Books and their illustrators

I've always collected anything and everything but have favoured some things more than others. I now realise that quite a few of my acquisitions are related to some of my favourite books. As I love to discover what I can about a book's illustrator I always look for details of their life and work. Brambly Hedge is my first example. The omnibus edition contains the four seasons stories and also looks at the life of author and illustrator Jill Barklem.

My daughter has all the individual story books.

I have several pieces of Brambly Hedge china of which this is just a small selection!

I love Mabel Lucie Attwell's illustrations of chubby children and over the years I've managed to acquire many of her early annuals. There is a short introduction charting MLA's life in the book on the left by Chris Beetles. The remaining pages are filled with many Attwell illustrations.

This is my only Attwell figurine.

Designs from 'The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady' could be seen everywhere in the 1980s. They decorated oven mitts, biscuit tins, teasets and bed linen, It was possible to have your entire house decked out in Country Diary style which indeed some people did, although I wasn't one of them! The associated book about Edith Holden's life and work makes a very interesting read.

Although I didn't buy any of the household wares I couldn't resist this Country Diary knitting book by Annette Mitchell. It contains some gorgeous patterns.

Beatrix Potter is another favourite of mine. This excellent book by Judith Taylor gives a detailed account of her life and work. Beatrix lived in the Lake District and so our local shops are chock-full of Peter Rabbits and Jemima Puddle-Ducks.

As I live in the area it has been difficut over the years to resist buying just a 'just a few' Potter figurines.

Don't you just love this depiction of 'The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe'.

I spent much of this summer designing two new dolls, one of which is based on the much loved American character Raggedy Ann. Before I started work I needed to find out more about her so acquired Patricia Hall's book about Johnny Gruelle the creator. He was a prolific and very talented artist and I immediately fell in love with his heartwarming stories about the little rag doll.

Below is my knitted version of Raggedy Ann. Having read the book about Johnny Gruelle and several of his early stories I was determined to try and recapture the sweet nature of his original Raggedy Ann.

My most recent book acqisition is 'The Art of Holly Hobbie'. I stumbled upon this quite by chance on Amazon last week. As soon as I saw the title I knew I'd have to buy it. Many people believe that Holly Hobbie is the name of the little girl in the large blue hat, but it isn't, it's the name of the illustrator. I couldn't wait to get inside the book and find out more.

I was a huge fan of Holly Hobbie greetings cards in the 70s and 80s and many of my friends and family came to expect a HH card for birthdays and Christmas. As I turned the pages of the book I noticed many of the pictures looked familiar, it was like meeting old friends again.

This little girl is of course instantly recognisable as the Holly Hobbie trademark.

The book contains lots of beautiful illustrations plus a hand written account by Holly Hobbie describing how the 'little girls with big hats' became popular worldwide and which of her children inspired particular pictures.

There are some lovely insights into life in the Hobbie household.

This is the family's lovely old house in New England where the children grew up.

The huge fireplace at the heart of the home made the perfect setting for a Christmas Eve illustration. Just look at the expressions on the children's faces!

If, like me, you remember with affection the many Holly Hobbie illustrations and would like to find out what inspired several of them then I can recommend the 'Art of Holly Hobbie'. It was first published in 1986 and should be available from Amazon. I don't think you'll be disppointed.

Holly Hobbie now illustrates her popular children's books about two little pigs named Toot and Puddle.

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!