The next party.

 I’ve added a Halloween party to the party photo book I started with two older photos but with a new story.

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 Madam Mee  owned  the Witches Hat Shop it was a shop with a difference, she did not sell her hats but rented them out, so each year her customers could have a different hat,

Poppy and her friends went to choose their hats for the coming Halloween party, I wonder which hat they will each choose.

And off they went to enjoy some Halloween fun.

There was Apple bobbing..........

Bobbing for Donuts.......

Pin the spider on the web.........

Cookies and Hot Chocolate before they went off to Trick and treat their friends.

and now to plan the last party.

A Finish

 Fiona has finished the first of the etui she is making, this has been such a happy project for our Wednesday stitching mornings and she had it on the show and tell table at guild this month. 

My etui is being sadly neglected but I will have more doll photos to share soon. 

The Tea Party

 The second party for my Party book has now been completed… a Tea Party. Rosie invited her friends to a tea party and told them it would  have a pink them, she planned to wear her favourite dress.

And they came wearing pink dresses

 

There were pink Teacup party hats for everyone 

And party games included Tic tac toe which Poppy won the most games.

And everyone enjoyed the afternoon tea with a special cake for the occasion that Rosie had prepared

And she had goodie bags and balloons to thank her guests for coming.

Everyone enjoyed the tea party.

A little stitching

 Fiona, Diane and I stitch together on Wednesday mornings, we are currently working on etui the ones Fiona and I are stitching are for our granddaughters  while Diane plans hers as a gift to a friend. We are using the layout of the Robin etui I stitched some years 

My “Robin from the secret garden”  etui.

Fiona has three granddaughters, and is planning to stitch an etui for each of them here is the progress on her first two.

The theme for this one is  Strawberries  and the next one is ladybirds. Her third one is just started so will share it later.

Diane has a cat theme for her etui

I will share mine one when I do the next update as I have yet to get photos. 

Something different

 Jan has asked me to do a photo story book for Ronan’s birthday, we decided to make it the story of some bears who live in a tree house in the forest, she was able to bring plenty of items  for props.

Yesterday I completed a story about the bears going to the beach which will form one chapter in the book.

Setting out car, caravan and boat, off to the beach where Father Bear and Benny Bear will go fishing.

 

I’m pleased how this set of photos for the story worked out

Happy Easter

 It’s been good to be able to move round with just one crutch, allows me to do more, so yesterday with Finn’s help we set up background and dolls for some Easter photos,  I decided to use chickens and some tiny Easter eggs.

After I had finished Finn added bunnies and birds to the display for his version of the photo.

I am enjoying the calendar I made for this year with the dolls photo, and planning to do the same next year, being able to plan ahead means I can take photos specially for each month, rather late to post but this week I finally managed to take the photo for March, had chosen St Patrick’s day as the theme.

Now I plan to get back to the party theme and pink dresses are needed for the next one so time to get busy with needle and thread.

A little gift

 It’s good to be back stitching again, yes needle and thread does make my day complete. 

I’ve just finished a small gift for a special friends birthday this week, we both share the love of fine linen and count thread work,  The scissor fob was stitched on 40 count Permin linen using DMC perle 12 thread, plus a little gold thread to highlight the design. 

I’m here

  Several weeks and no posts! On march the 1st I had a fall and broke my hip, two weeks in hospital followed and then slow progress at home with lots of support from family and caregivers, I am now feeling more mobile . And in the last few days have taken up my needle again and am busy stitching a special piece which I will share with you in my next post.

As a result of the fall changes were made specially in the living room where a large coffee table sat in front on my chair and had everything I needed on it, that’s gone to make it easier for me on crutches to move but finding where everything was packed away is a task ahead of me…. Today I want just the simplest item a cord weight but where is it…… Caitlin is coming in shortly hopefully will find it and I can proceed with the project in hand.

Kaytu who is far from happy about the crutches approves the walker.

Good bye Florence

 Time to say good bye

 The exchange

Florence with Joan her third owner and Vicki her fourth owner.

Florence’s Bonnet

 Florence is finished with the completion of her bonnet, I had tried one of the other doll bonnets on her so it was easy to see what adjustment needed to my usual pattern. I was able to restore the fabric that had formed the long skirt on her previous dress, the wedding dress. Special to use as it was scraps from Joan’s own wedding dress, trimmings were lace, cream ribbon roses a lovely white feather that Ann had sent down specially and ribbons. Her trip home to Joan and Vicki has been delayed but I have shared photos with them first.

This is being put together on my iPad so I have no idea if  the photos will be shown in the order I want

An old dress becomes a new dress

I have chosen to make Florences dress from a dress I had here Its history will add to Florences story.

I know the age of the dress as it was a baby dress made  for me confirming it as 87 years old, made by mother who was Florences second owner, the gown is all beautifully hand stitched, soft cream silk with inserted lace. It also means that it would have been worn two years later by Joan, the third owner of the doll. I'm not sure why one baby dress survived all these years, it certainly did not fit any of our dolls. But do know I added it at some stage to my fibre collection, and have shown its fine needlework to others over the years. I’m now truly aware of those tinystitches as I unpicked each one ready to make the dress.

I needed to know what Joan and Vicki wanted the doll to look like so after much researching and finally giving them three to chose from that I knew I could make from the dress this was the one we all liked

Stage one before the final lace frill added

The final part of Florence’s story will be added shortly.she needs her bonnet to complete the outfit

Dressing Florence

 First an update to her story Vicki and I were able to work out when she received Florence  and we came up with 1971 which was after Paul and I came home from Australia in January that year Vicki’s sixth birthday was May that year. 

Florence is 48cm tall and has a very long solid bold, so different from the dolls I am use to dressing

This photo is Florence as she was  when I first undressed her after she arrived, I know her pantaloons are old and I wonder if her socks  are from when she was redressed 50 years ago, surprisingly with a wash they came back into shape and I added elastic lace tops to them.

As I am dressing her as a young girl close to what she might have been originally I replaced her singlet with a chemise.

I have now completed her chemise and petticoat, they are made with white lawn fabric and matching lace, the petticoat has been kept short so it won’t show through the lace hem of her dress

We are planning to take Florence back to my sister Joan in Napier on the 9th of next month, I would like the finished look to be a surprise for her so I will continue Florences story after then, I have the dress and bonnet to make and best of all to give her a new wig, making her more like the original doll.