64. What has happened to Philip

The weather has looked promising this morning. The sun was beginnig to shine more and more through the clouds that covered the sky before. Soon only few cloudlets were floating far on the horizon. It's going to be a lovely day, I thought,

... when suddenly I realised there was no Philip in the room. You know, Philip - my new doll. He was neither in his bed nor on the table where he used to sit; he was not even on the sill of the window he looked through so often. His new pillow disappeared too, I noticed.

H'm, there was still that fabric lying on the table I sewed Philip's pillow from.

I looked and saw some funny foxes playing in the dark forest that formed the pattern of the fabric. Quite a nice and fairy-tale scene that appealed to Philip, I remembered suddenly, 
so much. The foxes in the fabric looked at me curiously...

Is it possible that he walked to the forest himself?

And indeed I found Philip in the forest. I saw him lurking under a big tree.

First he looked for the foxes, said Philip later, but soon he got tired.

You were lucky, you might have met boars seeking food in this place.

Philip is a Waldorf  style boy-doll entirely handmade by me. 

He is 36 cm tall (14 inches).

He is all made from natural high quality materials:a special Swiss cotton jersey designed for dollmakers, clean washed natural sheepswool, embroidered threads and wool.

His clothes are sewn or handknit by me using natural good quality materials: cotton, velvet and wool.

I knew Philip liked sleeping so I made him a cotton pyjama: 
a blouse in a fox pattern (foxes again!)  and matching light-blue trousers 
sewn from cotton jersey.

He usually puts on a grey cotton T-shirt and dark-blue velvet trousers. 

The T-shirt is easy to put on since it is cut at the back and has snap fasteners 
with wood buttons.

I sewed on a big pocket on his trousers for collecting treasures like shells, pebbles, 

different strings and other things Philip would hopefully find on his walks.

Obviously he possesses colourful knickers sewn from cotton jersey and short socks.

Philip's shoes are sewn from navy wool. They have a lemon linen and shoe-laces of the same colour. The laces are long enough to make it easy to tie them. I stitched down a button on each shoe to easily distinguish the right shoe from the left one (a good exercise for a child playing with a doll, isn't it?). They are very comfortable, says Philip.

When it is cold Philip puts on a wool cardigan, a hat and a neckerchief 
to protect from wind or just for fun.

In the end I must mention that Philip has also got a woolen ball to play with and this famous pillow which caused him to walk to the forest and look for the foxes at night.

**

This wee boy is looking for a family.

If you would like to adopt him, he is available here on my blog.

Philip is suitable for children aged four or older.

If you need more information please contact me at  kbm.1507@gmail.com

I will be happy to answer your questions.

You will also find more photos and information about Philip here.

**

Thank you for dropping by.

Have a pleasant day.

60. Playing with a ball

This is Philip who you already know - my new Waldorf boy doll.

Today Philip was ready to go outdoors early in the morning. 

He had his woolen hat on and even started putting on his cardigan 

when we both noticed looking at the window panes that they were getting wet with rain.

"No, that's awful. It's raining again.", sighed Philip.

Resigned he turned away from the window and quickly took down the hat from his head.

Don't worry, said I, You can play here at home.

And I showed him something: Look, what lovely blocks they are.

I said that but I too remembered that we planned to go for a big stroll to the lake.

Too bad, I heard him muttered.

Well, maybe..., I thought looking at Philip's tee-shirt, 
...I might make him a ball.

*

Ans after some time a colourful little ball lay close 
to the blocks Philip was playing with.

He caught the ball and looked thrilled to try to throw it into the air.

Philip did not worry any more. He was pleased  throwing and catching the ball 

and he even tried to kick the ball. Oh...

What a great play, he repeated.

Finally he sat to have a rest.

(Dolls are sometimes tired too.)

Thanks for dropping by.

I hope you have a lovely week!


*

Philip will be looking for a home soon, so stay tuned.

55. Amy and the children or We come to a close of "Puppenmitmacherei" project

As we are drawing to a close of making dolls together in the event "Puppenmitmacherei",

a project organised by Maria from "Mariengold" and Caroline from "Naturkinder", 

I am inviting you to my final day. 

Last Wednesday the wether was bad in Wrocław. It was cloudy and rainy. 

Nevertheless neither me nor Amy paid attention to it, because we were occupied with preparations for an appointment we had on that day. So exciting!  We were invited by Mrs. Ola Węgrzyn to visit children in her small Waldorf nursery school called "Słoneczko".

When we came children already waited for Amy. They were really curious to get to know her and to learn what she was like. We started taking about Amy, about how she would love to be with children and play with them.

They immediately became fond of Amy. I took a few photos and decided to look and listen.

