Lucy - Waldorf Doll

I will get faster eventually at making Waldorf Dolls, but for now, they take me an age – there is so much involved!!!! And I still have plenty to learn, but I think this one is better than the last, so I must be getting there. 

Her dungarees are made from cotton velvet, lined with a Tilda cotton fabric ………. note to self: DO NOT sew with velvet again – it moves!!!! 😊

 

You’ll see in the first photo that she’s being very sensible and wearing her mask ….. sorry, just had to do it 😊

 

She loves her boots!!

I hope you're all happy and keeping well.

Getting there ................

Well, my next Waldorf style doll is finished, BUT she's a little bit bare at the moment!! and so needs something nice to wear. She's thinking she would like some velvet dungarees (see beautiful cotton velvet draped to protect her modesty 😉) - mind you, sewing velvet ……….. ?? enough said! She I may yet have a change of mind 😄
We have the time though ………….. did I mention I'm now retired??!!
She needs a name too!

I've recently celebrated turning 60 (hence retirement) and thought you might enjoy seeing some of the balloons my darling!! eldest nephew organised for me ……… he does love a laugh (at my expense). I think they're brilliant! The 'Hip Hip Replacement' is referring to the knee replacement I had about 18 months ago. You can't get knee, knee replacement, because clearly that wouldn't be funny, so 'Hip' was the next best thing. I keep on trying to explain to this 33-year old nephew that he too will, one day, become old and decrepit 😄

So, I hope everyone is managing to keep well and safe and enjoying plenty of crafty time.

Allsorts!

Well, I've not been as regular as I planned with my (Corona) blogging! But I have been busy crafting.

A year or more ago, I bought the pattern to make this rather quirky earflap knitted hat …….. it just appealed to me!😕 Then I bought the yarn to knit it; and as I do not want to waste what I've bought, I was determined I would knit it. So, in the midst of sunny Spring weather, I finally got around to it. It involves a bit of fairisle knitting, but it's a nice chunky yarn and wasn't too onerous. And I'm sure I'll appreciate it in the depths of chilling winter walks!

The photo is only of the finished hat and the pattern - there's no way you're going to see me modelling it!! 😉 The girl in the pattern photo is young and pretty ….. I am not 😏

Last Friday, I made this birthday card for a friend. I had nothing suitable in to send and I really do hate going out to the shops at the moment ….. I, like many others, find it all very scary. And as I have a small supply of card making 'stuff' and a Gemini die cutting machine, I thought I'd take the time to make a card. This is a die called (not surprisingly) 'Afternoon Tea'

I know why I never really got into card making though, because one card took me probably half a day!! It's pretty, but so much time for something that will probably eventually be thrown away?!

Next, is a knitted dishcloth. Some years ago when I noticed that many ladies were knitting/crocheting dishcloths, I didn't really get it - what's the point in going to so much trouble for a dishcloth I thought??!! I even, much to my embarrassment, said as much to another crafter, who promptly told me that her mother made them …….. that was a rather red face moment!! 😳 This looks grey on my laptop screen, but is in fact a nice dusty pale blue.

I know it's only a dishcloth, but it's part of an increasing interest in homemade, recycling, minimalizing etc. I have developed over the last 4 - 5 years. Like many others, I have developed a deeper sense of the damage we humans are doing to our planet, so I won't start on how much I now hate plastic - and yes, I also have plenty of the stuff in my home - who does not; however, I plan to buy no more wherever possible. Grocery shopping often makes it very difficult, particularly when you have to run a very tight ship (financially) as I do. And I know also that it has its place, such as in hospitals. But, we have to start somewhere and I shall do whatever I can from now on. By the way, the dishcloth is knitted with a 100% cotton yarn. I will never buy acrylic yarn again!! Rant over!

Lastly, just to show I have not forgotten about my Waldorf dolls, I have also spent considerable time on my next one. I actually started on two at the same time, but the other one isn't working for me at the moment, so I'll need to back peddle a bit and try to put right what's wrong. But this one is working for me. The doll is finished, but now she needs some hair - that may get started today. And then the task of making clothes …… always my favourite part 😊

For now, I need to psych myself up for tomorrow when I shall be 60 years old ….. eeeek!! I don't complain though about getting older …. it really is just a number. And as a favourite saying has it " aging is a privilege denied to many". This always makes me think about my wonderful brother who died tragically 10 years ago at the age of 53 - he ought to still be here and aged 63, but he's not!

