bud baby

Spring is in the air and as I went out into the garden I saw this funny looking bud in the camellia bush:

As the sun streamed down and warmed it up the little bud opened and out peeked the tiniest wee bud baby.

 She crawled out and sat upon a flower to warm away the winter chills :-)

 My dolls seem to be getting smaller and smaller lol, but there is something so fun about making such dinky wee things. Benny has adopted the baby from the doll house family I made for them at Christmas. He named him Benjamin and sleeps with him every night. Rebe has also asked me to make her such a tiny doll as well, which I'm sure I'll get around to soon.

 She is made with a tiny wire skeleton so is pose-able. Her head is made in the traditional waldorf style with embroidered eyes and mouth and little red blushed cheeks. She has a soft headful of brown mohair under her wee cotton pointed cap. The pod is knitted in matching green and closes at the top with a little wooden button.

I think she can smell spring in the air :-)

teeny, tiny bunny doll

Hello, sorry I've been away but life has been so full (in a good way) and also my camera battery was refusing to hold any charge so I was without it for a week or so. I got a new one today and will be boring you stupid with pictures of the dolls I have been working on for the last week or so (and I actually got loads done!)

Rebe has a very sweet and lovely pen friend that we are hoping to meet in person this spring. The pair of them send each other the sweetest letters and bits and pieces. Her mama saw the tiny bunny doll that I made a few weeks ago and wanted to know if I was thinking of making any more, so Rebe and I put our heads together and made this for Lily.

A felt egg, hand embroidered with so much care and love by Rebe and inside:

 a teeny, tiny bunny doll!

 She has a little wire frame so is pose-able. Her wee body is made of soft, soft brushed cotton and her bunny hat and tail is knitted out of white mohair. Her hat comes off and underneath she has a head of soft brown mohair :-)

Peek!
I hope that Lily will enjoy her as much as Rebe and I loved making her :-)

the tea fairy

When I was a little girl there was nothing I used to love more than waking up before my mum on a Saturday morning and being 'the tea fairy'. I used to carefully make a pot of tea, set the tray with the pot, strainer, 2 tea cups and saucers. Sometimes, for the want of real flowers, I would roll pieces of paper into rose shapes and tie the ends with one of my hair ribbons and spray them with a little of my body shop 'tea rose' perfume. I would carefully carry this tray up to my mum and dads room and proudly place it on the floor next to their bed. I'm sure it probably annoyed the hell out of my mum and dad who would have preferred a lie in but it was a special thing I liked to do.

 And so it seems does Rebe, although this morning she took it to new heights and made cakes before I was up. 

When I got down stairs I found the kitchen door firmly closed with these notices taped onto them:

 'If you want a cofy tell my and I will make one with hot water from the tap'

'doo not come in bkus (bakers) tidying! OK'

I was allowed to sit and knit in the living room and was brought my coffee (thankfully made with water from the kettle not the hot tap) until the bakers had cleaned the kitchen and set the table:

 (oh dear God!)..the green stuff is the icing gone slightly wrong as is the lumps of buttery stuff on top is also icing gone wrong

What a glorious breakfast: coffee, a sweet, sweet card,  and an even sweeter cake

a good start to the day

 even Jack enjoyed one of the cakes

 how I love this gorgeous, sweet girl

even if the sink does end up smeared with more butter than went into the cakes in the first place.

It was a good day all together: cake for breakfast then Rebe had a friend to visit and they all worked very hard in the mud kitchen and building site in the garden, leaving me with time on my hands for some crafting. Then we ended the day going out to a cafe for dinner where we ate far too much. Benny complained that he was so full that even his ears hurt :-)
Hope you had a lovely day too :-)

for the love of knitting

Right now I LOVE knitting :-) I knit all the time really, mostly for the dolls I make though: their hair, their socks, hats and cardigans (for which I hope to soon sell my patterns) but the last few weeks I have really enjoyed knitting other things too.

Perhaps inspired by the wonderful critters that my lovely friend made for the kids:

Benny's mama sandy

 Joa's fox (which he pronounces Fock)

 and a giraffe for Rebe.
I mentioned in a previous post that I had been working on a horse hat by request of Rebe, here it is:

She really likes it (although won't wear it to school)

I am also knitting myself a hat right now, with really beautiful hand spun yarn, the picture doesn't do it justice of course. It will be done in moss stitch and will be a little slouchy if the yarn is sufficient. I'm really enjoying knitting for myself...but with all this knitting going on perhaps I really should do something about the state of my knitting bag...