From the beginning Amy's clothes seemed were important. The children glanced at them willingly and then started experimenting with them. So they took them off  first, and then they redressed Amy. 

They soon discovered Amy was lovely to touch. They hugged her, held her hands, stroked her hair... and they talked a lot. One girl wanted to be Amy's Mum, another one her dad, and an aunt, and so on.

Then they had an idea to put Amy to bed. But first they wanted to put on her bootees. They examined them carefully. They really liked them. While Rose put on the bootees, another girl held Amy's head. Did you notice how delicate and careful she was?..

Then Amy went to sleep.

No, no. Before Amy fell asleep she wanted to have her hands lying on the quilt, 
not under it. 

So the children did, as she wished."Are you all rigth now?".. - they asked.

Amy's bed was placed in the play corner and Amy could sleep.

Her "Mummies" stayed with her stroking her cheek and singing her a little song...

After a little while Amy woke up.

It was then that I took this photo of Amy with the children and Ola.

As you may expect Amy stayed with the children.

The next day Ola emailed me, "Amy united the whole kindergarten in a big family: there was Mum, Dad, sisters and brothers, cousins and all possible folks."She added: "For a long time I haven't seen such a good and peaceable play of all children." I was proud of Amy. Well, well such a little cloth doll, I thought, and she evoke so many good feelings in children - liking, sympathy, care, joy.

Yes, children love cloth dolls.

In the end I would like to thank Ola for the invitation. Thanks to her kindness I spent a lovely afternoon with the children from her kindergarten. 

I do not worry about Amy any more. She has met a big loving family. Is there anything else that such a little doll could dream about?

*

It is a bit sad that the project "Puppenmitmacherei" is about to finish and that this is my last post dedicated to it, but on the other hand I am glad I have met a lot of new dollmakers.

I would like to thank Maria from "Mariengold" and Caro from "Naturkinder" for the idea and organisation of the project, for their advice and lots of tips on how to make dolls. 

I would like to thank all participants in the project. Beautiful dolls were created and wonderful stories written. On their blogs you can find plenty of interesting comments and reflections devoted to doll making.


And above all my special "thank you" to my lovely readers.
Sometimes my posts were delayed, so I am really grateful you waited patiently.


I wish you all a lovely weekend.

For the last time here you will find all participants' blogs (Scroll down to the end of page please.)

50. And if I...?Yes, why not.

It is lovely to lie on the sandy beach.

It is warm... We sit in the sun just emerging from beyond the clouds. But soon the sun disappears and  it gets cold for a change. However it does not last long, because the sun finds a wee bit of hole in the clouds and it shines and lightens the beach again. 

It looks like a kind of game we all sitting on the beach patiently observe.

Lettie settles herself next to me. She does not sit on the sand however, but on the spread little blanket she always carries with her.

"How funny she is with this blanket." - I think to myself.

Resting against the wooden stake, Lettie looks curiously at the lines on the sand, shaped by the blowing wind. She even feels sharp grains of sand on her cheeks. "Now that is strange." - I can hear her comment.

The beach, however, turned out to be a boring place for Lettie. A nearby slope seemed much more interesting. There she noticed a withered uprooted tree and some small bushes. And she discovered it sitting quietly on her blanket.

Suddenly she got up and ran towards the tree.

"Be careful, Lettie! Or you'll tear your tummy."

"Oh, don't worry. I look after myself." - answered she climbing the tree trunk.

"Yeah, this is superb. It is great here!" - she shouted at me with excitement.

I looked at her pink head. She was a sweet doll.

When I pondered over Lettie's hair I did not presume it would be pink.
I was becoming convinced about pink colour  little by little while working on my previous doll
Tosia-Reddie who considered pink as the most beautiful colour on our planet.
So when Lettie emerged I thought at some point - "And if  I chose...? Yes. Why not...
She's going to have pink hair."

In this way Lettie came to me quickly as the doll with pink hair.

Have you noticed the twinkles in Lettie's eyes? I saw them first in the doll created by Agnieszka Nowak (Lalinda). I liked them so much that I embroidered similar in my Lettie's eyes.

 I really took my time with her - sewing all the little stitches, creating both her appearance and her own little personality. I hope you like her as much as I do.

Lettie is looking for her new home... 

Lettie has found Roksanka.

Thanks for dropping in. Have a good day!

49. Lettie. A Joyful Doll

This is  Lettie, my new doll I hand made in a Waldorf style.

As you can see she has brown eyes, and her hair is pink. Lettie's complexion is darker than my other dolls', as her face and body are in a warm light brown colour.

When I saw her for the first time, she was sitting under the tree near a little creek. 
Just here.

