Moire, A Rag Doll in Liberty Lawn

 This is Moire, she is made to my Nora Doll pattern so she is nice and tubby.  She stands 14 inches tall and can sit quietly or hang.  She is a real redhead, the wool is a lovely colour from Trimits which they list as beige believe it or not.

She is dressed in a classic Liberty Tana Lawn called Wiltshire in the russett colourway.  The neutral greens and grey blues with that hint of rust just set her hair off a treat.  This is teamed with a sassy silk underskirt and knickers with a cream lace to finish.  I really love the combination.  I have tried to make her colouring pale to reflect her hair tones.

She has a rose quartz heart for love and lavender in her stuffing for a gentle scent.  She is finished with organza ribbon, tiny buttons and a sampler style embroidered lavender sachet.  Her little leather shoes complete her outfit.

I have to say I love my tubby girls and it is a joy making them but sometimes one just makes you smile and Moire does this for me.  I smile and she smiles back.

Tuesday Talent - Natalie Folk

 Natalie Folk is from Brisbane in Australia and she makes the most adorable cloth dolls.  She has been making dolls since 2010

She sells her dolls under the name 'Little Miss Tippy Toes' and she started selling on Etsy as Natalie Creating - but no more.  The best way to see more of her sweet girls is to follow her on Instagram.  Here she lists dolls for sale and images of all her very latest creations. Found at 'www.instagram.com/little_miss_tippy_toes/'
or for sale at 'littlemisstippytoes.bigcartel.com.'

She makes two sizes of dolls, her Petites, shown left, are fifteen inches and her Tippy Toes are nineteen inches.  All are finished beautifully and made to her unique patterns. I enjoy the combination of felt and wool hair and the little pompoms found everywhere.

For more lovely dolls you will find she has a strong Pinterst presence. Well worth a look.
 

Mamie - A Rag Doll in Liberty Lawn

 Mamie is one of my Ida Doll Patterns, so she is just twelve inches tall.  She, as always, has a hand painted and hand embroidered face with blonde wool tops for hair which is styled by stitching into the tops.

Her dress is Tana Lawn from Liberty of London, it is fine cotton and wonderful to work.  The fabric is from a relatively new fabric range called Garden of Dream based on the beloved poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’.  Flower Tops is the name of the fabric and features strawberries peeking shyly from amongst scattered blossom and trailing leaves. Strawberries, toadstools and blossom are recurring images in this super-nostalgic, dreamy fabric.
 
She has a rose crystal heart and has lavender mixed into her stuffing for a gentle scent.  Her little red leather shoes pick up the hidden stawberries in her dress.  She is finished with tiny buttons, organza ribbon and a little sampler style embroidered lavender sachet.  I hope you like her gentle spirit.

Tuesday Talent - Navy Plum

Marine is the pseudonym of a Belgian lady that works as Navy Plum.  Her blog, which is only sporadically updated at present, is to be found at 'blog.navyplum.com' . However if you do peep at her blog you will find that she makes all kinds of interesting items and tells you about all the places she has visited around Europe.

Her rabbits are her signature make and they come in a wonderful array of outfits but all in one body.  It is worth visiting the gallery of her webpage to see her rabbits' delightfully varied wardrobe.  The webpage is 'www.navyplum.com'.

I am truly covetous of a rabbit and may try to contact her to find out how to purchase said bunny.  I genuinely enjoy the one body and lots of variation of garments, as an idea it works really well.

 If you want to collect your own images she has a strong presence on Pinterest.  I hope you enjoy her as much as I do.

Clara - A Rag Doll in Liberty Lawn

Clara is an original handmade cloth doll made to my Ida Doll pattern.  She has a hand dyed calico body and has a hand painted, hand embroidered face. She carries a little sampler style lavender sachet and has tiny leather shoes, her hair is hand stitched and styled pink wool tops.

