New Year Greetings

Greetings Friends

2016 was a busy year for patterns and I created several new ones which I know many of you have been busy knitting. My family of dolls and bunnies is set to grow during 2017 and I already have ideas which I'm keen to start working on. Meanwhile, if you want to contact me or find out about my latest patterns you can find us all having fun at Dollytime on Facebook. 

Best wishes from us all x

More smiley makes

Greetings friends. I've just popped in to show you some of the happy little characters I've been making over the past week.

Little brooches

A happy flower on a patchwork pouch

And finally - four little pin-keeping dollies who take care of the beaded pins in four little pin cushions.

More smiles to follow!

Eli x

Happy stuff

TV news bulletins showing an endless stream of man's inhumanity to man and popular TV programmes showing even more murder and mayhem make me feel quite downhearted. I often feel the need to escape to a happier place and what better place to escape to than into the pages of a children's story book.

Let me show you a couple of books I've recently acquired. 'Aunt Amelia' by Rebecca Cobb is about two little cuties who worried about a strict auntie coming to stay with them. But she turned out to be a very unconventional auntie as you can see.

 

Together they did lots of fun things.

They painted pictures.

 

Ate scrumptious meals.

And found a cosy spot to watch TV.

 

A really happy tale for little ones. Full of fun and mischief and beautifully illustrated.

And here's another one of my current favourites.

'Not Me' by Nicola Killen is about five cute kiddies who create lots of mess around the house. The illustrations are colourful and uncomplicated and clever paint effects depict the 'mess' created. I love it!

 

And of course by now you'll know I'm a big fan of Mabel Lucie Attwell books where carefree children live in a safe, happy world.

I've been doing a spot of sewing this week and the 'happy' theme has continued. The grey weather here in the Lake District resulted in me choosing brightly coloured Kaffe Fassett prints for my happy purses. Each one has it's own smiley dolly stitched to the front.

They were such fun to create I couldn't stop myself making some larger ones using pink flowery prints that I trimmed with vintage lace.

 

 

The smiley purses will eventually go into my Etsy 'Flutterby Stitch' shop which I'm ashamed to say has currently got empty shelves. I've moved the PDF sewing patterns for Ragtaggle Rabbits and Little Counting Dolls into Dollytime (my other Etsy shop). These sewing patterns are now for sale alongside my knitting patterns.

Meanwhile, my Flutterby Stitch shop will remain empty until I've produced a few more items. I'll continue to concentrate on 'happy stuff' and next on my list of makes will be happy brooches. . . . . . Watch this space!

Perfect in pink

Many of Britain's school children are having their half-term holiday this week and quite a few of them have come with their families to explore the Lake District. Little girls wearing pink anoraks seem to be everywhere.

Pink is a favourite colour here in the playroom . . . . . sometimes!

Thank you for all your nice comments following the previous post. I'm glad you liked the bear pictures. Here is another one you might enjoy.

I hope anyone enduring extreme weather will soon find more seasonal conditions returning. No need for words to describe our current climate, this picture says it all.

Eli x

Kitchen chaos

Greetings friends. I've been absent from blogland for quite a few months and I know some of you have wondered where I'd disappeared to. I'm afraid I can't tell you I've been on a luxury cruise or lazing on a tropical beach somewhere. In fact I spent the autumn months at home without a kitchen! I'll tell you the story . . . . . .

Until October I had a pretty breakfast room next to the kitchen. It had a window with blue curtains that matched my blue and white china. In the corner was a fireplace with wood burning stove and my china decorated the wall above. A small cosy room, we used it a lot when the children were young but they've flown the nest now and the breakfast room was used very little. And so we decided to make changes . . . . . . .

In October the builders arrived. They took out the window and knocked out the wall below to create an opening for a door. Next they removed the pretty fireplace. I was sad to see it go but it filled the entire corner of the room and I knew I'd need that space for my large china cupboard.

Everything in the kitchen was removed into the dining room and cloakroom and these two rooms became our temporary kitchen while work was in progress.

You can see the dividing wall between the two rooms just behind the stove. This wall had to be removed in order to link them together.

 

Sadly the pretty floral tiles couldn't be saved and quickly got broken up by the builders.

 

I was very sorry to lose these tiles but managed to pick up a few broken pieces from amongst the rubble which I'll use for a mosaic sometime.

 

Once the tiles had been removed it was time to knock the wall down.

