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.

Sunny summer illustrations

I love this book by John Burningham. It was first published in 1969 and the illustrations are typical of the time. Plenty of vivid colour washes and textural effects created from thick paint, ink and crayon.

 

I thought I'd show you the summer pictures as they perfectly depict the weather we've been having here in the Lake District during July.

 

Peaceful countryside and a pink holiday cottage. What could be nicer!

Love the misty heat haze over the water.

I can empathise with the poor fellow below! Flying insects of the bite or sting variety always seem to head in my direction.

Taking time off for some light refreshment. Much the best occupation for hot days.

And this is exactly how our spell of intense summer heat ended.

Quick, run for cover! But remember not to shelter under a tree!

And that takes me nicely to my new blog Sheltered by Trees (but not in a thunderstorm). This week I announce the winner of last week's giveaway. I'm also taking you to Wray Castle where Beatrix Potter spent a holiday in 1882. It was much too sunny to look inside the castle so we spend a little time walking to the lake shore.

Wray Castle in the Lake District

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Paper dolls and a dolly chain

Whenever I visit a bookshop I go straight to the children's area as I love looking through brightly coloured titles written for little ones. When I discovered 'The Paper Dolls' book recently I knew I couldn't go home without it.

 

 

The story is written by Julia Donaldson, author of the much loved Gruffalo books. The illustrations are by the very talented Rebecca Cobb and they fit the story perfectly.

 

The story starts with mummy helping her little girl to make a chain of paper dolls.

 

 

The dolls' have comical names which are repeated in a little rhyme throughout the book; just right for little ones to remember and recite at the appropriate pages. 

 

 

 

 

The little girl and the dolls play happily together.

 

 

 

They have all kinds of adventures until one day! . . . . . sorry, it would be unfair to spoil the ending!

 

 

I used to love making paper dolly chains when I was young but these days I'm more inclined to make them from fabric. . . . . and so, inspired by this sweet story I gave it a go!

 

 

I made five little girls. Their hands are made from 'Velcro' so that they can be linked together to form a chain and dance.

 

 

 

 

With a piece of fluffy fabric attached to a pin board the dolls can be attached individually.

 

 

 

 

and each doll can link their own hands together as shown above.

 

 

 

 

All you have to remember is to put one Velcro hand facing forward and the other facing back.

 

These 4 inch (10 cm) squares of brightly coloured fabric that I purchased from Ebay some years ago were perfect for the dolly chain project.

 

 

 

 

I didn't have a pattern as I wanted each dolly to look slightly different. Each one is approximately 6 inches tall (15 cm). They are stuffed with tiny amounts of toy filler and their faces are drawn on with fabric pens. I used coloured wool for the hair and stitched it to the top of the head only. Too much hair would make the head too heavy.

If you have a little one in the family I'm sure a chain of dollies (paper or fabric) would provide hours of playtime fun.



Homeward bound

I wonder if anyone remembers this curtain fabric from the 1980s? The name is 'Clover' and my daughter had it in her bedroom when she was very small. She had wallpaper that matched and I papered not only the bedroom walls but also the wardrobe doors. It was all very girlie and pretty. My daughter has her own house now and is currently moving to a larger one and has decided that her old curtains would look just right in her new bedroom. So out of storage they came and yours truly has spent the last few days relining and altering them to fit the new window.

 

The wardrobe that I covered in matching paper all those years ago is now in my sewing room and holds my ever growing stash of fabric. The inside of each door is covered with another pattern from the 1980s which daughter loved to bits. Recognisable to many of you I'm sure is 'Strawberry Shortcake and Friends'.

 

 

My daughter's new house is larger than her current one so she'll be able to accommodate more of her possessions, especially books. She's always loved and collected books and the enormous bookcase in her old bedroom is full to overflowing.

 

I've selected a few favourites which bring back fond memories.

 

 

 

Not only does daughter have the books she also has all the figures and associated buildings etc.

 

Little Miss and Mr Men books (and TV programmes) are still popular with children several decades after they first put in an appearance.

 

 

Dick Bruna books are still loved

 

 

I'm sure the beautifully detailed Brambly Hedge illustrations will live forever. Daughter owns all the books and I have the matching china!

 

 

The Jolly Postman stories by Janet and Allan Ahlberg were huge favourites. Each book contains a series of envelopes with a card or letter inside that relates to the story. Absolutely wonderful.

 

 

Storybook life can seem more appealing than the daily goings on in real life don't you think. The Flutterby Patch playroom can provide such a life at times and you'll often find me having a few friendly words with my knitted dolls and bunnies. My daughter has retained her love of childhood playthings and also sells toy patterns. Her little knitted family has been living with my 'gang' since before Christmas (keeping well away from the mess of bathroom replacement and house decorating that has been going on at the new house). With so many inhabitants our playroom has been quite chaotic at times but great fun for all concerned.

 

But today has been a time of 'goodbyes'.

 

 

Lucy gives a final hug and kiss to her little white bunny friend.

 

 

Kate reassures this little panda that they'll meet again very soon.

 

 

 

Polly shares a few last minute secrets with her pig and kitten playmates.