She stands 13 inches tall and is dressed in a Liberty lawn fabric called Daisy&Poppy with coordinating fabrics for her knickers and underskirts. Her dress is finished with organza ribbon and tiny buttons. Clara has a little rose quartz heart for love and lavender in her stuffing for a gentle scent.

The lovely fabric inspired this doll. The Poppy and Daisy Liberty Print fabric was designed for Liberty by the Jack Prince Studio in 1974 and has been on classic Tana since 1979. It is a joy to work with and I can't resist a girl with pink hair.

A Grand Day Out - Robots, The V&A and a Queen Anne Doll

We have just had a most excellent day out in London, which is always tiring and the trains are a mess but very worthwhile.  We went specifically so my daughter, Rebecca, could see the exhibition 'Robots' at the Science Museum.  As a sculptor interested in form this exhibition was invaluable to her and I have to say I quite enjoyed it as well.  There was a whole heap of famous robots, Maria from Fritz Lang's Metropolis was my favourite, there was even a Terminator looking very menacing. The technical working robots were intriguing, some even seemed vaguely self aware and I have to say some were slightly creepy, the wall of eyes that follow your movements is a very strange sensation.  As an experience I would recommend it, not particularly child friendly but interesting non the less.  

 Having spend the afternoon with robots after tea we spent the evening with underwear.  As an extra treat because the V&A is open until 10pm on a Friday I got to see 'Undressed - A Brief History of Underwear'.  Now this exhibition I can highly recommend, you will however have to be quick it finishes on Sunday 12th but it is most excellent.  The V&A have the lightest touch and an ability to make the most mundane subject fascinating.  The exhibition started at around 1700 and went all the way to the present.  There are corsets of every type, even maternity corsets which beggars belief, knickers galore and the origins of modern lingerie.  It was great and I loved every minute.

However was day was made when tucked into a corner I spotted this amazing Queen Anne doll. These are all Becca's photos and hasn't she done a good job.  The doll was from around 1755 to 1760, her body was wooden and her clothing was cotton, linen and silk. Her tiny watch was gilt braid, paper and glass and she was lovely.  Her condition was so good she looked quite fresh, her painted face was clear and crack free and her dress was in excellent repair.  I would have loved an hour alone with her to have a good old nosey up close but sadly she was out of reach behind glass.  Every thing about her spoke of quality, the embroidery pattern on her gown to her little ribbon hat was perfectly placed and styled. She was a real treat. So if you happen to find yourself in London before Sunday pop into the V&A for a very interesting few hours, they even have a pair of Queen Victoria's mums knickers.

Tuesday Talent - Soeur Alma Fanteria

Soeur Alma Fanteria is the French nun who authored the book, Poupees A Coudre, which I highly recommend.  The book is based on the pattern for her doll, 'Brune', she is a 30cm doll and all the clothing and knitting patterns in the book are based on this doll style.

Soeur Alma blogs as C'estDimanche and on the Nun Studio blog to be found at 'www.nun-studio.com/fr'. There you will also find her delightful dolls Anastasia and Angele with more patterns for them.  From this site you can buy patterns, knitting patterns, doll books and booklets, also you can adopt a doll.  Remember everything is in french so at the head of the blog look under 'Boutique' and then 'Poupees a adopter' or 'Boutique' and then 'Livre et Livrets' for patterns. You will also find dress patterns for women and children.

Her world is stylish, delightful and gently French!

Frances, in Liberty Lawn Wild Flowers

 This is Frances, she is one of my Agatha pattern dolls so she is quite tall at 17inches.  Her face is hand painted and embroidered with her hair being handstyled blond wool tops.

Her dress is a wonderful pattern by Su Blackwell in her Wild Flowers series for Liberty.  Based on the drawings of Victorian Wild Flowers books it reminds me of the delicate book plates of Isobel Adams in her English Wild Flowers series. The Wild Flowers fabric is just a patch of summer meadow with buttercups, wild strawberry and cornflowers to name just a few scattered across the cloth.  It is a joy to work with and I think, makes a very fetching dress.