Rhosmari, A Little Bunny in Liberty Lawn

Rhosmari is a little summer bunny dressed in Betsy Ann by Liberty. She has rosemary in her stuffing for a lovely scent new to me and I adore it. Subtle yellows and pale pinks run across her dress, teamed with the softest chambray yellow by Tilda.

She smells delightful and has a gentle bunny face with little buttons and a sampler sachet.

A gentle face with a little black bead eye and pink ear. Finished with organza ribbon, tiny buttons and little leather shoes in a summer yellow.

I am busy with lots of bunnies at the moment, several for a wedding in June. Midnight bunnies are on the table and I am finding some lovely fabrics in the darker colours.

Enjoy the sunshine and have a lovely weekend xx

 

Making Embroidered Daisy Brooches

 

I have been busy getting ready for my first Summer Show, at Blackburn Catherdral in July.

It is a great weekend, The Festival of Making and I love being part of it.

I like to have things for under ten pounds on the stall as well as lots of dolls and I am busy making brooches. These first Summer Daisy brooches are made using the off cuts of my dolls underskirt fabric with punched felt flowers and then embroidered.

They are a really great way to use every bit of fabric.I start by using Bondaweb to the felt and then punch out the daisy shapes. These are then heat bonded to my chosen fabric with the iron. I back each flower with a piece of calico, stick into a tiny embroidery hoop and then embroider.

When embroidered they are cut out and places inside the final teeny tiny embroidery hoop, the backing is glued on using wood glue, allowed to dry and then a brooch back is fixed using E6000 jewellery glue. I must admit I find the whole process very satisfying!I will place them onto a scalloped luggage label and stamp them with my Pook's Studio label and they are ready to go. For Autumn I will have Autumn leaves, black cats and ghosts. For Christmas I will have snowflakes, snowmen and trees. I am up to thirty daisy brooches now, which is not bad for two days work and I am now waiting on deliveries to carry on. It is very therpeutic and I do think they are pretty, especially when seen all together, I do like sets of things!

Dandelion, An Embroidered Mouse

 

Inspired by the dandelions blooming all around at the moment, Dandelion is an embroidered mouse with a glorious dandelion yellow linen dress. The design of the embroidery was taken from the fabric teamed with her dress. Mitsi Grey is a classic Liberty Print going back to the fifties. The dandelion flowers are heavily styalised as are the leaves being in two colours of grey. Tiny dandelion seeds blow about her skirt.

Each doll in this small series has citrine to their heart with chamomile to their stuffing, enhanced with a few drops of Roman Chamomile Oil.

Just love these colours, they seem to sing and sit well with the little grey mice themselves.

I like the combination of the strong yellow linen with the softer greys and mustard tones. Straight stitch, stem stitch, long and short stitch are a few of the stitches used. Dandelion seeds blow across the skirt. The dandelion flowers finished with french knots, beads and buttons.

I find stitching the skirt very satisfying and I enjoy how the strong yellow is picked up in the underskirt fabric.

Bramble, A Mohair Mouse in Hand Dyed Vintage Silk

 

Bramble is a little mohair mouse dressed in hand dyed and hand embroidered vintage silk. I dyed the silk myself using an alum mordant and sugar with brambles from the woodlands behind our garden. Teamed with a Liberty Lawn called Bramble, she is embroidered with button applique blackberry flowers and the bramble berries are picked out in french knots and beads.
Finished with organza ribbon is old rose and with rose quartz to her heart she is a complete one of little mouse.
She was a joy to make and I love the colour of the silk.
The bramble button flowers are appliqued wool felt with french knots and the berries are picked out in a variety of seed beeds. Stem stitch bramble vines wind around the flowers with little felt leaves. I love the Liberty fabric that teams with the silk, it is called Bramble is so pretty.
She has a counted thread work sampler and tiny leather shoes to finish