Willa

It's been a while since I have posted here, but I thought I would try to update this blog with some photos of some of the dolls I have been making.

This is Willa. Her hair is a bit wild but I love it.

Millicent (Millie)... My little 10 inch knitted doll...

I named her Millicent... it took forever to find her name, one that would stick. She tried out a few different ones but they just didn't seem to suit.

Finally, she whispered in my ear... "My name is Millicent, call me Millie".

 

She then told me that she wanted some woollen pants...

 

 

 

...and maybe some warmer clothes for when it got cold.

 

"Ok darling, anything for you my sweet."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hattie... again...

Hattie has been hanging out with me all week ... helping me sew up the biggest pile of doll clothes EVER. I'm trying to get all the different sets ready for the Christmas season and it's a huge task.

Taking pretty photos like this makes it all worthwhile though.

Happy.

Hattie...

Hattie the knitted doll was finished today. I love her corkscrew curls and pigeon toes.

I also love the wooden toy bench in these pics! It was a great find.

Esme

Esme the knitted Doll is settling in quite well to the Stoneleigh household. She has got herself some new dolly outfits and is best friends with Willow. She even volunteered to model some 70's style retro flares for me. She's a good girl.

Dolly goodness...

There is nothing quite like the process of crafting a unique handmade item. Getting to work with gorgeous materials of the highest quality is very soothing to the soul.

These three are my constant companions during the process of making knitted dolls and also fantastic models for new clothing ideas!

Esme... a knitted doll that has been very patient...

This is Esme... I have had her sitting on my work desk for about a year... only half made. Poor dolly!

For months she was just a stuffed head and body with some lips. My two year old still recognised her as a 'dolly' in this state and eventually asked me to make her some legs, then a few months after that, some arms. Eventually she got a face and then perched herself on my desk looking at me, covering her bald head with a hat, until I decided what sort of hair she should have.

Ta Da!

 

 

Since she had to wait so long to be finished, I decided to give her a nice dress to make up for it. Now she's ready to get off my desk and go play with the other dollies!

 

 

Well... soon. I want to hang out with her for just a little bit longer... ;-)

 

 



10 inch Knitted Doll

I made myself a little desk companion for Christmas. She is knitted up on tiny needles with 4 ply pima cotton and stuffed with merino wool. I'm going to knit and hand sew a tiny wardrobe for her and it's going to be lots of fun!

It's a Start...

Operation 'Empty Box' is progressing! My new rule is that for every new item I knit... 3 items need to be finished from the box. That seems to be working so far...

What I have discovered, however, is that I seem to have knitted up at least ten or so dresses of the same pattern in various yarns. I'm not sure what I was thinking... how many versions of the same dress does one dolly need??

At least Willow has decided she likes these two and has snapped them up for herself. That's gotta be worth something... right?

A New Breed of Knitted Doll...

Willow is the first of the knitted dolls that I will be making from now on. All of my dolls will now be knitted in 100% pure Peruvian pima cotton and stuffed with clean Australian merino wool. Their hair options now include sewn mohair to give a full head of hair that looks real and their eyes and mouth are 100% merino wool felt sewn with cotton thread and embroidery floss.

The knitted dolls clothes are being made from 100% natural materials of the highest quality and I will be sewing some clothes too, mostly using cotton fabrics.

I have quite a few dolls to introduce to you soon. I can't wait to show you all.

In the meantime... here's Willow enjoying the garden.

Willow...

I have been working on the first of a new range of high quality knitted dolls.

This is Willow, knitted from 100% pure pima cotton, with a full head of mohair hair hand stitched to her head so that it can be brushed, styled and played with. Her face is embroidered using cotton floss and 100% merino wool felt. She is very firmly filled with hypo-allergenic polyester stuffing.

Willow's dress is knitted from super soft hand dyed 100% Australian wool. Her scarf is Noro Kirara. She has two butterfly charms on her waist tie. Her shoes are knitted from wool with two flower buttons.

All patterns are my own.

I hope you like her...

Penny's Lace Dress...

Penny really REALLY wanted to model this new dress for you all...

It makes her feel pretty!

Until next time...

'Lyric Comes to Stay'...

Lyric came to visit her sister Polly over Easter... and hasn't left!

I think she is liking the clothes I am making her too much to leave...

 

 

More to come soon!

Pattern Preview...

A warm winter coat I just finished.

I really love designing knitted doll clothes...



Lyric Phones Home...

Lyric has sent Polly some photos of her camping out in her tent.

