Dorcas, A Little Christmas Mouse

This is Dorcas, a daisy mouse with a crocheted snowflake on her little sachet. She is a hand embroidered mouse with little leather ears and tail. She is dressed in a beautiful Moda cotton fabric with red mistletoe on a cream background and coordinating underskirts and cotton lace bloomers. Her dress is finished with organza ribbon, tiny buttons and little leather shoes.

She is softly stuffed with lavender in her stuffing for a gentle scent and she has a tiny rose quartz crystal at her heart for love.

She stands 8 inches tall

Moppiedoll from Holland

Found these pretty dolls on Etsy when looking for new doll makers.  Jessica makes dolls in Middenmeer near Amsterdam and lives with a growing family and three cats.

The dolls are not porcelain but Fimo professional  polymer clay made with a wire armature.  Each doll is unique being sculpted not cast and they have hand painted faces.  Their clothes and the details of the faces are lovely with touching expressions and real individuality.

Have a look at the Etsy shops at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Moppiedoll, many dolls are reserved and can be purchased in instalments but others are able to be bought direct. Lovely dolls and a real find.

New Goldcrest for Autumn

 This is a new goldcrest for Autumn and I have made her very tiny, smaller than my other two goldcrests but returning to the same fabric, a Liberty Print in Tana Lawn called Garden Trail but this little bird is just over seven inches.  Her dress is trimmed with a green satin and she has Mocha brown legs as before but I think this little girl's feet are too big so I must work on that.

The book on which she is photographed I have had since I was a little girl, part of the Blandford Colour Series.  If you spot any copies anywhere they have lovely illustrations going back to the sixties, really beautful. 

I have been working on my photographs with the help of my wonderful daughter, Becca.  Started on an instagram journey at pookbarwell, have a peep and tell me what you think.

A Brilliant Exhibition at The YSP

 The exhibition is the Wish Post by Mr Finch and is showing at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield.  It runs until the 23rd of September and is a must for anyone interested in dolls or textiles.
Mr Finch is a bit of a hero of mine, I love his work and his attitude to life.

The exhibition itself is magical, we shared the space with a couple of primary school classes and the little ones were stunned into silence by the space.  That made the atmosphere even more special.

There are moles, rabbits, hedgehogs and even rats resplendant in sumptuous costumes but for me it was the mice, lots of tiny mice looking wonderful.  There is a book of the exhibition available from the YSP shop if you cannot make it or it is too far, that is lovely also with lots of photos and an outline of the story of wishes breathed into letters for the badger postmen.  Had a great time, highly recommended.

Having a Big Sale on Folksy

Having a Great Big Sale on Folksy Everything listed is half price or less, good deal on postage too. I am making way for a series of new pieces for Christmas and a whole new body of work in the new year. So if you fancy a bargain pop along to Folksy and have a peep. The little birds are £25 and the mice are £10 as well as a frog for £20 and dolls for £15.
The shop is on Folksy at folksy.com/shops/PooksStudio
 

Fae, A Grumpy Frog

Frantically making Frogs

Nearly sold out of Frogs,oh no!

This little grumpy frog is in mustard yellow with a hand stitched and hand painted face, detailed with french knots and running stitch. She has a lovely Liberty Lawn dress in a lush floral with little birds dotted about. It is called Catesby and is pretty to look at and lovely to work. Her outfit is complete with matching underskirts in cotton and lace, she has a little pair of bloomers underneath and leather shoes to compliment

I have called her Fae because she seems to have a gentle spirit and a wistful quality.

As with all my dolls she has a rose quartz crystal in her tummy for love and is stuffed with a variety of herbs for a gentle scent

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Little Bullfinch Stitch Work

 Had a bullfinch week as the bullfinches have returned to the garden and I was so pleased to see them.  They have been off in the woods having a family all Summer and are back for Autumn.

Made a little bullfinch doll as well as lots of little stitch pieces.  The tiny bullfinch motif was a fiend to sort out but I like the overall effect.

I have been using a new to me thread from Australia called Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread. I was a big fan of the DMC Flower Thread and buy up any flower thread I can lay my hands on.  The Ginnie Thompson Flower Thread is lovely to work with and comes in thread bundles of colour from Threadworkers on Etsy.

The little bullfinch doll is dressed in a lovely Liberty Quilting Cotton called Mammie with pretty oranges and pinks for early Summer.  If you have not tried the Cottage Garden Quilting Cotton from Liberty I can heartily recommend it.  Great patterns and a delight to work with, a little heavier than Tana Lawn but finishes nicely. 

Our garden looks like it will be an early Autumn, many of the herbs are starting to go over and there is some red on the acers,  I have to say I am enjoying the rain, seems like we are back to normal for rainy old Lancashire.

Edith Blue Dolls

 These lovely little girls are by an English company called Edith Blue Dolls.  They are made by a couple of very creative ladies called Gilly and Jill deep in the English countryside in Woodbridge in Suffolk.  They work in a log cabin in the woods surrounded by a wild flower meadow - sounds heavenly.

Having followed creative pathways they decided to work together and began making small dolls for fun.  These became bigger and more detailed and they had such a good time Edith Blue Dolls was born.

I love the detail, the Liberty prints and little knitted accessories.  I adore the slightly off centre faces that are so delicately embroidered and the fligh away hair.  Just lovely to look at and I am again covetous of one of their girls.

If you want a peak at their Etsy shop it is at EdithBlueDolls all one word and is well worth a look. I fell in love with this little lady in Liberty Lawn with the fair hair but there are red heads and other styles to look at.  Really like the idea of wool stuffing and the plastic free packaging, a great little English company.

New Mara Mouse

 Little Mouse Mara has just been posted off to Saint Paul, Minnesota so I thought I would share her with you.

She is a tiny girl with bead eyes and a crochet daisy on her sachet.  She is dressed in a lovely Liberty Lawn called Wildflower, which is my absolute favourite fabric to use.  She as little leather ears and a leather tail to match. Her nose, mouth and whiskers are all hand embroidered.

I love making these little girls they take around three to four hours to make and making a couple in a day is very satisfying!  I hope you like her. xx

Makers at the Mill Sunday 1st July

I will be at Holmes Mill in Clitheroe on Sunday 1st July.  Will have lots of frogs, foxes, mice and dolls as well as little stitched gifts from £5.

Come and say hello it will be lovely to see you, you don't need to buy anything but it is always great to see friendly faces.

It should be a good day for everyone with live music and good food.  The Mill has an artisan food hall as well as a restaurant and cafes. So come a say hello!