Busy Days for Juniper

Happy New Year One and All

Juniper and I have begun the 365 Days Blythe challenge on Flickr.  I've been following it for a while and it's part of my New Year's Resolution to create/craft every day.   As it's the tail end of the school holidays, we've been out and about a lot.   I've tried to explain the Juniper that this will end and life will become more more routine and home-based - until the building works begin anyway.

On New Year's Day we went to see "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" - a great film.  I loved the story and it was beautifully shot and really well acted and directed by Ben Stiller (no, he hasn't paid me for this unequivocal endorsement!).

The next day I took my youngest to the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.  After an excellent, fortifying lunch in their cafe, we wandered around.  My youngest came running up to me and said, "Mummy, come here, I've got a surprise for you!!".  He led me excitedly to a display cabinet housing....

...a brunette, chunky-bangs Kenner.  He's not indoctrinated then, LOL!  I hugged him, thanked him, and then....DROOL.  What a beauty.  All sorts of scenarios flashed through my mind, including offering the information officer at the Museum vast sums of money (which I didn't have) to let me take her home that minute, offering to swap Juniper for her - the thought darted across my mind and was gone - reader, I couldn't... could I? Note to self, don't let Juniper read this post. Back to the real world.

The dolls were fascinating.  I can't believe I haven't been to anything like this before - all those doll-free years.

This is a little 1920's Italian doll

whose owner had a matching dress made - apparently the done thing for little girls then.

More dolls - obviously the stitching is exquisite.

Then these caught my eye.....

I love the fabric on this puppet's dress.

Look out for the amazing 18th and 19th Century doll houses in my next post.   

Festive Girls

Iolanthe, my party girl, with her Christmas staples!

Annaluce, my forest girl 

My beautiful twins, Marisa & Solange, in their pretty dresses from Minijijo

Rosabela & Juniper modelling their PP swap outfits

Madison enjoying both her new PP swap pjs with sequins and her bedtime reading

Gorgeous Saffy being Scandi (sort of) as she contemplates my friend's delicious home-made choc truffles....

Wishing everyone a very happy Festive Season,

and may 2014 be all you want it to be.

Introducing....

...the exquisite Princess Reneé (self-styled).    Reneé, sorry, Princess Reneé, has been with us for a few months now, but refused to reveal her real name (or nature) until recently.  She also refused to be photographed until she'd found a dress she really liked and would like me to point out her generous nature in allowing herself to be photographed without shoes.  Actually she doesn't really care - somehow all of the girls are of the same mind - rather no shoes than the wrong shoes!

Here she is in all her exquisiteness.  

The Exquisite (modom has requested a capital "E") Princess Reneé and Rosabela are lying in knitty comfort on my tray of ongoing projects (sounds better than knits waiting to be sewn up/have fastenings sewn on to them) ....

....before having a good old riffle through and choosing an item each for me to complete next. please!  (The little green sweater was knitted by a lovely friend who finds Blythe dolls creepy, but still produces some adorable knits for my grateful girls).  Thank You! X

Halloween

I hope you've all had a great Halloween.

Technically it's still Halloween in my house because I haven't gone to bed yet!  (On chauffeur duty for teenage son).   

On to the girls.  I sewed this evening - right up to the wire (lots of real life stuff today - flat tires, and other not very interesting but sometimes necessary stuff).  Here they are in their new frocks (I sound like my Mum - ok dresses then!)

They decided to do a zombie advance over Iolanthe - I don't know if they were as fed up as me about her muttering about not having a new Halloween dress - never mind that she did very well at Blythecon with her gorgeous knitted silver dress made by Violine.

Annaluce and Rosabela agreeing that they don't really like the mussed up look favoured by zombies, and did I have the hairbrush?  (No, I didn't, so a little more muttering there). 

Iolanthe insisted on another picture of her to make up for her lack of a new dress.  Oh, had she already mentioned it?  She didn't realise.  But would I mind explaining again just why she didn't get a new dress......?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

.

What to do on a Blustery, Rainy Monday?

Well, Meredith sought out the Plushies for a cuddle...

...whilst Peony ticketed all the cars that were parked illegally (allegedly) in front of the Dojo

And Portia and Saffy ...

 ...polished off the gingerbread men.

 Now Peony's resting her feet - apparently it's hard work being a traffic warden and ticketing 4 cars.

That was Monday at our house.

Blythecon UK 2013

What a fabulous time my sister and I had at Blythecon in Glasgow this weekend just past!  From the time my plane touched down to the time we arrived home - it was fun, fun, fun.

