Saturday 27 October 2007

A Rag Doll in a Barbie World

When my children were younger I made a lot of stuffed dolls and animals. They always had something in that line every Christmas and birthday, plus tiny home-made things in their Christmas stockings. Now they're grown up, they aren't really interested in dolls or stuffed animals any more, but I still like to make them. These two are made from a 1997 pattern by Jennie 'n' Co which I found on ebay.
They're less primitive than is popular now, but I really enjoyed making them. Making dolls, you can just potter along at your own pace from one stage to the next, and before you know it they're taking shape before your eyes. They take up small amounts of fabric and you can vary them in so many ways. When the hair and face are done, they suddenly have character.
On this pattern the arm and leg seams are deliberately left on the outside, in case you were wondering! If I was making these dolls again I might make her dress an inch longer.
Now I just have to find somewhere to put them. Maybe I need more shelf space.

Darlene of Quilting Daze asked me to show a picture of this yo-yo mat, so here it is. It could partly be seen in the photo in my post of 29th September.
I made this when I wanted a small-scale mat for my mantelpiece, to put a vase on. It's about 7 inches square. The idea was to have faded-looking colours in the centre, with stronger colour around the edge. Sweet and simple, and useful too.

We're going away next week for a few days' holiday, so I'll catch up with any emails when I get back:)