Project: Last of the Gnomes

I've finally finished all my gnomes and now I'm going to take a long break from blogging (probably three months), so I'm using this opportunity to wish you all a

  Very Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

The Wizz

Honey Bee

Woodland Gnomes

Snowman & Santa

Project: Christmas Gifts

I had so much fun making the first two little gnomes, I decided to make some for friends and I'm not finished yet. However, I thought I'd share the first three couples to see if I can inspire some of you to take out your needles and thread.

These were inspired by the gingerbread man (you may remember this little guy). Using tee shirt fabric for the nose means you can stuff it as full as you'd like, and in this case I wanted my boy gnome to have a huge nose.

These two forest gnomes feel the cold, so they are wearing mittens. I used the initial arm pattern to draw the shape and added 5mm to the seam so the mittens would slip over the finished arm. Then I stitched them on using a running stitch (tacking stitch) pulling it up tightly to give it a slight gathered look.

For the first two gnomes and this little guy's moustache I used wool roving and for this girl's plaits I used yarn.

This time I added stripes to the hats and stitched them in place using blanket stitch (same as buttonhole stitch). Once again using the wool roving for whiskers and plaits, as well as giving them mittens to wear.

I'm going to make a few more, but I think I may try adjusting the hat pattern to give them a slightly different look. I may even make a couple with dangly legs as I think these are a great way to use up more of my stash. 

If you need me to answer any questions, just give me an "ahoy" in the message box.

Project: Mr & Mrs Gnome

I made these over he weekend, they are so easy and great fun to make. You can decorate them in any way you wish ~ you could even make a Halloween Witch, a Santa Clause using this pattern.

Requirements:

1. Felt for body, arms (skin tone or tan as I have used), hat (your choice of colour)

2. Stretch fabric for nose (I only had pink so mine have rosy noses)

3. Yarn for beard and hair (or fur fabric)

4. Extra felt for clothes 

5. Glass sand (or you could substitute rice to add weight) and polyester filling 

6. Scissors & haemostats for turning arms in the right way

7. Extra strong threads and a set of doll needles

8. Trimmings i.e. buckle, buttons & ribbon

9. Tacky glue or hot glue gun and glue sticks

Click on pattern and save to your computer, print at 100% on A4 size paper. I always trace my pattern pieces onto quilter's plastic template, but you could use card or paper, whichever works best for you. A 3mm seam allowance is included.

Step 1: Cut out your felt and fabric pieces.

Step 2: Stitch the body back seam, arm pieces and back seam of the hat together using a small back stitch, leaving an opening on the arms large enough that you can turn them right side out.

Step 3: Close bottom by stitching all the way around, easing the two pieces together as you stitch, then turn your hat, body and arms right side out. You will need the haemostats to turn the arms out and to push the hat to a point.

Step 4: Next take your glass sand and fill in the bottom of your gnome. This will give your gnome the weight to make sure it stands up nicely. I put in approximately 250 grams before continuing to fill with polyester stuffing. Try not to overstuff him/her, just fill enough so you have a nice firm body on which to place your hat.

Step 5: Use a running stitch to gather the edge of the nose piece and pull it up slightly. Place stuffing in the middle and pull the gathering up tight so as to form a smooth round nose, then run a few stitches back and forth so it doesn't come undone. (I simply shaped their noses using the stuffing.)

Step 6: Add your beard to the boy gnome and make plaits for the girl. I used yarn separating the ply for the beard, but you could use fur fabric for his beard if you prefer. For the plaits I just used the yarn as it was. Position them on your gnomes so you are happy with the way they look. Then either stitch or glue in place to secure them.

Step 7: Stitch or glue the soft round nose in the centre of the beard, making sure you cover any stitches. (You may notice by this time I had forgotten to photograph what I was doing.)

Step 8: Use your imagination to trim you gnome's body. For my boy gnome, I cut a long strip of matching felt and added a small buckle to make his belt. For my girl gnome I used the felt to make a collar and added a couple of buttons and a ribbon bow.

Step 9: To attach the arms, thread your longest doll needle with enough strong thread that you can double it and run it through the body and back a few times, knot the ends together. Begin by running the needle through the inner side of the first arm, going back through the arm and right through the body to come out the other side, then through the second arm. Run the needle back again till it comes out of arm 1, then back again through arm 2, then come out at the back under where the hat will sit and do a couple of stitches to secure it, then cut the thread.

Step 10: Now attach your gnome’s hat placing it as close to the gnomes nose as possible, then stitch or glue  it in place. You may need to fiddle with the hat a bit until you get a look you like.

Of course you could simply reduce the size of all these items and make dolly props if you want to. Try it, it could be fun!

My Last Two Dolls

These dolls arrived a little while ago, but I haven't really felt like photographing any dolls until today. I did however, make them both new sets of clothes.

Both dolls are lovely and are the same fine quality as all my other PR dolls. The new articulation certainly adds a little more "life" to them in photos, but the articulation is not as versatile as I was expecting. PR have given added movement to their elbows and knees, but the shoulders, wrists and ankles are still the same as always, with no flexible jointing.

I do love this face sculpt though, Cleo is quite the little cutie with pale pink lips and tiny scattered freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her new outfit comprises bib front overalls and top that does up at the back.

