Ready for school

My school days can seem a lifetime away, but as the long carefree days of August slide all too quickly into September I find it easy to imagine myself back in the infant classroom once again.

On the first day back, when everything was shiny and clean, you were met by a pungent smell of disinfectant and floor polish. This soon disappeared of course as the classroom quickly regained its familiar infant aroma mixed with the smell of plasticine and blackboard chalk.

The lucky young children of today enjoy many varied activities but in our small country school the funds and equipment were limited and we used whatever was available in the classroom cupboard. Needless to say, doing anything creative appealed to me and making pictures from gummed paper was an activity I always enjoyed.

Of course, infant play soon gave way to more serious study. Ball point pens were banned and fibre tips hadn't been invented so we all carried bottles of ink in our school bags. Do children ever use fountain pens these days I wonder?

Wooden pencil boxes like this one were very popular during my early years at school. With care you could hide all kinds of bits and pieces inside that would invariably keep you (and your friends) amused whilst the teacher's back was turned.

This particular box belonged to my mum and made me the envy of my school pals for a while as it had a secret lock. As you can see I still have the box so I can show you what made it special.

A narrow ruler slides into a groove on the side of the box and when the ruler is removed a tiny keyhole is revealed. No one else had a pencil box like mine and I treasure it more now that my mum is no longer around. Amazingly the original key has stayed with the box throughout its life.

We all had leather satchels which when filled with books and other paraphernalia could be quite an effort to carry, especially when school was some distance from home. Few mums had cars in those days so you either walked to and from school or caught the bus if the distance was considered too great.

But let's get back to the present . . . . . . .

Belinda Jane has been very busy at the sewing machine this week.

After much cutting, pinning and stitching she produced little drawstring school bags for four little dolls and on each bag she stitched the name of the owner.

Of course each doll wants to pack as much into her school bag as she possibly can. Somehow I don't think there will be much room for books and pencils. 

The bags can be carried in the hand or on the back like a rucksack.

School doesn't begin until next week but each doll has her bag packed and ready for the start of the new term.

If you'd like to make a drawstring bag for a dolly you will find the pattern below. The patterns for the knitted dolls pictured above can all be found in my Etsy shop.

How to make a drawstring bag for a doll

For doll height 30cm - 35cm (12in - 14in)

This bag pattern was designed for my Polly and Kate dolls who are 32cm (13in) high. For slightly smaller dolls simply adjust the length of the bag by about 2cm.

The bags can be stitched by hand or with a sewing machine. I haven't mentioned seam neatening; it is up to you to decide whether you neaten the seams or not.

To make a bag you will need a piece of fabric (gingham is excellent) measuring 32cm x 15cm (13in x 6in). Cut in half as shown below.

With wrong side facing you, fold over 1cm along one short edge of each piece. Press to hold flat. The folded edges will be at the top of the bag.

Place the two pieces together with wrong sides facing out.

Begin the side seams 5cm (2in) down from the top edge of the fabric and 2cm (¾in) in from the sides of the fabric. Stitch to the bottom as shown below.

Keeping the top folds in place, press open the side seams (below).

Fold over the top to the point where the side seam stitching begins. Pin in place as shown below. This makes a casing for the drawstring. Stitch this close to the bottom edge.

Before stitching the bottom seam, place the bag on the doll's back to make sure it isn't too long. If it is then adjust the length to fit.

Pin the bottom edges together. Stitch the seam 1 cm from the bottom edge.

Turn the bag right side out and press.

Cut two pieces of narrow cord (or string) each measuring 60cm (24in).
Start at the left of the bag and thread one piece of cord through the casing all the way round so that it re-appears at the left (see below).

Repeat with the second piece of cord threading it from the right.

You should be able to pull the cords on each side to draw up the bag.

Open the bag and let the cords hang down on each side. Knot each pair adjacent to the bottom corners of the bag (see below)

Stitch the knots to the corners (below)

Pull the cords to draw up the bag.

If you want to put dolly's name on the bag then write it on a short length of white cotton tape (or similar) and stitch the tape to the front of the bag.

Have fun!

A Little Golden find

Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Child's Garden of Verses' is a favourite of mine and I have a small collection of them. I'm always looking out for more so was delighted to find this Little Golden Book in a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago. The book was printed in 1972 and has beautiful illustrations by Eloise Wilkin.

I love all R.L.S. poems but the one entitled 'Rain' seems particularly suitable for the summer we've had here in north-west England

I thought I'd show you illustrations by four different artists from four of my books. They all depict the 'Rain' poem.

The rain is raining all around

Eloise Wilkin chose to illustrate the first line with a little girl and her dog watching the rain falling on the street outside the window (poor dolly doesn't look too happy does she!)

Below is the same poem illustrated by Tasha Tudor who chose the second line

It falls on field and tree,

Hilda Boswell chose the third the line

It rains on the umbrellas here,

And finally, Brian Wildsmith worked his colourful magic on the fourth line

And on the ships at sea.

 

Returning to Little Golden Books . . . . . they are loved around the world and it's easy to see why. There are hundreds of titles to choose from and the books are the perfect size for even the smallest hands.

Merrily Ann has been a most welcome arrival in the playroom as she loves amusing the younger dollies and reading them stories. Jack and Jill are too young to read but it seems something has caught their attention in the bottom corner.