It won't of course, be terribly exciting - the fun has to be postponed for now, but I hope to be having video calls with friends and family. I may even receive some cards in the post if I'm lucky (a few have already arrived actually). And I've decided I shall bake myself a cake and put a candle on it. Then those at the other end of the video call can sing 'Happy Birthday' to me and I'll blow out the candle. That's the best we can do for now. There are tons of others having to put their celebrations on hold too. I feel really sorry for those who have had to postpone their weddings!! 😞

Anyway, that's it for now. Stay safe everybody 💓

Clemie (I think!)

It’s only taken me getting on for 5 months to produce a follow-up Waldorf Style Doll. What with Christmas, a personal matter and work as usual getting in the way, it’s taken a while!

If you’ve already read the following text on Facebook recently, I apologise for not being original. 
So, here are some photos of my newest doll. She is made (I think her name is Clemie) from the same pattern we used at Ildiko’s workshop in September last year. That said, there are plenty of differences to the end result, which just proves the benefits of having a teacher on hand! I’m reasonably pleased with her, but she’s far from being as good as the original. And why is that? Here’s what I think:

1.     I used a different doll jersey (what I had in at the time)

2.     Her arms and legs, for some reason, are too skinny

3.     Her cheeks aren’t chubby enough and her forehead looks a bit too wide

4.     The shade of fabric is lighter that the original and next to the white hair, she looks a bit anaemic – a darker skin would have looked better!

5.     Having mentioned the hair though, that is the part I am really pleased with. I had a go at a crocheted wig using mohair yarn especially designed for doll hair. It’s called Wild Brushable Mohair. I found various tutorials showing the method of making them, but then you just have to work it out as you go along adjusting the ‘wig’ to your doll’s head. I then washed it gently (before sewing it on her head) and let it dry into the lovely curls you see in the picture. There is a downside to this type of doll wig though. As lovely as it looks with all those curls, it soon becomes quite matted when handled, so I can’t imagine it staying looking so nice after being loved, cuddled and played with by a child. Maybe, in time, I will discover a way of keeping those curls! For now though, as seen in the other pictures, I’ve re-styled her hair into little bunches in the hope they will stay in place easier than pretty curls – still quite cute though!

I hope you’ll enjoy my new journey along with me as I learn the process of making good quality Waldorf ‘style’ dolls!

Waldorf Doll making

Just over a week ago, I attended a weekend Waldorf Doll Making workshop in Hereford! It was run and hosted by the very talented Ildiko of Waldorf Doll Shop. It was a very intensive 2 days ………….. and with ‘homework’ to be done on the Saturday evening too! That was to start crocheting the wig cap. Ildiko had us working hard, because there’s a lot to do to complete a doll in a weekend – she’s a very good and thorough teacher; and the ‘proof of the pudding’ is in the dolls we produced. And that didn’t include making the clothes either – they were already made for us. During the weekend, Ildiko also fed and watered us with plenty of delicious homemade food, biscuits and refreshments.

I’ve had a go at making a couple of Waldorf dolls over the last year, but with little success. It’s the head and face that’s the key – get that wrong and you’ll have a weird looking doll, so that’s what the majority of the workshop concentrates on. My interest in these dolls has been growing over the last couple of years – and at the same time, my interest in the teddy bears has been diminishing. The elephant I showed in the last post was the first bear I’d made in over 12 months and I didn’t particularly enjoy making it, so I see myself going down the Waldorf Doll route from now on so long as I can repeat the technique next time. I like that they’re made totally organically of all natural products, which is part of the Steiner principals. I also approve of the fact they are likely to be played with by children, which is why they are made so well. There are collectors out there too, but they are really designed to be played with.

Anyway, the little lady in green is the one I made - note, every bit is handmade! There were five of us making dolls and the next picture shows all the dolls together made by Sue, Alice, Manuela, Siobhan and me.

Now I don’t wish to offend anyone, but I just have to show you her cute little bum :0) 

If you're not familiar with Waldorf dolls, their origins are in the Steiner education system, although the original doll was of a much simpler design.

A bit of this & that!!

Well it’s again been a while since I last posted – not intentional; however, I’ve had stuff going on and I suppose lost my sewing mojo to some degree. I moved house mid-May. What I’ve actually done is to move back home, having temporarily moved in and lodged with my sister-in-law for about 18 months – I rented out my house to tenants. It was a great opportunity for me to reduce my mortgage a bit, which is in preparation for me retiring next May when I’ll be 60-years old (cannot wait!!).

