Little grey

Happy Tuesday ladies and thank you for your lovely responses to my previous post!

 

Well all the decs are now gone :( . I'm always sad to see my tree go but actually it is sort of nice to get back to normal. The boy is totally blissed out with his presents, especially THE Lego camper van. It was the only thing he has evr asked for, as he usually says that he will be happy with anything Santa brings (yes he still believes in Santa!!). This Lego set is for a 16 plus years so we thought it may take him a few days to finish.....

 

Lego camper van - the beginning.....

 

 

Five hours of solid Lego-ing later.....

 

So all done in just five hours. Now he just spends a lot of time looking at it!

 

But enough of the Lego! Let's get to the really interesting part, which is about what I have been making!!

 

We got a new baby boy in the family a few months ago and I decided to make a blanket (no surprises there). What I did though was to try out a different colourway. This blanket is grey and a sort of off-white and I think it looks rather Scandinavian. I love it but I'm not sure the new mama likes it so much...ah well. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a lovely week! xx

 

Oops! Forgot to say that the basic hearts pattern came from here at  Ravelry

Dolly daydreams

Hello dear ladies! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. We are having a really cold spell here in Yorkshire and I awoke this morning to a very thick frost covering the whole garden. Magical.

Thank you so much for your lovely comments about the pooches. I do hope some of you decide to make them. With some help, it is a good project for children.

I wish I could do this!!!

It is my great niece Jemimah's first birthday soon (where does the time go????) and I thought about what to make her. She's had lots of blankets and my sister made her a quilt....then it came to me. A doll! So then I started looking online for cloth dolls and found an absolute treasure trove of  dolls ranging from exquisite to, frankly, creepy.

Children have played with dolls since ancient times. Dolls found in ancient Greek and Egyptian tombs are very crude affairs, made from wood, and sometimes clay or even bone and ivory. However, it seems that the cloth doll or rag doll has always existed. Due to it's fragile nature there aren't many examples but some have survived. This Roman doll is over 2000 years old and now lives in the British Museum! I'm sure it was more attractive when new!

So long before dolls were made commercially, enterprising parents or older siblings would craft soft dolls for the infant members of the family, invariably from scraps of cloth left over from dress making, or reusing worn out items of clothing. Even sackcloth was used.

Here are some early examples of cloth dolls...

Beautiful African American twin dolls from the late 1800s (courtesy of Hatch Collection)



An entirely hand made American doll from around 1890-1900



A Russian doll from the early 1900s



A French cloth doll from around 1920s

I do love these old dolls but I have been completely bowled over by the masses of amazing dolls being made now. I couldn't possibly post on all of the gorgeous dolls I have found so here is a little taster...

Firstly, there is a whole world of stunning, artist created dolls that are definitely not toys but are works of art to be treasured. This one is a Frida Khalo doll by artist Cyra R Cancel. I LOVE it!

This beautiful girl is called Raggedy Red and is by Black-Eyed Suzie whose blog can be found here...

The very pretty Madeline has been made by Tessa whose blog is here

And I adore little Lucy made by Jen at the Fabled Needle.

The following dolls are more child-friendly but are no less beautiful. 

These cuties are from Dolly Donations and a free pattern can be found here! There is so much generosity online!

This very colourful doll is by Jenny B Harris at Allsorts.....I love the fabric!

Another free pattern here for these gorgeous Lucy Dolls by Wendi Gratz....

These are made from a free pattern from Emily Martin and have inspired so many beautiful variations. Just google Black Apple doll and you will see!

 

Now we have Rosie, who is a more traditional rag doll - with yarn hair. A free pattern can be found here . I do love the yarn hair but I think for babies and very young children who will probably chew/suck it, it is probably not a good idea.



Seriously, there are just so many truly gorgeous dolls around. I am so inspired! I have a stash of vintage fabrics and also some Amy Butler. All I need now is the body fabric, although some doll makers recommend using a white pillowcase (if you want a white doll). I suppose at one time they really were rag dolls and were made from whatever scraps of fabric were around.