 ...good grief!

a wee scottish laddie

This wee scottish laddie is my part of an exchange I did with the lovely Melissa who knitted me this gorgeous cardi that I have worn almost daily :-) 

He is a 16 inch waldorf style doll made of cotton interlock stuffed with carded sheep's wool. His hair is made of the most brilliant red mohair yarn. He has green eyes, a wee mouth and his cheeks are blushed with a little red wax.

I had originally wanted to dress him in the Mackenzie tartan, which would by my family tartan on my grandmother's side, but I could only find a true kilt weight which would have been too bulky for this wee man so I settled on this lovely bright red dress tartan which is a light wool blend. He has a really soft brushed cotton shirt with a little matching tartan tie attached. 

His wee cardigan and hat were my very first attempts at cable and I love it!! 

I really loved making this doll, but more than anything I love the friendship that has grown out of this exchange. love and hugs to you Melissa :-) x x

Joa 'mooch

breathe out with me

I feel like the last week or so has been a big, long sighing out-breath for me. The previous 3 weeks had been very taxing and had taken me mentally and emotionally away from myself and my center. I had literally been holding my breath for weeks on end, having to make really conscious efforts to properly fill my lungs with air.  In fact I was holding on so hard that my body became twisted and painful and I couldn't turn my head for 11 days.

But I was supported by wonderful people around me near and far, who helped me to gently let go and find my center again. My friend who is a wonderful osteopath treated me and showed me it was ok to crumble and I allowed myself to crumble into the arms of my best friend who had come to stay with her delightful, gorgeous wee son. 

 Then another friend of mine and I made a pact together to do one thing each day, just for ourselves. Whatever it is should be nourishing to the heart, body or soul. It could be a good cup of coffee, a long, hot bath, dancing to your favourite song, yoga, whatever as long as it's soul food. At the end of each day we text each other to recount what we did. It's going well so far and I am really enjoying giving myself something special in each day (is this a gift you could give yourself?)

one of 3 rainbows that all appeared at the same time outside my house

 The other gift I was given this week was from my wonderful and very special counselor  We were doing an exercise when I was standing on the floor, grounded and routed in my own strength and she asked me to put my hands on my back and feel who was behind me supporting me there. So many faces swam before my eyes (and indeed some people whose faces I have never seen in real life). My counselor asked me to breath in and when I breathed out to imagine all those people breathing out with me.
 Breath is something that connects us all, no matter where we are or what we are doing. I can breathe out with friends on the other side of the world, I can breathe out with friends who are sleeping right now, in pain, in love. I breathe out and connect with those who give me strength and I am so grateful. We are all breathing out and in thinking about this I have never felt so connected to people, the world.
Breathe out with me. Right now. In this moment. We are all doing it together :-)
So I am re-claiming my life again, not being so consumed with the separation, not waiting for it all to be over for my life to begin again. I am allowing myself back into me and the kids are coming along, very happily dancing back to this place, here under rainbows.

Jack, the worlds most tolerant and resigned stray tom

 Rebe made this brilliant sea turtle last week. She was given a reading book about turtles at school and was totally taken by them. This is the kind of 'after-schooling' that I relish. Finding something that interests them and running with it and supporting and supplementing the learning that she does at school. We found this great film on youtube and watched it a few times and we also found another book in the library which is being devoured.

 Benny has been building a lot. I have a plan to make a mini building site in an area of garden with some sand and planks and bricks. The day after I mentioned this at playgroup one of the mums turned up at the school gate with a load of re-claimed bricks for us and more if we want them...yes please.

 Benny donned his builders gloves and hat and set to work straight away

 hours of fun

 a tiny mouse in a matchbox bed Rebe and I made for a school friend's birthday today

she even has a tiny bear

 glass painting

 guess who this belongs to?

 a wonderful felt purse Rebe surprised me with last night that she made in her quiet time before bed

 We bought our first seeds today. I am feeling a little unsure about the garden and growing this year as it will be my first time doing it alone, so we'll keep it simple. Wild flower beds, a nibble garden for the kids, flowers (that are already there) a few things in the greenhouse that my friend said she'd help me with and also some play areas like the building site, the mud kitchen and a den. Benny was holding the seeds in the car on the way home from the shop and the wee minx ate half of the nasturtium seeds before we got home!!

I hope that you have a good weekend and remember do something nice just for yourself. You deserve it :-)