After much banging and crashing of stone and brick you could stand in the breakfast room and look into the kitchen. It felt very strange.

The enormous stone chimney above the demolished wall needed supporting until strong steel beams could be put in place.

Over several weeks the work continued and I confess at times I wished we hadn't started as dust and grit spread everywhere. But of course there was no turning back and by mid December the plastering was almost complete. When the new kitchen units were delivered I suddenly felt the end was in sight. At this point Christmas was only ten days away. 

 

A week before Christmas the new oak floor was put down and the units fitted.

Four days before Christmas the builders finally left and we were able to move back into the sparkly new kitchen.

We bought this 1940s table from a used furniture shop when we were first married and have always used it in the breakfast room so it was the first item to be returned. Next came the old chairs and then a mug of tea and a biscuit or two.

 

At this point I'd not started decorating the house for Christmas so to bring a bit of festive cheer into the new room I spread a scarlet cloth on the table and collected greenery from garden. The small room behind the table is the pantry which we've always had and decided to keep. I'm so glad we did as I'd be lost without it.

 

The new curtains were hung, the dresser was returned and the china put back on the shelves. Finally, with just two days to go, everything was ready for Christmas.

Now that the breakfast room window has become doors we can walk straight outside and into the new area of garden we are planning to create. It certainly isn't garden weather here in England at the moment so I'm spending my time knitting bits and pieces for a charity I work with.

I've seen recent weather reports from around the world and whilst many of us in the northern hemisphere are being flooded or frozen there are many people in the southern hemisphere who are suffering from intense heat. Whatever your weather I hope it doesn't spoil your fun this weekend.

Best wishes to you all

Eli x

Garden days and needle cases

Today is one of those golden September days that make you want to amble round your garden to take a last look at the fading summer blooms. So why, you might wonder, am I showing you a picture of a festive cutie that is snugly wrapped for winter? All will be revealed later!

First I'll take you into the garden and onto our terrace where growth has been prolific during the recent rainy spell. Weeds manage to spring up from all the cracks and crevices on the paving and keeping them in check is a never ending job. However, there seems little point attacking them now as they are nearing the end of their growing season so those that remain will stay there until next spring.

If we turn and look the other way we'll see my little stone rabbits. They can often be found wearing hairy coats of green moss but they were brushed down recently and today are looking quite presentable. They stand on the corner of an old stone wall that edges the terrace.

And here they are on their corner. The gap between each of the stone provides a home for tiny ferns and ivy-leaved toadflax that seeds itself everywhere and is awash with pretty mauve flowers throughout the summer. Now let me show you what is happening to this lovely wall !!!!!!!

Hubby is knocking it down!!

And what a dreadful mess it looks. But fear not, there is method in this madness. We are soon having a window in our breakfast room replaced by a patio door which will look out onto this stone wall. The wall is very pretty and colourful in summer but can be depressingly grey throughout the winter. And so the length of wall in front of the window is being removed and we will be able to look into a small area of garden which will be a nice place to sit once the jungle has been cleared. A low wall will be built on the far side to prevent people falling into the garden below which wouldn't be a fun thing to do. If we walk towards the tree you will see what I mean. . . . . . . . take care crossing the lumps of rock.

Here we are beside the tree and as you can see the garden is many feet below us so a tumble would not be advisable. I'll invite you back once the project is complete but it might take a while!

But that's enough about stone walls and gardens, let's get back to the stitching I've been doing recently. In the last post I showed you three little needles cases with dollies on the front that I'd put in my Etsy shop. When two of the girls were chosen to go and live and Australia I suddenly felt very sorry for the little one that remained as she had no one to chat to!! Being rather soft-hearted where dollies are concerned I knew I'd have to provide her with a few friends and so here they are.

I used linen and a pretty Liberty lawn for the needle case on the left and pink and white candy stripe and blue cotton strewn with summer daisies for the one on the right.

Knowing these little girls would definitely not want to be hidden away in a drawer or cupboard when not in use I have given each needle case a tiny handle which means it can be hung on a hook or knob so that each little girl can smile at anyone passing by.

I'll finish with the little girl in festive colours that I showed you at the start of this post. I hate thinking about Christmas at this time of year but the weeks are quickly slipping by and anyone keeping an eye open for a small, easy to pack gift in festive reds and greens might be wanting a needle case. To add extra sparkle I've attached to the hat a tiny silver charm in the shape of a holly leaf. The needle cases can be found in my Etsy Flutterby Stitch shop.

