Monday Yellow and Blues.

Daisy Spring enjoyed some time out in the garden today.  

She also spent some time with me on my favourite seat while I sat and read while having a cuppa.

Bellamy's wanderings weren't so solitary today...but he was in our garden so that was okay.

Howard said if you have a view of the sea, then you HAVE to have nautical trousers...

So of course I obliged.

Hmmm...what are these creatures he wonders?!

Bailey and Felix enjoyed some time out on the grass overseen by Howard.

Two Handmade Dolls - 2016

I thought I'd copy a post that I wrote on my previous blog back in October 2016.  I can't believe it was three years ago I made these two dolls.  

25th October 2016

I have been busy making dolls - instead of buying a doll, I am going to make one, at least that is the intention.  I do still have one on my 'wish list' that I hope to get before Christmas, but only if funds allow.

My latest two are 'Beth Ann' and 'Yet to be Named'

I used the wonderful 'Prarie Flower Doll' pattern that the very generous Beth has made available on her blog 'By Hook By Hand'

Thank you Beth for your wonderful patterns.

My last though is probably a different take on her original thoughts for the doll, but this doll just kind of 'happened'...I am obviously being influenced by Raggedy Ann stories at the moment.

This little girl is 6.5 inches tall.

She has removable purple boots

She clearly likes the colour purple!

Next I wanted to try the pattern at full size.

Here she is yesterday lounging on the couch.

Hair = much stabbing of fingers!

Ta Da!  Finished today.

Underwear made from handkerchief.

Reading...

Enjoying the garden.

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.

Creative 2019 - Week Seven

I last did a 'Creative 2019' back in February just before I left for NZ, having reached week six of continuous creativity.  Whilst I have been creative since, I haven't blogged about it apart from to show the dolls I made while in NZ.  So I am getting back into doing a weekly post to show what I have been doing creatively.

My friend Dawn designed a fun little pattern for Tiny Rag dolls and asked me to test knit the patter which I was absolutely delighted to do.  It is an easy to follow fun knit and you can make a little dress quite quickly which I like.  You can find the pattern on Ravelry here:  Cap Sleeved Dress for Tiny Rag Dolls

The first one I knitted was for my blue haired tiny rag doll, who is yet to have a name.

Next one for this little girl, again waiting on a name.

The third for 'Renee'.

The first three dresses together.

Gladys received the next dress.

And then there were four!

I knitted this one for Nancy, but felt she looked to washed out in it

So Barbara got it instead.

For Rose I knitted a little blue dress to go with her shoes.

All my eight tiny rag dolls I made in NZ now have closed.  Thelma and Shirley, on the left already had clothing made for them, although I will make both of them one of these dresses as well, to add to their individual wardrobes.

Because the pink didn't suit Nancy I thought I would try the dark grey and I was pleased with how that looked on her.  I think it could be dressed up a bit with a little bit of jewellery and a small shrug type cardigan.

Dawn also wrote a pattern for Hitty and AG dolls, which can be found here: Cap Sleeved Dress for Hitty and Mini AG dolls , so I tried that as well.

The first one I tried on 'Tiny Dawn' a Tiny Betsy doll as she doesn't have many clothes, and I love this on her.

I knitted one for Roshni, my Madame Alexander Travel Friend Doll.

Last night I wanted to make a dress for Anka my Polish Doll

I tried it on her, but wasn't convinced.  I think it needs to be a bit smaller across her shoulders and a bit shorter in length so will knit her another.

So I tried it on Poppy, my Heartstrings doll, and love it on her.

Lastly I knitted one for little Eva, my Baboliy doll that my friend Sharlyn gave me last year.  Love this on her!

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I've also done a little sewing to add to my Etsy Shop which can be found here: Muriel Makes  The dresses can be purchased either via my blog, or my shop.

This one is a pretty liberty style floral print and has a lined bodice.  

Perfect for the summer if we get one!

This one is another liberty style print and oh so summery.  

Each dress is £8.50 each plus postage.

I tend to only make two of each type of dress print wise, one to keep and one to sell, so the dresses aren't made en masse, and pretty much original - there won't very often be duplicates.

Quite pleased with my productive week.  Makes me realise I did actually achieve quite a lot, even when I thought I hadn't!