I have no new dolls to share this Friday as I am flat our with a nasty earache and have not managed any photographs. Every time I sit up I keel over and every time I stand up I fall over so I have had to keep still for a week which I have not enjoyed but read a few good books. As soon as I am back on my feet I will take photos of the dolls waiting and of the embroidery I have been doing. We are getting ready for our first show of the season in May and Reuban's frogs are looking simply wonderful and froady. Exciting stuff on the horizon. I am working on a little girl Wednesday and a little witch Elphaba all in the fairytale and fable style whilst planning Heidi with Hansel and Gretel on my drawing board. Mr Mole is still not ready as no matter how I try I don't like his paws. He must have claws for digging and I cannot get them right! Whilst propped up on cushions I have had the joy of watching the garden come to life and seeing the magnolia bloom and the camellia come into bud. Last autumn I planted more crocus bulbs into the lawn and tried again with fritillary. Low and behold we have just the one little white fritillary nodding her head in the spring sunshine - made me smile xx
Just to let everyone know we are getting ready for our first show of the year with Liverpool Alternative Bazaar on the 4th May from 4pm to 9pm at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool. Aggie the Hiro bunny will be there along with lots of her cousins and Reuban's new Imp Frogs. A dark grey bunny dressed in my favourite midnight fabric called Hiro by Liberty of London. If you look carefully you will be able to see the moon on her skirt peeping through the fir needles. With stripy legs, leather shoes and a sampler pillow she is an elegant midnight bunny ready for this first show.
Little Bo's sheep are hiding among the flowers on her apron. Ready for a walk on the fell looking for them she is wearing a mustard yellow wool cape with a smart sand coloured bobble hat. Her boots are wool felt and she sports a tiny sampler pillow. Her dress is a Liberty print called Wisley Grove from the Orchard Collection, an absolute favourite of mine. She has broderie anglais drawers with a butter yellow linen petticoat and white tulle underskirt. Her hair is hand styled wool roving in a rich auburn. With frosted glass eyes and embroidered details she makes for a pretty little maid. She and two friends are now at Eden Gallery in Newburgh, Lancashire. With Oranges and Lemons on the work table.
This little Alice doll has a simple blue cotton chambray dress with a Liberty print underskirt and white tulle petticoat. With broderie anglais drawers and little wool felt boots she is a sweetie. Her face and hair are hand styled with blond wool tops for her hair and blue glass beads for eyes. Her apron is embellished with applique hearts and buttons and she sports a heavily embroidered white rabbit in folk art style. Finished off with a wool bobble hat and tiny bronze keys to her silk cravat. I will revisit her more than once as she is a favourite character of mine and I love all the different illustrative interpretations of her. This is My First Alice xx
This is Mary or Mary Mary Quite Contrary. She has a pretty Liberty print dress called Iris Muriel from the Postcard from the Highlands. I went for this series because their is a suggestion that the nursery rhyme is about Mary Queen of Scots with the pretty maids being Mary's four Marys who served her. Her apron is decorated with silver bells and silver cockle shells with folk art felt appliqued pretty maids as flowers. With tiny wool felt boots, a woolly hat and a sampler pillow. Her face his hand embroidered with frosted glass beads for her eyes. Her hair is hand styled wool tops in a rich auburn. I am really enjoying using the wool felt to make the body, it gives a lovely warm glow to the dolls and makes them so soft.
This is my first Red Riding Hood (Sold), one of my new Fairy Tale and Fable dolls. Each of these new dolls is a OOAK doll and the individual will not be repeated but I will revisit the character. This little lady is dressed in a pretty Liberty print dress called Hedgerow Blooms from the Heirloom 4 collection with a red wood cape and a heavily embroidered folk art apron. Sporting a woolly hat, stout felt booties and a sampler pillow she is ready for her walk to Grandma's House. Beneath her dress she wears broderie anglais drawers, tiny white sock and her petticoats are Liberty cotton with white mesh tulle. Her face is hand embroidered with frosted glass eyes and hand styled wool tops for hair. I am really enjoying making these little girls, I find them really satisfying and I love the idea of them as one of a kind dolls. I am currently working on new nursery rhyme characters but will visit favourite characters from books, folk tales and comics. All my favourite characters. I think Heidi will be one of the first with a Hansel and Gretel to follow as a pair. I really hope you like them and the idea xx
Just a little look back at a mouse made this time two years ago, Dandelion. Hand embroidery in yellows and greys on a mustard linen ground. The dandelion flowers where worked like Dorset buttons and the clocks in appliqued felt with seeds blowing across the ground. Loved making this one. She became part of a series in yellows, mustards and grey. I do enjoy working the embroidery on the doll's skirts and playing with texture and stitch. I have been working on the little girl dolls for the last week and have been busy embroidering their aprons but have not had time to photograph them. Hence the little bit of sunshine this morning. I find that I get into the cycle of making and forget to make time for photographs but we will be having a shoot over the weekend hopefully!