I will post on my dolly progress! Have a good week xxx

It's what it's all about

Good morning ladies

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on the quilt. For those of you who have never tried quilting I would urge you to have a go. Start with something small like a baby quilt and check out all the fantastic advice available online. I would definitely recommend using a thimble though! Any advice on the best thimbles to buy?

Baby J's mummy sent me these photos of the said quilt in use by Baby J and I had to share them with you. This is what it is all about for me...making something and then seeing it being used by a gorgeous little one and knowing it will be treasured.

Enjoy your weekend! xx

A quilt for Baby J

Hello my dear ladies

I hope this weekend finds you happy and well and (if you are in the Northern hemisphere) enjoying some autumn sunshine.

We have a winner for the giveaway - chosen by the random number generator known as Little S - Sarah at All Fingers and Thumbs! Congratulations Sarah and sorry to the rest of you lovely people who entered the giveaway. I wish I had gifts for you all!

Now onto some crafting......oh yes, I have a finished project........ready?

 The patches were sewn together by machine but the quilting was done by hand...my first ever quilt!

I have to say that I was not prepared for how much I loved the actual quiling process...I am totally in love with quilting! This may have something to do with my fear of the sewing machine! I love how the whole thing is transformed into something cosy and comfy and, well, sort of quilty, just by adding these little stitches. It was all done freehand so you would be hard pushed to find a straight line here (!) but I think it has character!

This is the back. I cheated and made the back much bigger than the front and then sort of brought it round....if that makes sense....

My neighbour, who is a very experienced quilter, told me that I should have used a frame and then I wouldn't have got this puffed up effect....well I LOVE the puffed up effect! Isn't that what quilts are supposed to do, puff up????

And here it is in all its glory...my first quilt and hopefully the first of many. Many of you quilting gurus out there would no doubt question my methods and find lots of mistakes but I really am delighted with this and I hope Baby J's mum likes it too.

Enjoy your weekend!

Andrea xx

Sticks and stones

Hello! Back from the coast where the weather was horrid but the company was great. In fact I didn't take out my camera once!!! However, the Mr, the boy and I went to the East Yorkshire coast a couple of days ago and it was glorious - a hot sun finally dispelling the morning mist.

We went to a place called Spurn Point, which is an historic site because of its role during both world wars as a defence point for the river Humber. It is a strange place; not beautiful but very stark and interesting...

The beach was covered in the detritus of war...these huge concrete blocks were anti-tank defences...

Then we came upon the remains of jetties, the wooden posts still standing in line but with nothing to support...

I found them very sculptural and beautiful in an odd kind of way...

Then the sun came out and Little S and I stopped to strip off some layers as we walked to Spurn Point lighthouse...

And here it is!

I have a soft spot for lighthouses and when I was a child I used to fantasise about living in one!!! Sadly, this one is out of action and is boarded up so we couldn't go inside and have a look around. I'm pleased it hasn't been demolished though as it looks superb on the beach...

Then the boy and I indulged my passion for fossiling. I seem to have an uncanny knack to spot a fossil immediately I step onto a beach! Little S found some interesting stones too and he set them all out this morning...

I found this rather splendid bit of amonite about a minute after I started looking - much to the Mr's chagrin...he ever finds anything!

I plan to use these flat, smooth stones to have a go at Margaret Oomen's fabulous crochet stones pattern...

They are stunning, aren't they.

Ah, that brings me to a bit of my own crochet.....

A dear friend has had her first baby and I whipped up this blanket in a couple of days...

It is made from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino 4 ply and it flew off the hook. I love the muted, vintage colours - a change from the brights I usually use. It isn't huge but is perfect for a car blanket.

Well that's all for now, dear ladies. I'm off to catch up with your blogs and see what you have all been up to! xxx