Oh, surely she noticed me. She moved and sat close to the stream... 
and after a while she looked at me curiously.

"Hi, I like playing outdoors, especially when it is as warm as today." - I heard her speaking.

"Do you really?" - I said thinking that her voice did not surprise me at all. It sounded cheerful and a bit resonant.

"Yes, I do." - answered she.

"Do you know my name?" -  she was inquiring.

No, I don't know. How should I know? There are so many names. No, I can't say...

"I am Lettie. That is my name." - she declared proudly.

Apparently she looked very satisfied with her name.

Lettie looked around and sat on the grass. She liked the place. 
There were plenty of spring flowers round about with some last year's leaves scattered in places.

"I'm going to play now." - she said to herself.

***

Lettie is about 14" tall. She is all made from natural high quality materials that are wonderful to work and play with.

To make Lettie I used the following materials:

* body - a special cotton jersey designed for dollmakers (Swiss cotton with Oko-Tex label) in a warm light brown colour;

* stuffing - from top to toe the doll is firmly stuffed with clean carded sheepswool. That is why she is soft and warm.

* eyes, nose and lips - embroidered with floss in different colours;

* cheeks - delicately coloured with red wax crayon;

* HAIR - Lettie has rich pink mohair hair. I made it from beautiful soft and extra long fibre mohair in a pale pink shade (DollyMo Wild Mohair). Mohair is hand dyed using natural dyes Pink (little oke dolls). The doll's hairstyle can be easily changed, and it needs to be finger styled. From time to time you can comb her hair using a comb with rare teeth to make it more fluffy or longer.

Lettie's clothes are as follows:

* light dress - sewn from a delicate cotton, embellished with a white ricrac edging and a light pink lace.  The dress is easy to put on since it is cut at the back. It has snap fasteners with complementary beautiful vintage mother of pearl buttons 

* spring turquoise cardigan - hand knitted (100% cotton);

* bootees - hand knit (adopting LePouPz pattern). I used a cotton yarn in a warm apricot shade. The bootees are embellished with two ribbons and vintage mother of pearl buttons.

* hat - hand knit from the same warm apricot cotton yarn I used for the bootees;

* hair-slide in an apricot-orange shade;

* as a Waldorf doll Lettie wears a pair of blue polka-dot panties.

I made Lettie with a lot of love, many careful stitches and attention to detail.

***

Many thanks for dropping in.

Happy days!

48. The doll's dream

First thing in the morning Tosia-Reddie asked me a question. It was about colours.

"What is your favourite colour? - she asked.

I was just thinking what to answer when Tosia-Reddie said. 

"As for me I like PINK. It is the loveliest colour on our planette."

Then she looked critically at herself and sighed deeply, because she had no pink clothes at all. Not a single item.

" You do not like this colour, do you?" - she glanced at me.

"No, why..." - started I - I like pink, but in small doses... I think."

Tosia-Reddie continued. - "When one looks at pink flowers with green leaves, they are so beautiful... I need a pink scarf or shoes or just a bootee. It's my dream."

"Well, if pink is your favourite colour, let's try and make something. Perhaps we should start with the bootees. They are easy to make." - I said.
And so I made her pink bootees using a LesPouPz pattern.

Then I decided to make her a new dress with pink little flowers and green leaves. I embellished it with a pinkish lace and two vintage mother of pearl buttons afterwards. It looked pretty and simple. 

Since I had a white corduroy with a delicate floral pattern I thought I might use it for bloomers.

A combination of pink and green is pretty I thought. (Well, nature probably does its best.) May I decide on a pink scarf and green hat? Well, as you will see I have made a warm shawlette in the end.

I saw a look of rapture on Tosia-Reddie's face. She saw a stack of CDs on the table. There are lots of them since we often listen to music. The dolly climbed up the pile and sat comfortably on the top swinging her legs with satisfaction.

Tosia-Reddie's dream came true.

("Pretty in pink" collection helped me get an idea.)

*

Tosia-Reddie is 14 inches tall. She is all made from natural high quality materials: a special swiss cotton jersey designed for dollmakers, clean washed sheepswool, hand embroidered face and certified mohair boucle for hair specially produced for doll making. I made her hair by crocheting the bouclez-loop cap with the use of Agnieszka Nowak's technique (Lalinda). Tosia-Rudzia comes with two sets of clothing. They are made from natural good quality materials: cotton, corduroy, velvet, wool and a combination of cotton and bamboo yarn. And she has a little basket for collecting treasures.

Tosia-Reddie has already found a lovely home where she will get lots of love from her new little friends.

*

Thank you for dropping by. Have a good day!

