52. "Puppenmitmacherei" - 2nd online Meeting: Preparations

Welcome to the Second Day of making dolls together in an online event "Puppenmitmacherei". Today I will show you the patterns I have prepared and then I will sew individual doll parts I am going to work on in the upcoming meetings. However before I do this let me look in on Maria's blog (Mariengold) who together with Caroline (Naturkinder) have organised Puppenmitmacherei.

http://www.mariengold.net/puppenmitmacherei-vorbereitungen-2/

What does Maria write about? She recapitulates our previous work and accurately specifies our second meeting tasks. That is, we already know what we want to sew. We know more or less what our doll will look like. We have our patterns ready or make modifications we talked about before. Now we can lay the tricot that will be used for the doll body and put the patterns on, mark the contours of the patterns, cut them out and sew the doll parts by sewing machine or by hand. Simple, isn't it? It looks so, but I am sure all of us know how important all these elements are. I like the straight and systematic way Maria presents successive steps of creating a doll. In addition she gives lots of useful tips and practical suggestions. It is worth reading.

My doll will be rather small.

Asuuming she will be 36 cm tall I have prepared patterns accordingly. On Day 1 I thought of a different pattern, but eventually I decided on a classic pattern with such proportions where the doll head is one fourth of the whole height of the doll. I used a typical Waldorf doll pattern with a body and legs as one piece. When I prepare a particular pattern I usually make some small changes. This time I too modified the pattern a bit. I think I slightly slimmed the legs and subtly changed the shape of the body. Much more attention I paid to the arms. I wanted them to be bent more than the hands of my previous dolls. That is how I visualized it. I made a new arm pattern I would test in our upcoming meeting.

My Waldorf style Dolls - Puppenmitmacherei.2
The doll pattern

I sewed the doll parts by sewing machine (applying a double simple elastic stitch) with the use of a strong polyster sewing thread. The contours of the patterns were marked with the use of a plain pencil and air-erasable pen.

My Waldorf style Dolls - Puppenmitmacherei.2
Here I have the doll body sewn... Now I will be sewing the arms.

Now that I have the doll parts sewn and ready I will put them aside for a while, because now I am going to work on the doll head, For me it is the most interesting step in the process of creating a doll. And this will be one of the topics in our next meeting. 

So far I have always begun making a doll with the forming of the doll head. In this project we have started with the making of the body and limbs first which is quite new for me. Well, I enjoy this project and I am glad I will try some new approaches and methods. I must remember however and check if the head of my planned doll will not exceed 9 cm in diameter!
At this stage you can view my doll in the photo below. She looks like that.

My Waldorf style Dolls - Puppenmitmacherei.2
The doll parts are sewn and ready to be stuffed.

Have a lot of fun.

I will see you on September 2 (our third meeting), when my doll will be ready!

And now I am leaving to visit my colleagues. I wonder what they are writing about and what their dolls look like.

Here is a link to all participants of our second meeting.

51. Puppenmitmacherei - Day 1 dedicated to ideas and inspiration

As you may know I have decided to take part in the online event called "Puppen mit macherei", meaning "making dolls together" in English. The event is organised by "Mariengold" and "Naturkinder", known in the doll making world. What is it about? Its purpose is to gather a group of participants (thirty-eight at the moment), not necessarily doll makers, who will make their own dolls and report about it on their blogs. We will be meeting online once a month till December. Great idea, isn't it? Of course we will communicate, exchange experience and views, learn from each other and admire other colleagues' work. This will be trully sewing dolls together.

http://www.mariengold.net/tag/puppenmitmacherei-2015/

My first doll OLA I made myself was for a little girl. Here she is in this photo below. (More about her here.)

My first doll Ola.

I became interested in doll making quite accidentally about three years ago, when listening to the radio I heard the programme about Waldorf dolls often called dolls with soul. It was a kind of

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!

42. Maya wants to play

Maya is a Waldorf inspired doll. It is a cloth doll.

She is about 14 inches tall. Maya is all made from natural high quality materials: a special swiss cotton jersey designed for dollmakers, clean washed sheepswool, hand embroidered face and certified woolen mohair for hair specially produced for doll making.

As she is made of sheepswool. Maya is soft, warm and nice to the touch. It is very pleasing to hold her and cuddle. She smells of home and gives her little friend a sense of security.

Maya's clothes are made from natural good quality materials. 

She has a blue cotton dress embellished with a colourful ribbon, her sleeves have a white ricrac edging. Maya's dress is easy to put on since it is cut at the back. It has snap fasteners with complementary buttons.

And of course as a Waldorf doll Maya wears a pair of little cotton underpants. 

She has pulled on elastic waisted loose trousers with a white ricrac edging and lovely buttons as embellisment. The trousers are white with green leaves. 

Maya also has violet mohair bootees I hand knitted using little jenny wren pattern. 

I took the same yarn to crochet Maya's band to tie around her hair. 

Maya has hair in brushed mohair. 

There are more pictures of her in my gallery over here.

She is currently waiting to find her own special family. 
If you would like to take wee Maya into your heart  and offer  her a home, 
she is in my Etsy shop. 

You can also send me an email at

kbm.1507[at]gmail.com

Maya is suitable for children aged three or older.

She can't wait to find out what her new home will be like.

41. MAYA, a new Waldorf style doll

I'd like to introduce you to Maya. She is my new doll I hand made in a Waldorf style.

Maya is a sweet little girl standing around 14 inches tall. 

She has light skin, blue eyes, pink lips and rosy red cheeks. 
Her facial feature are hand embroidered and her cheeks are coloured with a wax crayon. Her hair is very soft white mohair crocheted into a cap. Occasionally it can be delicately brushed with a comb.