In moving back home, I decided it was a good time to have some decorating done, which I did before moving back. I’ve had all of the upstairs and the staircase redecorated and new carpet laid, new wardrobes from Ikea, new light fittings and I’m still waiting on a bespoke handmade chest of drawers, which I designed. So, a fair bit of my time was spent organising all of that. Plus also re-packing my belongings, removals, ending the tenancy and everything that goes with that etc. etc.

So to start with, I made a bag for my nephew’s wife (Hafsa). They had been to Turkey on holiday, and Hafsa had bought back a print of lovely colourful doors. As soon as I looked at the picture, I saw ‘free-motion applique’ which had to be done, and as everyone can use another tote bag, that’s what I decided to do. I used faux leather for the base. Here are the framed print and the bag:

Next, and for whatever reason, I decided to make a ‘Tilda’ duck with some of my Tilda stash – I then thought I might as well make two!!

I’m fairly sure I’m moving away from the Artist Teddy Bears in favour of the Waldorf Dolls I’ve been loving more and more over the last couple of years or so. I have LOADS yet to learn about them, but here is my third attempt.

It’s better than the first two, but I’m FAR from happy with the face – getting it right is about the eye/mouth/chin area, which I’ve not done well; however, it is the face that’s the most difficult to get right. Still, in about 3 – 4 weeks, I shall be attending my first Waldorf Doll Workshop, which will hopefully guide me in the process of the face and hair making. I also made the dress and knitted the cardigan that she’s wearing, together a spare red & white dress.

So then (4 weeks ago) I decided to break my ankle!!!!!!!!!!!! Now if you’d read my last blog post, you may recall I was on crutches then because I’d had a total knee replacement. So, this is a bit of a déjà vu moment – same leg even! What happened was that I was going downstairs (getting ready for work at 6:15am) and thought I was on the last stair before the floor – unfortunately, there was actually another stair, which I missed, and I landed very heavily in a heap on the floor. A trip to A&E and then the fracture clinic resulted in a moon boot and crutches – and 6 weeks (or so) off work!! Mind you, boredom has really set in being housebound! Daytime TV is totally pants – here I am watching the ‘Sewing Quarter’. I’ve even signed up to ‘Netflix’! Still, it could be worse! Speaking about Netflix, have you seen a wonderful film called ‘Lion’? It came out a couple of years ago and is a true story about a 5-year old boy who became lost from his home and family in India; accidently ended up on a very long train journey across India and was eventually adopted by a couple in Tasmania ….. what a fabulous film (and a tear jerker).

I have to keep my leg elevated as much as possible, which rules out sitting at the sewing machine, so I’ve settled down to some knitting instead. A few weeks before the ankle break, I’d been to the Birmingham Yarningham Knitting Festival, where I excitedly bought a kit to make a VERY quirky (which I love) little fox. So excited was I when I bought the kit, it didn’t occur to me to read the pattern. Now, although I’ve been a knitter since I was a child, I’ve only ever knitted in what I’m now terming the ‘old-fashioned’ way on 2 metal single pointed knitting needles with either double-knit or 4-ply yarn. This quirky looking fox has been a massive (and welcome) learning curve to my knitting skills. I’ve had to knit with what is probably equivalent to something like 2-ply yarn (very thin), knitting with dpns (double pointed needles) in size 2.25mm (also very thin) – my sister-in-law said they look more like cocktail sticks, which is true, especially as they’re made from bamboo. I’ve learnt to do something called ‘short rows’, I’ve knitted ‘in the round’ – I’ve cast on with a method called ‘figure of 8 cast-on’ – and all this on needles only a little bigger than cocktail sticks. I did it though and my ‘quirky fox’ is the result AND he looks like the picture on the pattern. He measures about 8 inches from top to toe.

This week, I also finished an ‘Ellie’ which I’d prepared months and months ago. Finishing meant stuffing the body and doing the head. He has a little pair of trousers, but I’ll probably finish him with a little knitted top …….. eventually!!!

Next on my list is a couple of small (I hope) cross-stitch projects.

I think to be honest, I’ve been doing a lot more dreaming about the crafts I want to do, rather than actually ‘doing’!! I’m really hoping I can do something with my crafts once I retire, such as holding workshops as well as selling made items and I think I’m getting too anxious about it all. Although I have loads of ideas of things to make, I just really don’t know where to start with the ‘doing’ side of things!! I need to do some business research I suppose and make a plan! I also think I’m probably afraid of failure and am procrastinating big time!!

Anyway, to finish, and just because he’s so gorgeous, here’s a photo of my great nephew, Mika, who is just over 8-months old now ……. isn’t he a cutie?