Rag Doll

Hello everybody!

Look who is new kid on the block . . . Emma the rag doll, just finished today.

She is a real rag doll . . . yesterday I was so overwhelmed with all my UFO's I just sat down on the studio floor and started picking up my trillions of scraps. Then I started tying the tiny rags together until I had a length about 24 inches and absent-minded as usual just started braiding three strips together. I made a braid, then two, then three. As usual I stared at these braids wondering if they would be of any use? Doll Hair! It just hit me . . .

Here is Emma's backside and you can see her rag hair.

I made a simple little pattern for her out of an ordinary sheet of 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper and rounded the top of the paper for her head. The strips of her body were from one of my zillions of UFO quilt patches. I added arms and legs made out of rectangles of fabric in proportion to her body. Before I sewed the 4 arm pieces and 4 leg pieces together I stitched on pink felt hands and black felt shoes.

If you like Emma's little face you can click here for a cute tutorial on how to draw a Dolly Dingle. I wish you all happiness and lots of sewing pleasure . . . everyone should have a rag doll . . . why not have fun making your own!

Rag doll Emma will be looking for a new home on November 17th at the 25th Annual Malden High School Craft Fair. Malden, Massachusetts is just a hop-skip-jump from Boston. I'd love to see some of you Boston Etsy Handmade ladies when I'm in town! If you get a chance come by my booth and say hi to Dolly Dilettante!

A New Doll

Meet Big Sister.

I have been working on her bit by bit and thought you might like to see a few pics of her as I go along. I embroidered her face a little differently than the directions because I like to do my own thing.

1947 Simplicity pattern. Note the price, 15 cents!

I decided that I wanted a long sleeved dress so I chose this 1989 Vogue pattern.

This is the bodice piece, not finished. I love the Peter Pan collar. The fabric is special too. I paid $15 for a small piece of beautiful red vintage feedsack printed with bows and flowers.

Unfinished shoes. I'm still experimenting with shoes. These are imitation leather and I want to use real leather. The shoes are partially lined with red antique satin, and the insteps will be padded red satin when I finish. I had my eye on an old wide red belt I've had for ages, but it is too small. Big Sister has huge feet, because she is 32 inches tall and also wears a size 1 toddler dress. I made her socks today, they are blue and white striped soft jersey.

More pictures coming as we move along.

Happy Sewing

Dolly Surprise from Germany

This little Miss lives in Germany but she looks like a long lost cousin to the Dolly Dilettante family! Imagine my delight when my new blogging friend Aleinung posted this adorable picture of the latest member of her cute, cute, cute doll family! Wow, surprises never cease . . .

Well, Aleinung, greetings from your dollie's big brother in America. He sends you both lots of lollypop hugs!

Have You Ever Seen A Vintage Tina Turner?

Well here she is!

It's just something about the hair and those great legs! Yup, that's who she reminds me of all right. Of course she doesn't have a real name, I never think of great names for my dolls. But I think of this little lady as the fabulous Tina Turner. She is made from my homemade version of an Edith Flack Ackley doll. EFA dolls were made famous in the 1930's and 1940's.

EFA dolls are little, sweet and are made in endless variations. They usually have a distinctive face, with tiny square black embroidered eyes and a wee rosebud mouth, and 2 dots for a nose. My dolls faces are a bit different from the original pattern. As you see, Tina is not finished but soon she will have my version of a little face. I like more realistic embroidered eyes and nose so I will finish Tina in the next two weeks and you will see her new face.

Tina is made from my favorite old linen dress, soft from many washings. It took me three days to twist and hand root her cotton fiber hair. I thought I would never finish but I loved the thick mop that appeared . . . finally. Tina is very flexible and can pose in any position. She is simply fun to play with.

My colorful family.
We have green hair.
We have pink hair.
And we have red hair.

The gorgeous redheads are my real family:
Kerry, Kim, Rick and Nancy. Love you guys, Meg

All "Dolled-Up" for the Camera!

Meet Margarita

Margarita named herself in Spanish after me, Meg

Civil War girl in her 1861 finest promenade dress

Poor Civil War girl doesn't have a name. Can you help?

Civil War maid from old Vermont needs an elegant
New England name, . . . something like Emily Dickenson?

This is Pinkie, of course

Pinkie has asked Mommy many times for shoes, sigh

Dolls I make

I just finished this special little lady. Her body is 100% wool, her legs are of wool suiting and she is stuffed with lamb fleece. The fleece is from a sheep farm in Danville, Vermont, very close to where I live. Her braided hair is made from imported Irish linen thread.

