Young Spike

I'd like to introduce you to the tale of a friendly forest creature called Spike Arrowtail . . . I hope you enjoy . . . I surely did!

Dragons and Butterflies frolic in a land of flowers and trees,
Each their own desire, seeking to please.
Butterflies play and drink nectar from sweet, luscious blooms,
Growing jolly and plump, unaware danger looms.
Young Dragons wrestle and practice controlling their fire,
Feeding their sweet-tooth with tender Butterflies they desire.
This was how things went since time began,
Naive Butterflies, victim of the Dragons' plan.
Into this land two characters were born,
Purple Spike Arrowtail and yellow Mort Flutterhorn.

In a private garden all purple and green, played Spike,

Trying to catch Butterflies with a net on a pike.

A task not so easy for one young on his feet,

And a feisty yellow Butterfly, not willing to be meat.

"Put up your dukes, you yellow-bellied worm,

I'll fight all the way, if eaten, I'll make your tummy squirm."

Young Spike, quite taken aback by brave little Mort,

Raising his hand with a smiling retort,
"What do I do with a bug of this sort?"

Being impetuous, fluttering Mort makes reply,

"As enemies we'll fight, as friends we can fly,

Through this great land of flowers and trees,

Playing tag with the Bluebirds and quick little Bees."

So friends they became, a scene strange to behold.

A Dragon and a Butterfly playing together, a new story to be told.

Author - D. R. Hartle

Art - James Browne

It's been a very busy week and I have missed you all. Hopefully I'll be back to chat soon . . . 'till then, keep on crafting!

Knitted v Sewn Dollywear

I love both sewn and knitted garments, however, I often find knitted garments are more forgiving when it comes to dressing dolls of different heights and body sizes. Sewn garments from cotton fabrics are slightly rigid and at times quite restricting, whereas knitted garments are less so. They have a little more give (natural yarns even more so), which allows them to stretch to fit.

I finished this 4 piece outfit designed to fit 18-19" (46-48cm) dolls and shown here on my Gotz Happy Kidz Emma (which is classified as a 50cm doll).

Her measurements are actually ~ Height 48cm, Chest (under armpit) 25cm, Waist 22.5cm, Hip 27cm.

If this sounds confusing, it is, as many dolls which are often said to be 50cm or 20" tall, are not. It seems many measurements stated in the dolly world are not always precise measurements, so you can understand my dilemma as a seamstress and knitter . . . and when it comes to sewing, it really is a case of trial and error or perhaps I should say adjustment. :)

Now here is the same outfit on my new Australian Girl who I might add is actually ~

Height 50cm, Chest (under armpit) 28cm, Waist 29cm, Hip 31cm.

The most noticeable difference is in the length of the top and pants, not so much in the width, but they are acceptable and she can still wear them.

This new arrival had been onboard for delivery since Thursday, but wasn't delivered until Sunday. We were out for the afternoon, so the poor dear was left at the front door in the rain . . . I was not impressed!

Luckily she was in her backpack, within a box and well wrapped in brown paper, so she was okay. The backpack will be great should I want to take her anywhere, it has straps to hold her safely tucked in place.

These are the clothes she was wearing ~ the little boots are fur lined and have an opening at the inner ankle that closes with Velcro (don't mind it too much here as it's not near her hair), the denim skirt is fully lined (even the waistband is lined), so no worries about her vinyl staining, and the t-shirt closes at the back with press studs.

She also came with a pair of thongs (flipflops), which she is wearing in the above photo. I must say I was quite impressed by the quality of her clothes, they are the best I have seen on a clothed doll.

The doll herself is lovely, her eyes are clear and close nicely, the face is matt and really well finished, the hair has a little product in it to help preserve the curl, but not overly done so it becomes tacky, it's still quite pleasing to touch.

Overall, I would recommend this doll to anyone looking to purchase a play doll.

P.S. The four piece knitted outfit is available for AU$60 plus postage.

A Friendship Blossoms

Well my little Lea Muller (who I have renamed Heidi) arrived yesterday, so I took a couple of snaps of her with Gretel (Rosi). They seem to be getting along like a house on fire!

Gretel: Hello, I haven't seen you around here before, are you new to the neighbourhood?

Heidi: I've only just arrived from overseas, but this looks like a very nice town.

I brought my block trolley with me. Do you like playing with blocks?

Gretel: Oh yes, I love playing with them. You can build things and that's so much fun.

Lea: I think we are going to become great friends.

Gretel: Me too! Do you want to come to my place for lunch?

Lea: Yeah, that will be lovely. Do you have fruit? I love fruit!

Gretel: Yes, and yummy cream cakes too!

So off they went to feed their chubby little faces, muttering to each other all the way. :)

A New Model Coming Soon

I have been tempted on several occasions to purchase an American Girl doll purely as a model for making a new range of clothing. However, I'm not overly fond of soft body dolls and have never really liked that the neckline on these dolls doesn't look the best as you can see in this photo.

So in my search for a suitable replacement I found this little home bred sweetie on eBay . . . Matilda, an Australian Girl.

Australian Girl dolls are 50cm tall (5cm taller than American Girls), made from firm phthalate free vinyl. They have two thirds soft body with a vinyl breastplate which, unlike most soft body dolls, makes it possible for them to wear garments with lower necklines.

They have strong fully rotational ball joints with durable elastic cord, can stand alone and be posed in different positions. The hair is finest quality kankelon (used in human wigs) and can be washed and styled.

Although a new American Girl sells for around US$115, by the time you add international shipping and then convert it to AU$'s they work out costing over $200. So at AU$159.95 with free delivery, I thought Matilda was a reasonably priced purchase.

She's being shipped via Fastway Couriers from Queensland, and her ETA is 22nd May.

She also has the bonus of red hair, green eyes and little teeth. :)
Hugs till next time!

Been Busy Off Line

But I'm back on again now! I just found that Schildkrot have finally been able to attain the Krumel face mould from Rosemarie Muller's own collection, and have produced two extremely happy little dolls . . . Felix and Lea Muller.

I have wanted to get my little pinkies on this face mould forever, but just could not justify a purchase from the artist herself. So you can imagine the joy I felt when I saw these two happy little souls up for sale. You may even have thought from my love of redheaded dolls, I would purchase Felix first, but Lea looked so pretty in the little outfit she was wearing, my heart melted.

It will be nice to have a blue eyed blond in my collection and as she wears a wig, I can always change it whenever I like. She isn't a big doll (30cm tall), nor is she ball jointed, but I know she will pose well regardless, as her five joints swivel, which allows the arms, legs and head to move in many different directions.

The wait for this doll shouldn't be too long, just long enough to fly from UK to Australia!
Well now you have my happy news, I hope you have some too!

More Pretties

Not much dolly news to share today. We have been busy outside while the weather is still reasonable and have planted a couple of Camellias. One in front of my studio window (we've tried other things, but had no success), it's an informal double called Hawaii. The flowers are so pretty and it's not expected to grow very tall, so should still let enough light into the house.

Camellia Japonica Hawaii

The other, a Paradise Petite Pink, will be planted in our courtyard, where we have just finished adding a new larger patio. Unavoidably, the workmen destroyed a small section of our garden when they had to bring the concrete in, leaving just enough room for a slender plant.

Camellia Sasanqua Paradise Petite

This will grow up to 1.5 meters tall and just 1 meter wide, so should be perfect there.

The patio looks great, but we are still waiting for the balustrade to be installed. I will post photos when it's all completed, as it just looks like a big bluestone blob right now!

Next thing on the agenda is repainting all my old pots terracotta, to match the more recent additions.

Hopefully there will be a little time left over for dollies. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

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