Tag Archives: Doll Hats

Sophie is My “Lavender Lovely”

Hello to you! I hope you are having a very nice weekend. It’s nice and hot here in northern Illinois–very summery feeling.

This month is flying by, and I don’t have much dolly-related making to show for it. Granted I have been taking a lot of time to enjoy spring and all the beautiful flowers. And, we have had a birthday and a college graduation to celebrate this month. May has been busy. There hasn’t been much time to settle down and create in my studio.

Last month I started a new ensemble for Sophie and it is now complete. Sophie is a Mary Engelbreit doll by Robert Tonner. She is the best friend to Ann Estelle. Do you remember those adorable paper dolls Mary added to her Home Companion magazine? These dolls are those paper dolls come to life. The dolls were first sold in the early 2000s and were very popular among doll collectors. At one time I had Gracie and Georgia too. Sophie is my only remaining M. E. doll. By the way, she shares the same body as the newer Patsy doll by Robert Tonner.

Sophie’s cropped cardigan is knit with lace weight merino that I hand dyed to a pink violet. I used six different shades of violet and pink for the roses. I mixed them up in different combinations, tiny rose jewels. I used Patsy’s cardigan pattern to knit this sweater for Sophie.

Oh, this fabric! I think it’s one of my favorites. It’s a Kaufman lawn, Sevenberry Petite Garden is a line of small scale florals from Japan. I originally purchased it from fabric.com. They don’t have this exact print anymore, but they have some other lovely prints to choose from.

I crocheted Sophie’s summer hat using three strands: #10 cotton, #10 bamboo, and #20 cotton. To decorate the hat I used lace that matches the dress and muted turquoise velvet ribbon. I hand tacked both separately and pulled snugly on the trims so that they hugged the hat neatly. I LOVE mother-of-pearl and happily used one of my mother-of-pearl buttons for this hat!

I think Sophie is thrilled with her new ensemble. She’s been waiting patiently for one of her own that she can keep.

I published a new YouTube video showing bits of this ensemble in progress.

Wishing you all a great ‘last week in May’ ! 🤗💜

Mid December

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Hello! 🎄 How are you doing? Tomorrow is the 3rd Sunday of Advent… already. Oh my goodness–how these days are flying by!

Today I finished dressing my Little Darlings in their holiday ensembles. They are ready! They have gifts to give, carols to sing, snowflakes to make, and holiday cards to send.

I uploaded a new vlog this evening. I took video throughout the week documenting what I was working on and doing, and I then put it into a little video for you to watch. I hope you enjoy it. I had a very nice and productive week. I think I spent a few days dedicated to dolly craft.

My littlest chihuahua had to go in to have some baby teeth removed on Thursday. I was a very nervous momma, but he came through fine. The poor thing, though–not a good day for him. He was very vocal (squeaky) for hours afterwards.

Alice’s ensemble was made a while ago. I replaced the pink ribbon sash with a light red one and tied a bit of it in her hair. I replaced her pink tights with ivory and made her a holiday craft basket. She is making snowflakes and sending out Christmas cards.

Gina and Lucy are wearing new ensembles. I’m sure you’ve seen these two ensembles in the works many times. They have been much documented in my videos. And Lucy’s ear flap hat was the sample for my latest pattern. The instructions for Lucy’s scarf are in the description box for this video (I show how to change colors in the video–no cutting yarn between stripes). Gina’s Christmas stocking is a free pattern by Little Cotton Rabbits here. I made it 4 stitches narrower however.

Since these ensembles aren’t too holiday-like the girls will be able to wear them into winter–while I make things for my other dolls.

Alice, Gina, Lucy, and I would like to wish you a beautiful third week of Advent. May it be peaceful and filled with happy times and lovely moments.

I’d love to hear how your holiday preparations are coming along!

Sending hugs to you all! 🤗💖

A New Knitting Pattern

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Hi there! I hope this week is going good for you. It’s going fine over here. I think we are on day #8, and the last day, of really warm November weather. It has been nice, but it is starting to feel a little bit weird. I hate to say this, but I am looking forward to more seasonal temperatures. Remind me I said this when I am complaining about the cold. 🙄

Sunday night I finished up *gasp* a knitting pattern! It’s been so long–I’ve been way too lazy, sorry if you’ve been waiting for more. I have ideas, but it is SO much work putting the designs onto paper, or virtual paper I should say. It’s hard getting into pattern writing mode, but when the pattern is done I am very happy it’s out there for you.

Over the years I have been asked to put my ear flap hat into pattern form. It’s specifically designed for the Little Darlings who wear a 7″-8″ wig, but this should fit other dolls with the same sized head.

The Ear Flap Hat pattern is different from my last ones in that it includes a video link to illustrate steps where visuals could help make the steps clearer. I am a visual learner–I know many of us are; I am hoping this video is quite helpful. There are clickable time stamps in the video’s description so that you can click and go to the exact place in the video that you need to go to–no jumping around randomly.