Dolly surprise

A small brown box arrived in the playroom this morning and within seconds Lucy Lavender was taking a look inside. She opened the lid and peered into the dark interior while a few onlookers waited in anticipation.

Lucy could see nothing so she opened the box a bit further and a tiny flower appeared.

Then the top of the box suddenly burst open, the flower popped right out and everyone fell over in surprise.

The flower was attached to a little red hat and the little hat was on a little doll's head.

The doll waved a little arm and then quickly disappeared back inside the box.

 

Before long another little flower popped out. This time it was attached to a little green hat that was being being worn by a different little doll.

 

Then both the dolls popped out at once.

And then they jumped right out of the box. 

But oh dear! They were very strange looking little dolls as they didn't have any stuffing in their arms and bodies.

Well of course they won't have stuffing! . . . . . . They are hand puppet dolls.

With just a bit of help from human hands these little puppets can move their heads and arms and become very busy little dolls indeed.

And when the day's fun is over they like to take a rest. But they hate to be left limp and lifeless on the playroom shelf . . . . . .

 

. . . . . . . . . All they need is a little bit of something soft stuffed into their tiny bodies and they will happily sit very straight and upright alongside all the other dolls in the playroom and no one will ever know they are actually hand puppets.

Meet Ruby and Rose, new arrivals in the playroom. I've often looked at knitted hand puppets designed for children and thought how sad and limp they looked when not in use. So I decided to create a pattern for little dolls that could be made to look plump and happy even when they weren't being played with. If children pop something soft inside such as a pair of socks or mittens the dolls will immediately stop being lifeless puppets and be able to sit up straight like all the other dolls.Then when it's time for them to become puppets again the soft interior can be removed and they will be ready for play.

A knitting pattern for Ruby and Rose can be found in my Dollytime Etsy Shop and Ravelry shop (see shop details at the top of this post).

THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS:
I just wanted to let you know that a lack of comment from me does not mean I haven't popped into your blog to say hello. I regularly make return visits to blogs but get hugely frustrated when the comment I leave disappears as it is sent. I know many of you are equally frustrated by this and there seems to be no easy solution! (I'm able to use Outlook, Firefox and Google Chrome). Any ideas anyone?

Have a good weekend everyone
Eli x

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

Another wet day

Greeting friends, from a totally rain-soaked Britain. No need to bore you all further by describing the weather we've endured over the past few weeks. It's been too dark and dismal to photograph inside or out so I'm showing you a couple of postcards of our area which seem appropriate.

 

Here in the mountainous Lake District a few hardy souls have ventured onto high ground. A punishing pursuit as they've been lashed by storm force winds and driving rain.

Many water-logged footpaths are now unstable and of course the mountain rescue service has been kept very busy.

 

But compared to coastal and low-lying areas elsewhere in Britain we've been fortunate as storm water rushes straight down the rocky hillsides and into the lakes.

My thoughts are very much with those whose homes and local areas have been damaged by hurricane force winds and flooding.

Stay safe
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

NEW doll pattern

Greetings friends. I have some good news for all you dolly knitters out there. My new pattern is finished at last. Phew! To tell you the truth I never thought I'd complete it as its been on the go for several months. 

The cosy fireside chair where I do much of my pattern testing and writing has been surrounded by little heaps of children's picture books which I have dipped into for inspiration. Many of you know I'm especially fond of the plump, rosy cheeked and happy little children illustrated by Mabel Lucie Attwell and I have to confess the new dollies (yes there are two) do resemble some MLA characters.

Meet the twins, Jasmine and Violet, the latest little girls to be welcomed into our playroom. They might look a bit similar to their other Dollytime cousins but are different in several ways. Let me explain . . . . . 

These little cuties are 38cm (15in) tall and made to withstand a lot of love, cuddles and boisterous play. When I started the pattern all those months ago I experimented and knitted with two strands of yarn as I wanted the knitted fabric to be thicker, more robust and less likely to have areas where stuffing could be visible though the stitches. To my delight it worked really well and as a result each of these dolls is knitted from two strands of double knitting (DK) yarn. (In the US I suggest using worsted and in Australia 8 ply). The various clothes are knitted from a single strand of yarn in the usual way. If you wanted to use the same yarn as me you will find details of the brands and colours used plus the web site of an excellent British company that posts yarn worldwide.

As I have already mentioned, I wanted the dolls to be robust but also fun to play with. Knowing that all little girls love to style a doll's hair my next task was create hair that could be regularly and easily re-styled in different ways. And so I chose a lovely golden yellow chunky yarn which is stitched on firmly but can be tied, lifted and pinned in order to create several cute styles. No brushing allowed of course, you use your fingers as a comb (details in the pattern).

The hair is quite long and below Jasmine demonstrates how easy it is to tie it into bunches on either side.

Now she has tied the bunches high on her head for a different look

Or how about some plaits (braids)

Below is Violet, the little dancing doll. She has only plaited the front of her hair and then tied the plaits on top with a bow. The hair at the back is left long.

This little rascal also likes to tie all her hair on top which she is demonstrating here. All the styles and how to create them are described in the pattern.

Finally of course I knew these dollies would require a variety of clothing that would be easy to put on and take off. There are patterns for two dresses, two cardigans (long and short), shoes with socks attached and panties. For Violet the dancing doll I have created some leggings. Hopefully I will be designing some extra clothing for the twins sometime next year. If you posess the basic knitting skills then you will find the dolls and their clothing are very easy to knit. There are lots of pictures, hints and tips to assist you and as a result the pattern extents to a lengthy 26 pages.

Well  . . . After that detailed description I hope you can appreciate why it has taken me quite a while to get to the end of this particular project! I've had great fun doing it and I hope those of you who decide to knit one or both of the dollies will enjoy creating your own cute little characters.

You can find the new pattern in my shops below. Click on the one you wish to go to.

ETSY SHOP - (instant download within 10 minutes)

UK SHOP - (NOT an instant download as I email the patterns to customers myself)

RAVELRY SHOP - (instant download pattern)

I think it's time to give my needles a rest for while!  

Until next time.

Eli  x