Maya loves playing a lot... She is a wonderful companion.

However, from time to time, Maya is cross with me I do not know why, 

and then she does not like chatting. Luckily it does not usually last long...,

Come on, don't be cross with me, Maya! 

because she quickly forgets and is happy again.

Maya is wearing a pretty blue dress, white and greenish trousers and violet blend shoes. Her playful little ponytails are tied with a white ribbon. When there is a special day Maya ties a band with two flowers around her hair.

I made her with a lot of love and attention to details, 

and it was such a fun to be with her all this time.

Maya is waiting to find her own family and is hoping for a wonderful adventure in her life. She would like to give huggs, smiles and fun. 

Thank you for visiting us. 

Have a nice day!

40. Waiting for the ferry to Świnoujśćie

What am I going to work on now? I haven't decided yet. Meanwhile I cleaned off my table and went on an excursion...

It was Sunday afternoon when we set out for Świnoujście. It has always been a bit of a problem when driving to Świnoujście, the last Polish town on the borderline with Germany, because it is situated on two islands. To get to the main part of the town one has to take a ferry. Sometimes the waiting time for the ferry is two hours!

As expected we saw a long queue of cars in front of us. After fifteen minutes' time we gave up and decided to withdraw.

What to do?.. We heard there was a nature reserve about here, but actually never had time to visit it. We might go there now, why not. Let's try and find it!

Very soon we found out it was a good idea.

A couple of swans

The reserve is called Karsiborska Kępa "Birds' Sanctuary" and it is situated in the region of back delta of the river Świna. The landscape is greatly diverse with over forty isles and the river meandering among them. From time to time a tourists' ship turns up. Lovely place, peaceful and quiet.

The reserve itself consists of broad meadows and pastures. Soon we were in the fields of grass waving in the wind all around and we heard birds' singing.

Some horses were grazing in the pastures nearby. They were quiet and admirable... 

On the horizon we noticed a group of cows... 

Since they were far off we started strolling in their direction stopping now and then. 

Unexpectedly we saw them quite near. They were moving towards us, 

some of them even running, what was worse they were on the same path as we. 

Probably they crossed wires fencing the fields... 

We quickly retreated, and the cows.. after a while they left in the direction of the river.

Polish primitive horse (Konik polski), specific Polish breed with beautiful blue dun hair coat.

Here you can see some local farmers' horses grazing in the reserve pastures from spring to autumn.

In the neighbouring village there was an interesting mediaeval church from 15th century. 

And the flowering grass everywhere. 

Heron or crane? Who knows. 

The path where we saw cows.

We had a lovely afternoon here. 

The next day I wanted to go back to this lovely place. 

Thank you for your visit.

Have a nice weekend.

39. What is Marianne like?

If you visit my Etsy shop you will meet Marianne there. She is 17 inches tall.

MARIANNE is a lovely Waldorf girl-doll, a true doll with soul. She is ready to love 

and hoping she will find a home with someone to play with soon... 

She is waiting impatiently  for a new adventure in her little doll's life.

Look at my bow? It is such fun!

What is Marianne like? She is a gentle loving doll. 

She will be the best companion for a girl at the age of four or more.

You will find more stories about Marianne and plenty of her pictures in the previous posts - 

about the beginning of our acquaintance, then about her character and a long dress, and at last about where she came from. 

Or you may just click the label "doll Marianne" at the bottom of the blog .

Below "Marianne's description". 

Marianne is a Waldorf inspired doll. She is about 17 inches tall. She is made from a special smooth fair toned cotton jersey designed for dollmakers (swiss cotton with Oko-Tex label). She is firmly stuffed with clean, carded sheepswool, but soft enough for hugging. Her head is created in the traditional Waldorf style. Marianne's simple facial features are embroidered with floss. Her face is delicately coloured with wax crayon. She has coloured cheecks and nose. For her hair I have chosen several kinds of different woolen yarns, like mohair and boucle, of different thickness and colours. I made her hair by applying strand by strand to the embroidered head. It is very strong. Her hair can be changed, and it needs to be finger styled.

Because she is made of sheepswool, Marianne is soft, warm and nice to the touch. It is very pleasing to hold her and cuddle. She smells of home and gives her little friend a sense of security. 
MARIANNE comes with two complete outfits of clothing: 

Two pairs of underwear, long dress and petticoat, a nightdress, cardigan, bootees, pixie bonnet, shawl, blouse, trousers, bootees/socks, hair band to tie hair and ribbon. 

Her clothes are hand washable only! and laid flat to dry.

Marianne is suitable for children 4 years old +.

The doll herself and all her clothes are made from natural materials: her underwear, dress, petticoat, trousers and a nighgtdress from cotton; bootees, cardigan, shawl, hairband and ribbon from wool,

For more information about how to care about Marianne visit my blog ("Waldorf doll care tutorial" page).

Thank you fro dropping by.
Have a nice time!

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.

17. A loving girl

Anja a loving girl. 

Anja is trying to help with packing her clothes, and I can see how excited she is to meet her 

new Mom. I took these last pics of Anja on Monday just before she left to start

her wee adventure - a journey to a new home. 

Thank you Anja for your adventures, our walk to the meadow on a sunny Sunday evening and visit to the playground in the park where you saw puppets in the poster. 

Good luck!

16. In the countryside

I would like to present some shots from around Kamień Pamorski, 

a small town situated about 20 km off the sea. 

On our way from Wolin to Kamień Pomorski we spotted three storks' nests with storks, 

parents and their youth, inside. 

The three nests were located on electric line poles, near the houses, 

almost in the farmyard.

Storks' nest. A little stork inside.

MyWaldorfstyleDolls' photostream

MyWaldorfstyleDolls' photostream on Flickr.