Meanwhile, Belinda Jane has been busy with other matters. I found her with a Jane Austen novel, a basket of knitting wool and some strawberries. What can she be up to? 

It turns out she's seen a very tempting blog post with a fantastic givaway. The items that you see in the picture with Belinda are not the giveaway but there is a connection. So do pop over to Millefeuilles and take a look.

Two new dolls

Thank you so much for the nice comments you left about my new dolly named Merrily Ann. That's her, sitting on the right. I've been working very hard to get her finished and thanks to a typically rainy August here in northern England I've made good progress.

If you are a knitter of dollies you might be pleased to hear that I've made a second doll as a friend for Merrily Ann. She has gorgeous auburn curls and the sweetest smile and is named Belinda Jane. That's her on the left.
Both dolls measure 45cm (18in) from head to toe so they will be the largest dolls in the playroom.

Belinda Jane wears a warm cardigan over a sleeveless top and skirt. Merrily Ann has a shorter cardigan worn over a dress and apron. All clothing (except shoes) can be removed.

The dolls are knitted in DK yarn on two needles. The patterns are easy to follow with plenty of pictures to guide knitters through the various stages. You will find the patterns for both dolls in my Dollytime Etsy shop. If you live in the UK, or wish to pay in pounds sterling, then you can purchase patterns from my UK shop.

My other dolls have already met Merrily Ann, but they know nothing about Belinda Jane so they are in for a big surprise .

Do you ever get the feeling you are being watched?

 It's impossible to keep anything secret round here!

Think I'd better go and restore order in the playroom!

The empty chair

Way back in June I wrote a post about the playroom chair. The dolls constantly complain that it is much too large for them and they would dearly love to have a large doll come to live with them. Someone who would be just the right size for the chair.

They set their heart on having Raggedy Ann. Nothing else would do apparently.

Although I was shown numerous pictures of Raggedy Ann I explained that I didn't think she would come to live in our playroom.

But the dolls didn't give up and last week they hatched a plan.

They placed a cosy blanket on the chair and every night they left a piece of cake with a glass of juice just in case Raggedy Ann should visit in the night. But of course nobody came.

But the little rascals didn't give up and yesterday morning Kate suddenly shouted loudly and everyone ran to see what had happened.

During the night someone had drunk the juice and eaten the cake (well most of it, there were just a few crumbs left).

And so last night, just before bedtime, the dolls placed their Raggedy Ann story book on the chair. More juice and a piece of fruit cake were placed alongside together with some smaller books that Raggedy Ann might like to read..

Oh my goodness! What a surprise they had this morning when they discovered this sweet doll sitting in the empty chair happily reading one of the story books.

They knew at once who it was and one by one they ran to greet her.

As you can imagine there has been great excitement in the playroom all day and the new doll, with an enormous smile on her face, has been surrounded by a large family of very happy dollies.

I think I can safely say that this little lady has come to stay.

She has such a big smile that everyone is certain she must be very merry.

And so, as she looks such a merry doll we have given her the name

Merrily Ann.

Note for knitters.

I'm hoping to get a knitting pattern written for Merrily Ann fairly soon. It should be in my Etsy shop by the end of August.

Flower filled days

Don't you just love these colours!

This illustration is by Brian Wildsmith and it accompanies the poem 'The Flowers' in his fabulous version of 'A Child's Garden of Verses' published in 1966. Brian Wildsmith is now in his 80s and has illustrated many books over the years.

Hilda Boswell's lovely books include 'A Child's Garden of Verses' which like Brian Wildsmith's also dates from the 1960s. Her style is typical of that era whilst his illustrations seem way ahead of their time.

Hilda Boswell (1903 - 1976)

Children in the Victorian and Edwardian era would have been treated to Charles Robinson's version of the book which contained over 100 wonderfully detailed black and white illustrations in the Art Nouveau style. It was first published in 1895

Charles Robinson (1870 - 1937)

In 1946 Alice Watson illustrated the book. One of her delicate line drawings accompanies every poem. This is her version of 'The Flowers'

A.H. Watson (Alice Watson 1896 - 1984)

I have a copy of Gyo Fujikawa's 'Child's Garden of Verses' which she illustrated in the 1950s. Sadly the poem in question hasn't been included but as I'm a great fan of this lady's work I decided to include her flower filled cover picture.

Gyo Fujikawa (1908 - 1998)

Last but not least is Tasha Tudor's wonderful interpretation. She first illustrated 'A Child's Garden of Verses' in 1947 but my book is a newer version dating from the early 1980s. I love it.

Tasha Tudor (1915 - 2008)

Robert Louis Stevenson's poems have always been a favourite of mine and I'm afraid I can never resist buying yet another vintage version of his book when I find one.

I've enjoyed several 'garden days' this week as the weather has been amazingly kind. Here are four views of my 'patch' captured yesterday.

Below is a small part of the 'cutting garden' that I planted last year.

I'm really pleased with the way it has matured. Every available space is filled with colour.

Having a cutting garden is a great way to have cut flowers for the house without spoiling the main flower beds. I wish I'd thought of it years ago.

Thanks for dropping in.

Until next time

Eli