Bellamy & Tiny Rag Dolls

Bellamy's Solitary Wanderings did take him to the bay again today, but he wanted his photo taken in our garden instead today... so naturally I obliged.

I finished one of the tiny rag dolls yesterday and popped her through my neighbours letter box.  I got a lovely phone call in the evening to say she was delighted with her, and that she has called her Betsy which is so wonderful. It really made my evening to know how much she loved her.

Here are Betsy's in progress and made photos:

I made the outfit first.  The little apron is reversible, but I forgot to take a photo of the other side.

I embroidered a little heart on her chest, and obviously her features and crocheted her hair.

I signed her 'posterior'. 

Pantaloons made from some soft muslin that used to be my Mum's.

The dress does up with a little button at the back.

She had a quick wander round our garden with Petunia Creek before she set off for next door.

I really enjoyed making this little doll for my neighbour.

Today I worked on my doll.

A vintage handkerchief was used for her pantaloons.  I haven't decided whether to gather the hems or not yet.

A reversible apron, this is one side...

The other side has a pocket.

Dress and hair.  She was going to have multicoloured hair, but I wasn't happy with it so she ended up with yellow hair instead...still not sure if this will stay or if I will change it.

Her name is Daisy Spring and she is an earth child.

I've enjoyed making these two dolls and very hopeful my mojo has returned properly.

Sewing Mojo Found!

Joining in with a April at Home Challenge on Ravelry - just what I needed!

I've finally found my sewing mojo I think...and have started some more Tiny Rag Dolls.

I am using this fabric above for one of them.

I am starting with two. One is for my neighbour.  

I used some of the left over wool roving that I had left over from the other doll I have made.

The first...

Two little dolls ready for hair, features and clothing.

A New Project.

A new TRD in the making.  

I haven't felt like making one for a while, but today that feeling has gone and I have started a new girl with striped stockings.  I wanted to make a TRD with stripes on her legs for ages.  My last was a Raggedy Anne look alike that I made back in 2016 and she can be seen by clicking HERE

Subtle stripes, not too dark.  I was going to do red, but decided to go for a pale green in the end. I am hoping this will go with more colours.  I may still make one at some stage with red stripes, I am undecided.

Planning her out in my TRD Journal.

While I was doing this, Clipper took Petunia out in the garden as it was such a lovely day...

Petunia was excited to find a flower in bud that was the exact same colour as her top, shawl and patterning in her skirt.  She is looking forward to it coming out in bloom properly.

The Making of a Little Wooden Bed

The making of a little wooden dolls bed...  not quite as easy as it looked, especially as I didn't have all the right 'ingredients' and tools for the job.  Hopefully the next one I make will be a bit better (or preferably a LOT better!)  To say this first bed is a little 'squew wiff' is an understatement!

Martha lends an expert hand to measure up

After this stage I painted it, but must have forgotten to take a photo of it just painted.

I ended up making two mattresses as the first was a little short.

Martha shows Clipper the progress so far.

Today (Saturday) I made a pillow, pillowcase and two sheets.

The bed almost finished.  I want to make a little blanket and then patchwork quilt for the top.

My Tiny Rag Doll Swap

A friend in the USA and I decided a while back to do a Tiny Rag Doll swap.  We didn't set any deadlines as we both had other things going on.  I finally finished mine and packaged her and her clothes up ready to post on 17th September.   I've just heard she arrived today.  Always a relief to know the doll has arrived safely. 

 I wanted to make her clothes using NZ wool and fabrics as much as possible, and was quite pleased with the end result.  Her hair caused me a bit of consternation, but I wanted it to be different to any of hers and I think I achieved that.

Here she is wearing one of her little outfits.

A pair of undies to protect her modesty.

Her hair from the back.

The outfits I made:

They can be mixed and matched.

Of course she is a tea drinker, so needed to take a cup of tea and saucer along on her journey.

You can't really see her nose in the above picture!

She chose to wear this skirt and top for the journey

and added a shawl to keep her warm.

She has a bit of ‘flavour’ from New Zealand and the Isle of Wight, Hertfordshire and Northumberland.

Her variegated green t-shirt and shawl are knitted with Pure NZ Merino, Alpaca and Possum wool.

Her brown t-shirt and shawl are knitted with vintage NZ wool that my friend gave me.  It belonged to her aunt.

The variegated purple dress is knitted with Pure NZ Merino, Alpaca and Possum wool.

I think the purple shawl is also knitted with vintage wool from my friend in NZ. 

The flowery skirt is made from some fabric I bought from a charity shop in the little town near where my Mum’s home is. 

The linen skirt is made from some fabric scraps I bought from a charity shop local to me.

The orange t shirt is knitted from some wool that I was sent for my birthday and comes from Whistlebare in Northumberland and is a fine natural yarn.  I believe they have a website.

The orange skirt and the green skirt are made from some NZ cotton prints I bought in Whangarei.

 

She comes with her cup of tea and a saucer as she is a great tea drinker, and a puzzle that I bought in Kerikeri when there earlier this year.

She was sewn while I was staying in the Isle of Wight.  

Her hair was fine mohair pre-spun wool roving from NZ.  

Her shoes are made from NZ felted natural wool.