 

And Lulu escorts two friends to the box boat that will carry them to their new home.

 

 

Getting into the box boat was great fun especially as the pirates insisted on climbing up a knotted rope.

 

 

Eventually everyone managed to squeeze on board and the voyage to the toys' new home could begin.

 

In typical storybook fashion Lucy and Polly stood on the quayside and waved a fond farewell with white cotton handkerchiefs.

 

  

Keep smiling girls, spring is just around the corner and there will be plenty of sunny days ahead and perhaps a trip to the 'new house' to visit old friends. Now won't that be fun!

 

The toys in the box boat are made from patterns sold from my daughter's 'Toyshelf' Etsy shop.

 

Timeless coastline

One day last week, wild and unpredictable February gifted us with a fine day. The wind was sending dark clouds scudding across the sky, but at least the sky was blue. And so we headed for the coast. Not for us golden sands, cafes and souvenir shops but a wild stretch of muddy coastline at the mouth of the estuary.

This is the small village of Bardsea that overlooks the water. I've taken you here before but I thought you'd like to visit again.

At the water's edge, we could see no other sign of human habitation. The distant horizon was masked by mist and it wasn't difficult to imagine a group of ancient settlers trudging across the mud collecting shell fish and edible grasses.

Only the hardiest of plants grow here; the kind that will withstand endless battering from persistent wind and salt spray.

 

 

For those who seek golden sun-kissed sands it must seem a very unimpressive coastline but I never grow tired of its unpretentious beauty.

 

 

 

At this time of year it reminds me of the work done by British artist Angie Lewin. I have her book (below) and it contains numerous pictures of her work.

 

 

 

 

Her inspiration comes from skeletal stems and seedpods that she finds during winter visits to wild windswept places.

 

These plants then become the subjects of her wonderful linocut prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love Angie Lewin's work

 

 

 

Knitting in the rain

Midsummer has been and gone and in much of the UK the sun remains an infrequent visitor. This was the view from our window yesterday evening. After a wet day the sun appeared briefly to provide this 'almost' golden sunset but as you can see it is masked by ominous looking storm clouds gathering on the western horizon.

This morning we looked out of the window to see more of this and it's been going on for weeks. Warnings of more floods are coming thick and fast and heavier rain is forecast. . . . . .  The London Olympic Games is just three weeks away!

The garden is sodden, the lawn remains uncut and most of my summer blooms are now in a very sorry state. 

So what have I been doing whilst being confined indoors? Well, looking at pictures like the one below have certainly helped to raise my spirits. This is Milly Molly Mandy who lives in a 'nice white cottage with a thatched roof'. Reading those words I'm able to transport myself into this little girl's world where the sun shines, cottage gardens bloom and everyone is kind and helpful to everyone else.

Milly Molly Mandy books were written and illustrated by Joyce Lankester Brisley. The first was published in 1928 and the stories continued until the 1960s.

Books containing compilations of the various tales are still in publication and I know many of you are very fond of them. In the front of each book there is a map of the village in which Milly Molly Mandy lives. You can see her thatched cottage top left. Across the lane lives her little friend Susan and in the heart of the village is the home of another friend named Billy Blunt.

The gentle stories were written for young children and are typical of the era they portray. The author's beautiful black and white illustrations are equally evocative. Below you can see Billy Blunt being followed into the classroom by the duck that Milly Molly Mandy has befriended. The children shriek with laughter but the teacher is far from amused!

Having been a pupil at a small village school (many years ago) I can remember stray animals occasionally finding their way into the classroom so pictures like this bring back fond memories.

I also find Miss Read books a great form of escapism. They describe the very ordinary but amusing goings-on in an English village during the 1950s and 60s and Miss Read is both author and head teacher of the school at the centre of every story.

I know many of you are fans of Miss Read books. Real name Dora Saint, she had herself been a teacher for many years. She was born in 1913 and passed away on 7th April 2012, just ten days short of her 99th birthday.

Thanks to the wet weather I've been able to spend several hours in the classroom with Miss Read and thoroughly enjoyed scampering around the countryside with Milly Molly Mandy and her friends.

However, after a while I began to consider what fun it might be to knit tiny dolls based on the children in the stories.

For inspiration I looked at the pictures and patterns in my granny's vintage knitting books and even found a stray ball of her 3ply wool that she would have used to knit vests (how times have changed). And so as the wet weather is due to continue for a while I've decided to set myself the challenge of creating some 'mid century' school children similar the ones pictured above.

Choosing the correct colours to use for the period has been fun. In the 50s and 60s my parents owned a knitting machine and apart from looking after us children they knitted lots of sweaters for friends and family. Dad was a teacher during the day but in the evening he often did the knitting whilst Mum did the seaming. I can still visualise the many cones of coloured yarn stacked in the corner and amazingly still have a selection of the buttons Mum stitched onto the cardigans. So being typical of the period the colours of the buttons will become the colours used in my little project.

I have some narrow pink and white striped fabric that is just right for my Milly Molly Mandy doll and I've chosen this clover pink and matching Liberty lawn fabric for her little friend Susan. The dollies will be dolls house size and there's just a chance they might become a knitting pattern. I'll let you know next time.