Finished my new Dollies

I recently found a new toy pattern that I'm really loving, almost as much as Little Cotton Rabbit by Julie Williams ! My new friends are the Oak Folk by Sandra Magalhães , her Etsy shop has a name I don't understand because I think it's in Portuguese but her patterns also come in English. And they are WONDERFUL!

First Dolly I finished from The Oak Folks

As you see, I even managed to knit them while I was on our 5 week caravan holiday up to Exmouth and Karratha. And I immediatelly fell in love with her! So I had to do another one!

Second Dolly! So much fun!

So now I had two! There were so many ideas percolating in my brain by then. The most prominent one was "I can't wait to get home so I can have access to ALL my stash and ALL my needles!" You don't realize how difficult it is to get knitting tools outside of a fair sized city! The holiday was nearly over and we came back to Perth and visited Darling Daughter and her Hubbie and of course, the precious grandchild...Eugene! A busy 2 year old. Who would be better to test the Dollies? So I gave him a go...

He LOVED them! In the end, I let him have them and he terrorises his mother now by wrenching off their bonnets and insisting that she puts them back on again! (Fortunately, he hasn't found out that the shoes come off too!) They more than stood up to the rigors of being pulled, squished, having their little faces crushed against each other as they kissed each other and being stood on, rolled on and carried around by an arm or a leg. And they are such a versatile toy for a small child.

Thus encouraged, I decided to knit some more. So I ddecided to knit two more dollies once I was home with my stash.

New Dolly 1 and New Dolly 2!

With tan and white cotton I made up the bodies and I used the same technique for the eyes as I do with the bunnies. They sit better in their little faces than the ones on the pattern. And I was used to working them too after all this time! Nice. Then the fun stuff, Dressing them!

Dolly 2 in Blue!

 I decided to dress Dolly 2 first because I'd already decided what colours to use. The bonnet is an old baby acrylic, the cardigan is part of a reclaimed jumper that I'd unravelled and knit held doubled. The rompers are a free ball of yarn from a knitting magazine pattern that I never used and the shoes are an old ball of baby yarn with an angora blend.

Cardigan, rompers, bonnet and shoes. All removable!

 I was very happy with how she turned out. The colours worked, the textures were nice and soft. Easy enough to wash with a bit of care...Brilliant. Okay, onto Dolly 1!

Dolly 1 in Red and Orange

 I decided on rich autumn-like colours. I love the different hues of the orange parts especially. The cardigan was difficult because I wanted a particular golden yellow colour but I didn't have any acrylic in it. So in the end I used a cotton/rayon blend I had and it was just what I wanted!

Cardigan, romper, bonnet and shoes are removable.

I changed the pattern of the pixie bonnet a bit because I didn't want the different stitch patterns on the original. I wanted a smoother, less chunky look. So I just garter stitched the front and did the back shaping in stocking stitch. It worked just as well and matched the rest of his clothes very nicely!

Dolly 2 and Dolly 1...what next?

So, now, much satisfied with myself and thinking on everything, I have only one more question. Would it be worth while knitting some more of these lovelies and seeing if anyone might like to buy them. I'm still doing the Bunnies but everything has been very quiet for months and I'm starting to get despondent again. I can never seem to keep the momentum going!

I guess I'll have to wait and see. Maybe play around with seeing if the Bunnies can fit into the Oak Folks clothes. That could be fun!

God Bless to All!

Dx

Easter!!

The other night I knitted up another bunny from the original pattern but in a much chunkier yarn just to see how well it would turn out, especially since I actually knit the arms and legs the way I was supposed to instead of making it up as I went because I wouldn't take the trouble to read the instructions (duh!) All in all I think it turned out pretty good.

The hardest part was attaching the arms, legs and ears properly. Even being as careful as I could they are by no means even in placement, which drives me a little nuts. But I can live with it. It's still better than my first so every gain is an improvement.

As it was anyway, it was fortunate that I had the bitty bunny. I wanted to give a gift to my non-religious friend that she would like and that my conscience could put up with as a born-again Christian. I thought of my first bunny and imagined with a few alterations, it would fit the bill! My friend and I have been knitting together and enjoying it very much lately so I thought she would love the cuteness of this wee little bunny while I could also share (without being a killjoy)my beliefs in the Easter celebration. I hope you like it and enjoy your own celebrations. 

Happy Easter!