Gosh, it seems to have been a busy couple of weeks, and I am very glad to have a little bit of time to sit down and have a cuppa and a catch up with you all. Hope you are all well, and have been enjoying the abundance of sunshine.  The warm weather is a blessing in so many ways, but I have to admit, when the temperature finds me at the point of  saying ‘too hot’, things start to slow down in Shedquarters.

It has been a bit of mad few weeks, here at Fuzzpot Lane.  Once we got the GCSE’s out of the way, I thought it would calm down a little, bit I found myself really out of kilter. Used to having two girls at school, I suddenly found myself in a one in, one out situation.  Which through my routine right out of sync. I couldn’t really justify being in the Shed, if one was lurking around the place !

Once the GCSE’s were behind us, the next big event on the calendar, was of course the Prom.  I can’t remember a Prom back in my day…..I vaguely remember popping on my best gear for a school disco, but nothing quite as formal as a Prom. None the less, despite a tricky year friendship wise, and some ups and downs beforehand, the Prom was, as it should be, a great night for Thing 1 and her friends.

 

The stress, the shopping and the preparation, really seemed worth it, when my little girl, whose confidence going into this event had hit a worrying low, blossomed right before our eyes.

With that milestone reached, I was finally able to settle back to normality, of a kind.

So I have managed to finish two little Waldorf inspired dolls in the last couple of weeks. The first was Ida…..

Ida, is a natural blonde.  Her very soft and squishy head of hair, is created using wool locks from Teeswater Sheep. This fibre is fine, long-stapled with high lustre with each lock hanging free and with no tendency to felt.  Teeswater locks are lovely, soft and can be hand dyed in a variety of colours making it an excellent choice for doll makers, like myself……it’s basically treasure!

I purchased my locks from Newmoor Barn  where they only source  sheeps fleece from local small farms that they have visited, to ensure the animals are treated with care and respect. All of their fibres are processed entirely by hand. from small flocks in Devon. I am very happy being a West Country girl myself, to keep it local.

So Ida was born….her super shiny, soft natural curls, make her truly unique.

And then….hot on her heels came Jolie…a fiery little redhead, who is full of impish cheek and charm.

All of my dolls are made with natural products (except for the little shoes…which I will be honest were just too cute to resist).  Each of the dolls bodies, arms and legs are crocheted by hand, the heads are needle felted and sculpted in the traditional Waldorf style, and the clothes are hand knitted….there are days when I don’t know which type of needle to use first!

I am currently, working on some little friends for these girls, and will be considering any name suggestions starting with a ‘K’ and an ‘L’…..I love naming the girls.  It always adds so much character.

I must dash….but I hope to catch up for a chat and a cuppa,  in a few days time.

Have a great weekend

TTFN xx

 

 

With the warm weather that we have been ‘enjoying’, you might think that stitching of any kind is firmly put on the back burner.  I have to be honest, if it comes to that then you might as well wave my sanity goodbye until Autumn.

Instead, I have opted to do a somewhat startling impression of Beyonce……..a leap by anyones standards, so please let me explain. I have adopted a fan, cranked it up to maximum strength, and find myself in a permanent state of windswept….to be honest….that is pretty much where the similarities end between myself and Ms Knowles……”uh oh, uh oh, uh no no !”  That said, the wind machine effect, has meant that I can continue to do what I love.

I have a couple of dolls on the work bench at the moment, and have been taking my time to decide what colours will best suit them.  Of course, what I should really say, is that I have been addicted to making little dresses.

It isn’t like they didn’t have a little frock to choose from, it is simply that I love making them.  Working in 4ply sock yarn is such a treat.  With an extensive stash of hand dyed yarn, it is a fantastic way of using up the bits and bobs.  I have now started experimenting with different lace patterns on the skirt, and am thinking that I may have to dabble with  ‘intarsia’ come the end of summer.

I aim to complete a couple more knitted dresses, then do the blocking and finally add the little buttons this week.  I also will be popping back later this week to add the free hat patterns I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, should anyone be interested in those.

I am also in the process of crocheting the wigs for these little ones.  I have chosen a honey blonde and a pale pink mohair, but have also been creating curls for future little girls….just like Hattie has here….

The fun with this,  is in the colour combinations.  Hattie’s hair was made up of 6 subtle shades, ranging from powder blue to pink.  I have some golds, blues, magenta and reds planned for the end of summer, just like little Evie and her friends.

 

Now I haven’t mentioned the Willow Square Blanket…..there is good reason for that!  I would like to say it’s been too hot for me to be blanket making….but that would be a bit of a fib.

I have been a little indecisive when it comes to the ‘edge’ colour….I won’t lie….and I may have mentioned this to my friend Sue, a couple of times….I say a ‘couple’.  Basically, I’m in a bit of a tiz over it.  I know what I want the end result to be, and I can’t quite decide whether ‘Mushroom’ is the way forward, so I have done what I believe is right…….I have run away from it!  Yep….I have told it to sit in the naughty corner….think about what it has done…..and I will come back to it later !! No eye contact between us until the weather is cooler!

I am  focussing on dolls….dolls dresses…..dolls hats….dolls shoes…..dolls hair….well anything but that blanket really!

Thank you for being so patient with me…. I know I haven’t been about much of late.  What with one daughter just finishing GCSE’s and getting ready for Prom this week, and the other doing end of year tests, archery tournaments, and going to gigs, life seems to have got in the way of our coffee and shed time, a little.

Please take a wander around the blog, and settle down with a cuppa at Shedquarters, and I will be back very soon my Lovelies xx