47. The beginning of a year

I wish this new year 2015 would be happy, healthy and creative for all of us!

And now I would like to introduce my new doll.

Her name is Tosia. (Just to explain that Tosia is a Polish diminutive of Antonina which is quite unusual since it is Nina in other languages.) 

Her hair is unruly. It sticks up in different directions for most of the time. .
And it has a lovely ginger colour of its own.

It seems Tosia's hair has foredetermined her character. 
Not only is she unruly and scatterbrained but also cheerful, amusing and dear. 

And yet I wonder if it is possible that all these advantages
and disadvantages can be derived from the fact that someone has such hair. Hmm..
.

Tosia has in her a bit of Anne of the green gables, 
but she would never ever change the colour of her hair.

One day we had a chat about her name.

"Tosia is a lovely name." - started Tosia, but then she added that it was a bit too short.

"We must add something to make it sound better." - she concluded.

"... for example?" - asked I.

"For example Tosia-Reddie." - She answered immediately and turned bright red. - "Just to emphasise the colour of my hair, you know."

"Yes, I understand... I did not know it was so important for you."

"Yes, it is, because when I think about my hair I am always in a jolly mood. So it is important, isn't it? - explained Tosia.

" Certainly. So from now on we have Tosia-Reddie." - I summed up.

A few days later we went to the department store to do some shopping. Afterwards we sat on the bench in a big hall to have a rest. I started tidying up Tosia-Reddie's hair with my fingers. Near us there was sitting a little girl with her Mom. I noticed that the girl was playing with a smartphone...

"Did the dolly want you to scratch her head?" Suddenly I heard a question.

I looked back and saw a girl standing in front of Tosia-Reddie. It was this little girl with the smartphone.

"Did the dolly tell you this?" - the girl enquired looking at me...

She amused me with her questions... (It did happen really. Well, to be precise, it came about at the craft fair ... not in the shop, but does this matter?)

*

Thank you for dropping by. 
I hope you have a nice weekend.

44. Maya is leaving...

This is one of the latest photos of Maya taken before her journey. 

YES! 
Maya has found a new family of her own. Soon she will meet them. She is happy. She is so excited but also a bit anxious, so she sits on the bed and starts playing with Marianne's little basket.

H'm... I'm beginning to think that I will give her this basket. Her journey will be nicer then. "What do you think?" - I ask Marianne. "But of course. Yes, you're right." - she nods

Apart from the clothes I have made earlier Maya gets a lovely woolen cardigan, colourful leggings nd warm bootees. "They will be very useful for the upcoming winter." - I say to Maya and wink at her. The dolls giggle and Marianne notices. "And your hair is longer Maya. Your plaits are lovely."

*

Bye-bye Maya! 
A lovely little girl is waiting to love you.

38. A forest lake

Do you remember when Marianne wanted a long dress? 

I thought it was one of her new fantasies she was always ready to make up
. She usually had many stories to tell especially on our evening walks by the sea. Most often we climbed the cliff. 

And when we approached the wooden stairs descending to the beach she sat at the top and looked at the sea glittering  down in front of us... 

Yes, Marianne liked the sea. 

**

On that day we went to the forest. When I stopped at the parking area, we saw a little forest lake nearby. Marianne ran to the small wooden pier, sat down and happily looked around. Oh, the place was so admirable.

Light blue clouds were mirrored in the water alternately with the reflections of the trees 

growing on the bank. We were enchanted by this stunning landscape.

When I looked around I had a feeling I had been here before. But no... the point is that the lake with the surroundings resembled another place with a very similar forest lake 
I had been to. Hence, the impression... Yes, it was there where I met Marianne. Just a moment, how did it happen..?

Oh, yes. I remember there was something wrong with my rucksack. I turned my head and saw little legs and arms sticking out of the rucksack. And then I noticed Marianne...

But now Marianne sits at the end of the pier watching reflections in the water and enjoying a quiet time beside the lake. Suddenly she saw an old spider's web. She settled herself opposite the web, leaned against the embedded post and started jogging the web lightly with her foot.

"Be careful, you will fall into the lake."

In answer she smiled at me knowingly. - "Do you remember?" I nodded and said to myself "very clever indeed".

"How did it happen that you were in my rucksack?"

"I came from a fairy-tale land. " - I heard her pleasant voice. 

"I asked you for a long dress, because once upon a time I wore long dresses.." 

I looked at her and Marianne, I could swear, she winked at me...

In a moment she wasn't here. She was running down the path to smell some forget-me-nots growing by the lake. It was all fairy-tale.

We had a lovely afternoon in the woods walking, listening, seeing and talking.

**

Thank you for stopping by.

Happy days.