The Eclectic Company

A few of my dolls have been getting dressed for Easter & Spring.

The first four are my childhood dolls....although Tressy and Kiwi Sindy are replacements as my original Tressy got lost during one of our moves when I was a child and my Sindy was given away by my Mum.  Skipper and Barbie are my original dolls...slightly worse for wear, but very much loved.  Tressy and Barbie have on clothing that my Mum made, so they are very special and very much of the era they were made.  Skipper is wearing one of the original outfits she came with, although I am not sure it is an actual original Skipper outfit.  Definitely vintage though!  Kiwi Sindy (named as I found her in a charity shop in New Zealand in 2019.  I like to imagine she is my original, although I know she isn't as my original older than her.) is wearing a dress I made a couple of years ago.  

The jointed gals...all waving hello.

Roshni, my Madame Alexander Travel Friend Doll, Helen, my Blythe doll, Wren, my Makie and a Simone, Disney doll I found in a charity shop.  

The littlies... Sharlyn, named after my bestest friend, Little Gem, Madeline, and Little Dawn, a Tiny Betsy Doll and of course Nancy with her little bear.

All of them together.

 

Happy Halloween

For our friends that celebrate..,. Happy Halloween 2019!

Halloween Preparations.

The last couple of days I've been decorating a shelf for Halloween.

All the little ones have been gathering.

It is starting to look really atmospheric.

Creative 2019 - Week Two

The sparks have been flying off my needles and a fair few other little items have been knitted. 

I started a mix n match wardrobe for Sindy.

I also knitted Sindy a little set consisting of a skirt, hat and jacket, using the last of some of my NZ wool bought back in 2015.

Moving on to Tressy

A new dress for Tressy

Plus a skirt

Which can go with a a couple of her knitted tops.

(I also made Sindy a skirt with the same fabric.)

So all in all a pretty productive week, averaging at least one, sometimes two items a day.

Edited to add:

I also made five Valentine's Day dresses for Sindy that are in my Etsy Shop.

Creative 2019

This year I am hoping to be a lot more creative, whether it be through knitting, sewing, or writing blog stories, or some other craft.  To encourage the shift from 'buying' to using and enjoying what I have.  I am hoping to create at least one thing a day for the month of January.

While Henry is busy undergoing his 'surgery'  (I have been having regular updates, and he is behaving very well (of course) ) I have been knitting in the evenings for my Childhood Tressy doll.

First up I knitted this stylish grey dress, and made her a leather belt to go with it.

Next Day was a pleated skirt with polar neck top.

Apparently she wanted a swimsuit - very optimistic for this time of year!

Next was a classic dress

I started the 'shell' blouse for Sindy, but Tressy claimed it so I had to knit a skirt to match.

Then along came this set, and of course these two skirt and top sets can 'mix n match'.

Tressy is just so stylish and lovely to knit for.  It is good to be knitting again, and keeping things small, isn't so taxing.

I do have three orders to fulfil for Sasha and some Schoenhut dolls, and hoping to make a start on the first of those next week.

Summary on Sunday: Blogging, Henry's Hair Loss, Knitting Etc...

I'm hoping I can blog a bit more as blogging seems to have taken quite a back seat for a while due to a number of reasons.  Certainly I will be doing my usual Advent series of posts, but I'd like to get back into doing more of the other things as well.  How this will pan out though is anyone's guess.

I know I have mentioned this before, but Henry's hair problem has been a real stumbling block for me with regards my blogging as he is the foundation of it all really and such a focus.  I still haven't got my head round it.  I keep toying with the idea of getting him re-rooted as I haven't really liked any wigs I have tried on him so far.  Trouble is I want him to look 'the same'. I don't want him to look different and so much of the re-rooting I have seen has been just girls and not boys, and those boys that have been re-rooted just don't have hair styles that are like the original boys. Over the winter he can get away with wearing hats, although I wish he didn't have to wear them inside as well, but it has got so bad now, that there are just too many large bald areas for me to 'repair' in the photo editing process.  I have toyed with the idea of also substituting him but although others might not know I do, and it just doesn't 'feel' right to me.  Despite me buying several new brunette boys last year I think it was none of them looked anything like Henry.  In fact I have never seen a brunette boy look quite like Henry, even though I have others who are very similar to each other.  Who would have thought a doll and his losing of hair would cause such a profound problem for me?!

I started doing a bit of knitting while house sitting for my son last month, and unfortunately it is still very painful and causes pain in my arm and muscle spasms in my neck on the opposite side, so I will just have to go slowly.  I haven't knitted in over a year, so was hoping the rest would have helped, but it seems not.

I thought I would start off small so I knitted for my Sindy dolls (the one on the left is my replica childhood Sindy and the other two are my charity shop bargains found while I was house sitting.

I especially love the one in the middle who is my 'waifiest' Sindy but the gal I do most with.

Just need to put some buttons on this when I can find some that are suitable.  I did make a belt for it, but felt it then make it look too much like a dressing gown!

Just loving this girl and this look.

This cardigan I made as a swap gift.

I also knitted for my childhood Tressy.  The skirt she is wearing I made many years ago now.

I have knitted two Sasha size cardigans (for Peggy Sue) and did find it hard work, so need to not get carried away with how long I sit and knit for!  I do have an order, just need to get the wool, so hope to start on that next.

I am also hoping my sewing mojo has returned and was not just a one off enthusiasm to make something for Peggy Sue's birthday.  It is a long time since I have done any sewing as well.  We will see.  I do have something that I must make for someone at some stage, but I need to make sure I am in the right frame of mind before I attempt it.

Sunday seems to be flying by, it is mid-day already!  Time to clear up after Peggy Sue's party yesterday.  I wonder if any of the girls are going to help me?!