The topsy-turvy girl (girls?) pictured below is my version of this picture. I am not sure where I got the pic, I believe it is a photo I had of a vintage pattern. It inspired me as you see.

No, you are not looking a two dolls. You are looking at one cute topsy-turvy. I do have to tell people to turn her over. Sometimes they miss little girl number two, even when holding her. I had so much fun sewing this duo and decorating the clothes. Their bodies are made out of soft cotton flannel. I wish I had taken a close-up of their outfits, but I think if you click on the picture it will give you a large view. The yoyo flower on the plaid skirt has the most adorable button of a baby doll sewn on it.

Pinkie: Cloth doll from vintage Edith Flack Ackley
pattern type, hand embroidered on cotton shirting
with pink cotton & micro-fiber curly hair

More about Pink from Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, 1873-1954, "The Great Lady" of French Literature in the last year of her life:

Monsieur,

You invited me to visit you for a week, which means that I would be near my daughter, whom I adore. You who live with her know how rarely I see her, how much her presence delights me, and I am touched that you should ask me to come to see her. All the same, I am not going to accept your kind invitation, for the time being at any rate. The reason is that my pink cactus is probably going to flower. It is a very rare plant that was given to me and I am told that in our climate it blossoms only once every four years. Now I am already a very old woman, and if I went away when my pink cactus is about to flower, I am certain that I shouldn't ever see it flower. So I beg you, Sir, to accept my sincere thanks and my regrets, together with kind regards.

Sidonie Colette, nee Landoy

My Victorian cloth doll, a little maid from Godey's Ladies Magazine, 1861.
More pics to come of how I made her!

My Studio

"Old Dolls" shelf is my pride and joy. Today it holds my teapots, tomorrow it might hold my vintage dolls, or potpourri from my garden. Isn't it great for Dolly Dilettante? A friend came across it at a yard sale this summer, thinking of me the minute he saw the shelf. Maybe I am the "old doll." I hope so, gee, never thought of that before. Okay, so he knew I would love it, eat it up, shreek and go nuts. Of course I did.

I am on the third floor of my house in an attic apartment, very romantic you know . . . the artist in the attic and all that. I moved my stuff upstairs in June and yes, I've lost weight running up and down the stairs 2o times a day. It's great. Really, it is so cozy and cheerful I could stay there all day, except for the telephone. My dream has come true. After years of answering phones as a full time professional secretary . . . I do not want a telephone in my studio! All is well, and all manner of things are well, peaceful and serene. Life is good. Thank you, Lord.

Now, welcome to the Dolly Dilettante Studio. Come right on in . . .

My grandkids think of the studio as one great big dollhouse, and it is.

This is the front room that will be my show-room. I painted it a sunny yellow called summer camp and it is bright and cheerful. Yellow is my favorite color and, by the way, it was first lady Dolly Madison's too, way back in history. I would paint everything in sight yellow, you know; even my house is yellow outside. I love yellow.

Here's the pillow made especially for me by Mom. It is a picture of my house before I painted it you know what. Check out the big birdie in the little tree! Here is my Mom in the new studio happily knitting a sweet little teddy bear she designed. She just finished a pink teddy with a cute embroidered face and sporting a lovely pink knitted purse.

Mom lives a "block from the rock," that is, Plymouth rock in Massachusetts where the Pilgrims first stepped foot in the New World. She gets to see the ocean every day from her place, and I miss that sometimes, but Vermont does have beautiful lakes and streams.

This is my precious painting given to me by the artist, Nick Piliero. I adore his vibrant colors. http://www.outsiderart.info/piliero.htm

Miss Big Eyes likes to look at Nick's painting all day long.

Daisy, the studio cow with her baby. Two hundred years ago there were more cows in Vermont than people!

OLD MAN AND THE COW

There was an Old Man who said,"How

Shall I flee from this horrible Cow?

I will sit on this stile,

And continue to smile,

Which may soften the heart of that Cow."

Edward Lear

I had a lucky find at the local thrift store. this week . . . a stand for my aprons. Isn't that cool? For Two Dollars! It is going to come in handy when I start to go to markets and fairs during Autumn Foliage season, plus I am running out of display room in the studio.

Another thrifty find, a dollhouse shelf. Originally it was a dull green with a red roof, it reminded me of Christmas. Dick, my husband and official painter, did a super job with my colors pink, light turquoise, and yellow. I added vintage wrapping paper to the back of each cubicle and Dick put cup hooks underneath for the necklaces I make.

Tom, Tom, the piper's son

Stole a pig and away he run

I found the duckie hamper at the dollar store and he will be used to carry my dollies and quilties to market. He is very light weight, carries a TON of stuff, and folds flat for storage. I couldn't resist.