Today is Saturday and the weather is lovely but it is due to take a turn for the worse overnight and tomorrow we are promised gales and torrential rain. . . . As we live in a wood a tree will probably fall on the power line (again) and we shall have a power cut. On the positive side this would mean I could get on with my new knitted dolly as the sewing machine won't be working!!!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekends

Eli x

Inspirational craft book

Greetings friends. I tracked down a red squirrel this week and it was very close to where I live so I managed to photograph it (see my other blog Sheltered by Trees). As you'll have realised by now I'm currently dividing my time between red squirrels and dollies and I'm afraid the squirrels have recently been winning. However, a trip to a lovely craft gallery got my creative juices flowing and I returned home with this delightful book.

Belle and Boo are the creation of talented British artist Mandy Sutcliffe. Whilst spending time in France and sketching Parisian children in the park Belle and Boo slowly evolved and have very quickly become a British lifestyle brand. I'll give you a link to their web site at the end of this post.

Meanwhile here are a few sample pages from this beautiful book.

Don't you just love the little pull-along elephant (pattern in the book).

The clever mix of photographs and tiny painted characters is a delightful idea don't you think?

This is Belle. Her bobbed hair takes me straight back to my own childhood when many of us had this style. Sadly it isn't often seen in the UK these days as most little girls want to grow their hair long. I love the bobbed look.

And here is Boo. What a little sweetheart. (Pattern in the book).

You'll be pleased to hear all these delightful ideas have inspired me to get my knitting needles out again and I have made a start on a new doll. I never begin with a fixed idea but just experiment and hope for inspiration and so far all I can confirm is that the next dolly will be slightly bigger than most of the others. Two funny felt eyes are pinned in place and I have a tangled bundle of yarn that I position on top of her head to give her a bit more character! It doesn't sound very promising does it but I can assure this is the way I always work so hopefully something cute will eventually emerge. Meanwhile I'll leave you with a link to the Bell and Boo website. You'll find it by clicking HERE.

 

Wishing you all a happy weekend.

Not yet five

Greetings friends. When I found this sweet picture recently I remembered that Flutterby Patch will be five years old next month. How time flies. This little girl is on the cover of a 1950's booklet entitled 'not yet five'. Doesn't it make you long to be that age again.

After five years at Flutterby Patch I'm having a bit of change, but I'll tell you more about that later.

Meanwhile here in the UK we've spent the last two weeks basking in the summer sun and just like the tiny tot above I've been able to do plenty of solar drying. How sweet the laundry smells when it comes in from a day in the fresh air.

The garden has been a blaze of summer colour and a joy to behold. But of course good things don't last forever and overnight heavy rain has flattened the flower beds.

Yesterday I sat on this old seat in its sun filled, lavender scented corner of the garden. Today the corner looks quite grey.

As I cannot bear to show you my poor rain soaked flower beds I will show you our ancient Scots Pine tree. It is over 250 years old which means that when our famous Lakeland poet William Wordsworth was born in 1770 this tree was already about 10 years old. What fascinating tales it could tell.

It's an enormous specimen and over the centuries the westerly winds have taken their toll on its huge branches.

Some of you might remember from a previous post that I am now working with our local red squirrel society. One day soon I'm hopeful that reds will return to live in our garden but we've seen no sign of them yet. The Scots Pine tree is the red squirrel's favourite nesting place and the tree's cones contain lots of nourishing seeds. I always keep a watchful eye on this tree just in case a red calls in for a tasty meal.

Ever hopeful I have nailed a squirrel feeding box to my gazebo and as you can see there is a tempting mix of nuts inside. Garden birds are unable to reach the nuts thanks to the hinged lid. Squirrels however are cunning little creatures and soon discover that the lid can be lifted and the meal inside is easy to reach. There is even a little perch for the squirrel to sit on. The birds are currently in another part of the garden munching on food provided for them in squirrel-proof feeders.

And now more about the change that is happening here. I've decided to concentrate on a new blog and you won't be surprised if I tell you that red squirrels will put in a regular appearance. I want to feature more of our Lake District countryside but meanwhile Flutterby Patch will continue as before. 

I've already put the first blog post on line. It was written during our recent sunny spell so is quite a colourful post . If you'd like to pop over and take a look you can find my new blog at Sheltered by Trees

Until next time

Eli x