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!
I am so late with this post! I was up at 5am and never had a minute to sit down. I have had a very busy week getting textile gifts ready for my galleries. Everyone has sold up it seems simultaneously, which is great, kerching and all that but requires prompt action.So I have been making brooches, including a new style that i have not photographed yet, lavender finger mice, key rings and hanging birds. Lots of felt, lots of embroidery and loving every minute, although my hands are now sore. It always amazes me when you schedule a complete week to do this just how much you can get done. By the end of this weekend I should have all of the pieces finished ready for shipping on Monday. Phew!Just a note to everyone, Folksy is having a Perfectly Imperfect Weekend with some real bargains. Old stock, samples and seconds. I have already sold out and Reuban @impsqueak has one imp left on his shophttps://folksy.com/shops/impsqueak She is a real sweetie and will not be repeated. Really worth checking out for some lovely work.
