Cloth Dolls

Over Christmas I made this young lady and a couple of others to give as gifts. Very cute and very long!!!! I absolutely loved making them and it has inspired me to create some cloth dolls that may end up in my Etsy shop! This lady was a little too long though so I'm refining the pattern.

I wanted to create my own pattern but wasn't sure where to start. How long should their legs be? Should I give them joints? Clothes or clothing shaped bodies? So many questions!

So I took a couple of patterns from a book and used them as a template, adapting the head and body shape, blending them together, varying the limbs and changing the construction method. Here are the six prototypes I've created.....

My favorite is the fourth one along with the small head but I'd like her limbs to be a little thinner. I also like the last one, although I might give her the small head too!!

They're in the process of getting hair (and body parts!?!) and i've got to dress them! I really enjoying creating these ladies!! I'll keep you updated on their progress and add the development photos!!

A Smitten!!! How Cute!!!

I came across this today on Curbly, a Smitten! It's so adorable!!! Designed by Julie Weisenburger, the pattern is available via Coco Knits. Ok, so it's a little geeky but who cares, you know you all secretly want one!!

I do!!!

The Studio, a Work In Progress!

I'm in a very fortunate position, where Mr Shortcake loves my creativity and has sacrificed the spare room to provide me with a Studio space. However, I do really love the space but it needs a bit of work. I've been so inspired by the Handmade Spaces on Modish, all the beautifully organized rooms, tidy shelves and cupboards that I made a couple of decisions, I recently sold this.......

......My weaving loom, a treasured possession that was invaluable while at University but since then has sat in the corner gathering dust, looking sorry for itself. So I bit the bullet and put it on eBay and it's now winging its way to Sweden to be used and loved. This has given me the cash to sort the studio out! Yay!!

So I thought I would document the before and after look. Now, don't get too excited, the changes will not be massive but hopefully enough to make it a little more usable. As you can see there is a lot of stuff!!! Eventually there will be a new desk in this space but I'm going to make do with this one till I find 'The One'!

This bookcase has never met requirements! I'm hoping to condense two bookcases into one when the new one goes into this space but we'll see.......
The Paint Cupboard!!! This will remain as it is, it does the job and that's all that matters!
The weaving loom lived in this corner, I never realized how much space it took up! Along this wall will be my new sewing desk, it's bright yellow (we got the work-top in the sale already!) I'm very excited about this bit, it's long enough to have both the sewing machine and the overlocker on at the same time if needed!
Overall, very exciting! Mr Shortcake has some spare time at the moment so he's helping to sort it out. I made the cabinets for the sewing desk yesterday and gave the wood for the bookcase a wash of white. Stay tuned for the finished article........