton fabric and has 100% silk ribbon tied on the end, which I dyed with the velvet

I then made it a second time, but without the wool leafy bit; in other words, as it is in the book, although don’t you just love the tiny peapod antique brass charm I found and added with a green bead ………… and guess what? China for the antique brass charm!!

So ladies (and gents!), the advice I would like please is with or without the wool leafy bit at the end, because I simply can’t make up my mind. 

I shall really appreciate your advice.

And as for the rest of the coloured velvet?? I’ve since been and bought a bit more (4 metres LOL!!!) with more dyes, so I now have quite a stash of coloured velvet: well watch this space, because I’ve really fallen in love with it and have lots more ideas floating around in this head of mine!