My husband and I used to live in Glasgow, and our eldest son was born there, so I spent a very pleasant Friday afternoon and evening mostly laughing and eating and drinking with my old neighbour and her lovely family, next to my old house!   We drove into City Centre the next day, where we met my sister at our hotel.

We dressed the girls up in the hotel, wrapped them and carefully put them into our handbags, and set off for the Lighthouse , just around the corner.  What a great venue.  Blythecon UK 2013 was on the fifth floor, in a big, airy, bright room filled with dolly heaven...

 ....a little bit of which I brought home with me!


It was SO good to be amongst fellow enthusiasts.  We spent ages going around the gorgeous stalls.  So many talented, creative people.  We attended both workshops.  The first was an amazing custom nose and lip carve by Fifilatrixabel.  Fiona's a really good lecturer and it was so interesting to see everything I've been poring over on-line. I found it really interesting seeing the differences in the scalps.  We lunched at the cafe - and then attended another workshop in the afternoon, hosted by Laura Kate, making little wrap skirts.  It was a lovely, chatty workshop.  One of the things I loved about quilting when I went to classes was being part of a group of people really enjoying what they are doing - and that is what I loved about this workshop - and about Blythecon. 

Above, Apricot is modelling a Kai dress, Alexa is modelling the little skirt my sister made (and gave to me), and Fawn is modelling a new Piparrot dress.  (I love that colour on Apricot!).

All the girls! (Mostly).

Iolanthe dressed for the after-party in a new dress by Violine.

Iolanthe chatting to Leo's girls (the shoes, the jacket, and oh, the sporran) on the adorable little banquette made by Leo.

In our lovely goody bags, there were little Scottie dog buttons - and the challenge is to use them!  Well, this afternoon, in spite of housework, homework demands, dinner to be cooked, work to be done (you know how it goes...) I sat down and made this....

A little felt skirt.  I know it looks easy (it is) and looks as if it took no time at all (it should have done) BUT....initially I elected to use snaps as fastenings, so I sewed them on.  I discovered one was the wrong way round to so I re-sewed it....only to discover the other one was the wrong way round....(I don't know if it was the guilt of all the not-so-fun things needing doing that was informing my hands) but I defiantly continued prolonging the fun of Blythecon and on I went, using velcro this time.  Voila!  

As a side-note my husband had informed me when he'd fetched from the airport last night that there had been an alarming influx of boxes whilst I'd been gone.... so I assured him that a resettlement of the girls was on the cards - which I truly planned.  Only, inspired by all the gorgeous dolls I'd seen at Blythecon (and got to hold :) - even a KENNER!!!!  I decided to cut Paige's hair.  She was very keen.  She was on the "girls for adoption list" - but now I LOVE her hair, and together we're choosing eyechips.   (I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of Laura's Blythecon offer).  Having said that, I did have a budget - and I did stick to it - hence not buying more than one set of eyechips, and now I have no budget until I put some girls up for adoption.  Just not Paige!!! (Please don't ask who....).

Here's my lovely Solange in the middle wearing the wrap skirt I made in the workshop.

And that's it!  A whole year till the next Blythecon!  Thank heavens for Flickr and Facebook and Plastic Paradise and new friends made.  Thank you everyone, it's been fun :)

(PS:  No, it didn't quite survive the journey home and yes, I did eat it, and it was delicious!)

James at Chenies Manor House, and Goodbye

Very near us, down to the end of our road, across a busy main road, along the bridle path and through the woods is a lovely pre-Elizabethan manor house.  The garden is sublime - the colours/plantings are amazing and I visit in Spring for the bulbs and Summer for the perennials/annuals. It's a favourite summer afternoon tea destination (heavenly home-made cakes) - and the maze is always fun!

Off James, my youngest,  and I went.

 

Sitting on the fence outside the house.  (They weren't open this day).

Apparently the gnarly oak tree behind James has been there since Elizabethan times, and yes, Queen Elizabeth I did sleep here (almost bankrupting the then owner in the process!).

Jumping down to play in the leaves and look for cloud pictures

So beautiful

And before we knew it, it was time to go home, pack James comfortably into her lovely travelling box, and send her on to her next host! (I realised I hadn't taken a pic of this - it's going with James). 

 

My first BlueSkyBlythe creation - especially for James.

Goodbye little one.  

It's been a privilege, a pleasure, 

and 

SO MUCH FUN!