Manica is just as pretty and with those curly locks she is a delightful addition to the fold. Her outfit comprises a dress, pinafore and scarf. I used a little foxy print for both dolls, but used a different contrasting fabric; a pink and white daisy print for Cleo and an aqua blue and white check for Manica

Unfortunately, I found the shoes she came with suited one of my boys better than they did her, so the ones she is currently wearing are borrowed from another doll. I will need to either purchase new ones for her or make them myself . . . this is still undecided.

Well that's it for today, I will be catching up with you all over the weekend, so until then . . . 

Thank You

To all my blogging friends:~ Please accept my sincere thanks for your kind words of condolence, it's greatly appreciated by both my hubby and myself.

I am still not ready to return to blogging at present, but hopefully I will be back in the not too distant future. However, before leaving, I thought I'd share the many faces of Coco. There were moments, even when he got older, where he somehow retained his cute puppy looks, and he would look so different when he was given a very short all over clip.

2014

2015
BATH TIME

2016
WITH LONG EARS

2017
WITH SHORT EARS

2018
IN A JUMPER WHICH HE HATED

2019
TURNING ON THE PUPPY CHARM

2020
BEFORE

2020
AFTER

2021
UNDER MY DESK

Sad News

On the 20th September we took our little Coco to our local vet, to have what we thought was a routine dental check up as he had a very bad case of halitosis. His bad breath turned out to be an oral melanoma which had developed on his upper palate. Neither I or hubby had ever heard of such a thing so it took us by complete surprise.

After visits to two different vet oncology specialists, Coco was booked in this morning for a CT scan. This was to be followed up with Radiotherapy. However, the CT scan revealed much more than we expected; it had progressed to his brain and lungs, so we decided it was best not to wake him.

He was a rescue dog who arrived to us as a "biter" but after me receiving several nips and him a lot of love from us, he settled down to be a wonderful companion to us both. He made us laugh so much with his funny peculiar antics and smoochy ways ... we are going to miss him terribly. 

This is the last photo I took of him a few days ago (having cuddles with dad) and to look at him you wouldn't know he was suffering, he was such a brave little tyke.

 Rest in peace my little Cocopoo.

It's All In the Eye of the Beholder

You would have no doubt heard the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" before now.  We all know it also applies to how we see our dolls, some see BJD's as being beautiful, whereas other see Barbie or Paola Reina dolls as such.

However, just recently this was brought to my attention in a completely different way when I sold a couple of sets of clothes which were designed for the 16" Disney Animator dolls. 

The lady (Julie) who purchased theses sets, sent me photos of the dolls she dressed with them and I was amazed by what I saw. I would never have thought to use these clothes on BJD's myself, but it just goes to show how versatile knitted clothes can be, and what one can achieve with a little imagination. 

On 1/3 Fairyland Feeple 65 Chloe.

Julie said: "Some might not agree with me, but I think the outfit fits well, it was the look I was after anyhow. As she is over 60cm tall, the top & cardigan are cropped (especially as she is very well endowed) but I like how the skirt sits on her hips & shows off her belly. Not a big fan of high waisted skirts & pants. It looks a little short, but only because she has such long legs (it does cover her behind completely)."

On her Smart Doll Harmony.

Julie sent the original photos via eBay, and I asked if she would mind if I shared them on a blog post. She very kindly agreed, but I couldn't down load them, so I asked her to email them to me and here they are for you all to see!

Julie said: "Attached are the photos of your outfits on my dolls as requested. Hopefully you and your readers will find  them useful.  I’m very happy with them and think they fit both girls well, but I think the they fit my Smart Doll Harmony better. What do you think?"

I always enjoy photos like this, when I can view things through someone else's eyes. However, I shall let you answer Julie's question now, because I would also be interested in knowing your thoughts.

This is Rachael's Miriam, her Baby So Beautiful doll, wearing the same size outfit. Her measurements are ~ height 34cm, chest 23cm and tummy 23.5cm, so although she's a little shorter, she's about as chubby as a 40cm Animator doll. 

Little Eva

The Berjuan doll has lovely eyes, but the face paint is quite ordinary and really needs to be redone to give her more character. Her hair is lovely and soft to touch (no Gel), but extremely long. So unless one intends to braid it, it could be problematic. I shall restyle it by giving her a haircut and perhaps add a wave or curl.

Eva has a long neck and her articulated body is a combination of vinyl with what appears to me to be plastic joints. The joints aren't perfect, but most hold a position reasonably well . . . except for the ankles, these were sloppy, which makes standing her quite difficult, though I did finally manage to do it.

She can easily move her hands up and they will hold their position very well.

She can sit in a variety of positions, but her legs won't sit straight out in front. I do like how her arms and hands will allow her to hold things and can imagine her clutching a pet or doll.

Ava is able to kneel and lean backwards, she can even smell her own feet! (They don't stink, they have the smell of vanilla.) Or maybe she about to chew her toes! 🤣

Unfortunately, I could not get her to stand on one foot, I just don't have the patience. Would I purchase another of these dolls? Most probably not, but I will keep her and see if I can do something with her ankles.