Now Polly is even more excited for her sister's visit!

Polly and Penny...

Polly was my prototype for this knitted doll pattern. Her eyes are a little different and her neck is a wee bit shorter but I love her quiet cuteness.

Jack Sparrow took Polly under his wing when she first arrived at Stoneleigh House... it was all so new and Polly is a little timid and a lot shy. She likes to hide behind her glasses and really likes to just sit in the corner and read her books. She doesn't like it much when I make her the centre of attention!

Although Polly is best described as quiet and shy... she is best friends with Penny... who arrived not long after Polly. She was so happy to not be the only Stoneleigh Doll in the house!

 

 

Penny is a sweet girl who loves pretty dresses and the colour pink. She is very girly and dreams of being a princess... She is a contradiction though... she also loves building things and using tools... and has decided that, if she can't be a princess, she wants to be a builder or a carpenter...

 

 

 

Penny's hair is a fine mohair weft hand stitched to her head in a wig pattern (very time consuming process to do this without a wig cap!). The result was a beautiful wispy full head of hair that can be styled a little. It was very much an experiment on my part and both Polly and Penny have bonded over the fact that they were both experiments...

 



Polly loves the new skirt suit I made for her... it makes her feel very official!

Penny also loves the beautiful dress that Polly and Matilda gave her for Christmas... she's very happy with the matching shoes I made her too.

As a side note...

Polly is starting to get a little bit excited as her sister, Lyric, is coming to visit for Easter. Lyric is a bit of a gypsy and loves to travel the world. Polly hasn't seen her since she came to live at Stoneleigh House so it's understandable that she is getting a bit impatient...

Here she is waiting for me to show her Lyric's latest travel pics...

 

 

 

 

Until next time!

Matilda

A number of my knitted dolls become permanent residents here at Stoneleigh House. I tell myself that I need models for patterns and photos, but in reality these are the dolls I design for myself simply because I want them...

This is Matilda. She is a little bit special due to being named after a much loved red boxer doggie (with huge brown eyes) who passed away just before I made her.

 

 

Matilda loves life and is always happy and smiling. She loves to dance around the house and would love it if I made her some really colourful clothes and shoes. (I will I promise).

So far she has managed to get me to make her three dresses and a pair of shoes.

The shoes and the multi- coloured dress were her Christmas presents.

She likes to keep me company on the work desk while I am working on other things.

 

 

 

 

The red dress wasn't supposed to be hers but it suited her so well that eventually I let her have it.

 

 



Matilda feels a little bit left out as Polly and Penny are best friends and sometimes she feels like the third wheel... something tells me that will soon change though!

Until next time...

'A Very Dolly Christmas'...

Three knitted dolls are permanent residents of Stoneleigh House (so far!)... They are Polly, the first prototype of this knitted doll pattern, Penny, with the fluffy blonde hair and Matilda, with big brown eyes and red hair. I will introduce them properly in the new year... now that they have settled in.

For now, I want to share with you their very dolly Christmas. They get along well as new room mates, even though they are so different. Polly is quiet and studious, Penny is very girly but very handy around the house...and Matilda is very vivacious and loves life.

Polly found Jack Sparrow's Santa suit at the bottom of the dolly wardrobe and decided to get into the Christmas spirit. She figured Jack wouldn't mind as he looked after her when she first arrived at the house and he treats her like a kid sister. Of course... the suit was far too big but Polly made it work!

 

 

The girls all sat around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

 

 

 

The first to open her present was Matilda...

 

She was very excited!

 

 

Polly and Penny had given her a beautiful dress, two red polka dot ribbons and some red striped shoes! Matilda loved them!

 

Next to open her present was Penny.

 

 

Penny was hoping for something pink...

 

Matilda and Polly had given Penny a gorgeous dress with a pink heart pocket to keep all her gadgets plus a set of screw drivers and 4 hair clips! Penny was happy that her new friends knew her so well already.

 

Then it was Polly's turn...

 

 

Polly was a bit shy about opening her present in front of the others... but after some prodding... she finally opened it.

 

 Penny and Matilda had given Polly a pink striped Beanie (she had admired the one given to Pam's dolly that went to live in the UK), some red shoes, a white frilled skirt and 2 red hair clips. She was tickled pink at such thoughtful presents from her new friends.

 

 

The girls spent the rest of the morning admiring each other's presents and talking about their hopes and plans for the new year. They were all happy to have made new friends.

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my dolly Christmas... until next time!