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

Flying pig...away!

I thought I'd have a break from the endless skirt and do something cute and fun. And it being ANZAC day all the shops are shut. Except the pubs :-)
Anyway, this was even quicker that my easter bunny! Very sweet and it naturally sits on it's bum once you've stuffed it which I thought looked really good too.
I decided to give it felt wings since I thought if I gave it wings in the same yarn as it's body that they wouldn't stand out as much and I think these are MUCH cuter!
So cute! I'm so impressed with myself :-D

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!

Now for some Cute Instant Gratification

After I finished the vest I needed something fun and QUICK. The vest had been heavy and although a simple knit it had been a lot of stitches. So I decided to do one of the few toys I have in my queue. I'm really glad I did. It uses a tiny amount of yarn too, so great for scraps!

Little Baby Bunny

 It was a little fiddly and in an attempt to do as few repeats as possible I messed up some of the instructions along the way but the finished result exceeded my expectations. She is so cute!!

I will definitely be repeating this pattern. Very basic and very enjoyable. So much scope for adding personality to the little cutie!

So What have I done this Week?

Laundry done? Nope. Although I did wash a load of towels but didn't manage to put them on the line. Hey, it's drizzling out there...on and off...when I look out the window...
Ironing started? Eh, negatori!
Floors swept? Carpets vacuumed? No and...nope.
But I have been knitting! Look, all the nice pretty things I've been making!
I made this lovely cat-ornament-cat-thing...

...and then I knit these really great felted slippers from a great magazine I bought when I was in Albany last...with wool that I also bought in Albany...even though I have an obscene amount of wool at home that I could have probably practiced with...but I digress!

The backs with the buttons are how the heels ended up because my feet are so ridiculously small that even felted the slippers were HUGE! But aren't they cute!!

Still knitting the Blush Vest and don't have a nice picture and we went to Albany for dinner with newly returned In-Laws (They've been to New Zealand, lucky hobbits!) so took slipper pattern and wool I'd spun and dyed and knit up another pair of slippers over the course of the night and even managed to felt them when I got home! And they turned out so well!!!

Aren't they pretty? The heels are different again to the first pair. I wanted to put a button detail on them again but they didn't fold over the way the first ones did and I didn't like how the heel kind of hung out. So I sewed them up to about 2cms short of the heel and then gathered the heel up so it made a nice circle where you heel goes. Hey, it makes sense to me! And they fit! What more could I want?

Well, I think that's about it. I've done a bit of dyeing acrylic yarns...not sure I want to do that again. It smells funny for starters! But I now have some interesting coloured yarn that I'm not sure what to do with, one of them so acrylic-y that it squeaks! I think that one may find its way to being a market bag or something.

This boring pink fluffy became this almost elmo-oh-my-god red fluffy stuff


And this was the Acrylic then...and now. Better colour, just as squeaky!

A most productive week...of a kind. Hey, the house I will always have with me but inspiration comes only now and then, or sometimes more often...depending on the yarn available...or the patterns that crop up...but definitely not as often as housework anyway!

I'll have to give serious thought this weekend though to vacuuming, laundry and ironing otherwise the Hubbie will begin to remonstrate. And I've got to have a look at Chapter Nine of Raven of Arlon before another week flies by. Sigh. Why can't I get paid by the quota of Creative energy I generate.
Oh well....
Happy Knitting :)