Friday, February 28, 2014

For Our Beautiful Kim

Blessed are all of us who had you in our lives and were loved by you.  We will be forever thankful for that.


Those we love remain with us for love itself lives on, and cherished memories never fade because a loved one’s gone. Those we love can never be more than a thought apart. For as long there is a memory, they’ll live on in our hearts. - Author Unknown

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Luther The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and His Pumpkins - New E-Pattern and Handmade Doll


"Lili The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and Her Pumpkins" and "Luther The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and His Pumpkins" are fraternal twins, brother and sister. Even though they are fraternal twins they still look alike except for their hair. Lili has beautiful raggedy orange curly hair while Luther has straight brown hair.

Like a lot of identical or fraternal twins they seem to be able to read each others minds. So much so that it's downright scary. They act alike and dress alike. They even know what each will be wearing and when and both love the bright vivid colors of the Fall season. Pus, they love pumpkins.

Their Mother always thanks her lucky stars that at least they were a different sex and had different hair. If they didn't even she would not be able to tell them apart.

Lili and Luther can finish each other's sentences and vice versa. They stick together like glue. Where there's one there's the other. And, where they are they're always surrounded by their pumpkins.


"Luther The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and His Pumpkins" is an 16" folk-art boy doll. He is wearing his favorite outfit for the Fall. Everything just coordinates so beautifully.

<

Luther is a folk-art boy doll with a cloth body, an embroidered face, and thick straight brown hair on the top and sides of his head with the back left bare. His boots are black and criss-crossed with orange embroidery floss.


He is wearing his favorite coordinated outfit a shirt that matches the cuffs and pockets of his pantaloons. His shirt has rust colored cuffs, is gathered at the neck, and has a button accent insert. His pantaloons are cuffed and have two pockets and are gathered at the waist.

Luther is surrounded with her favorite Fall fabric quilted pumpkins.


Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Monday, February 24, 2014

Lili The Folk-Art Dolls Loves The Fall and Her Pumpkins - New E-Pattern and Handmade Doll


"Lili The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and Her Pumpkins" and "Luther The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and His Pumpkins" are fraternal twins, brother and sister. Even though they are fraternal twins they still look alike except for their hair. Lili has beautiful raggedy orange curly hair while Luther has straight brown hair.

Like a lot of identical or fraternal twins they seem to be able to read each others minds. So much so that it's downright scary. They act alike and dress alike. They even know what each will be wearing and when and both love the bright vivid colors of the Fall season. Pus, they love pumpkins.

Their Mother always thanks her lucky stars that at least they were a different sex and had different hair. If they didn't even she would not be able to tell them apart.

Lili and Luther can finish each other's sentences and vice versa. They stick together like glue. Where there's one there's the other. And, where they are they're always surrounded by their pumpkins.


"Lili The Folk-Art Doll Loves The Fall and Her Pumpkins" is an 16" folk-art girl doll. She is wearing her favorite dress for the Fall. It's just so cheery and beautiful with it's embroidered insert.


Lili is a folk-art girl doll with a cloth body, an embroidered face, and curly raggedy orange hair along the side seams of her head with the back left bare. She is wearing lace trimmed bloomers gathered at the waist and ankles. Her boots are black and criss-crossed with orange embroidery floss.


 Her Fall colored dress eyelet lace trimmed along the sleeve hem edge and along the bottom hem edge. The dress bodice is rust colored and has a beautiful eyelet laced insert with button accent, orange lace around the neck, and a beautiful Fall flowers print dress skirt that is gathered at the waist. A large orange ribbon is wrapped around her waist and tied in a bow in the back.

Lili is surrounded with her favorite Fall fabric quilted pumpkins.

He is wearing his favorite coordinated outfit a shirt that matches the cuffs and pockets of his pantaloons. His shirt has rust colored cuffs, is gathered at the neck, and has a button accent insert. His pantaloons are cuffed and have two pockets and are gathered at the waist.

Luther is surrounded with her favorite Fall fabric quilted pumpkins.


Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Thursday, February 20, 2014

My Latest Cross-Stitch Project - Winter Chill Cross-Stitch Shadow Box Picture - Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Cross-Stitch Kit - MHCB245



Of all the cross-stitch shadow boxes I have made I realized I didn't have anything specifically for the winter season so I decided to make a shadowbox to add to my collection. I don't know why I would want anything depicting the beauty of the winter as I hate the winter - especially this winter. TOO MUCH SNOW. I can hardly wait for the spring.

However, I wanted my collection of shadowbox cross-stitch pictures to be representative of all the seasons and holidays and realized I was lacking a winter scene. So, I decided to make one.

Like the other Mill Hill - Buttons & Beads Series patterns I had bought the Mill Hill Winter Chill Winter Buttons and Beads Counted Cross Stitch Kit which included the pattern, embroidery thread, brown perforated paper, beads, button, 2 needles and instructions.

The Winter Chill pattern uses full counted cross-stitch and straight stitching as well as beads and buttons for emphasis and depth. The pattern also calls for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched as the background. In this case they were leaving sections of the brown perforated paper background untouched.

I, once again, decided to frame my finished cross-stitch picture in a 5" by 5" white shadow box frame that is 1 1/2" deep and can stand on it's own or with its back picture stand (like the picture above) as I've been really happy with the way all my other cross-stitch shadowbox pictures have come out.


I also decided to once again utilize the rectangular wood frame jig that my darling husband built for me that I could tape the edges of my perforated paper to. The wood frame jig is a rectangular embroidery hoop of sorts, but without bending the perforated paper. He had made it out of 1/2" x 1" pine wood strips with an adjustable center strip that I used for this 5 x 5 square design.

I had learned from previous mistakes that I needed to draw diagonal lines to locate the exact center of the perforated paper as in the last perforated paper cross-stitch picture I had done was slightly off center by a few holes which caused a problem with inserting the needles in the holes along one of the edges of my frame. So, I drew a diagonal line across each corner to get the center point of the perforated paper.

I had also run into a slight problem with one of the perforated paper cross-stitch pictures I had previously created with the beads along the edge causing a problem when framing so this time I also drew squares on the perforated paper to show me where the 5" x 5" square was. Plus, I knew I wanted to square my picture so I needed to know where to end my stitching.


While the end results of this design were wonderful some things in the kit and in the instructions could be improved upon so I'd like to offer the following constructive suggestions:

The cross-stitch chart was in black and white as was the floss color code and symbol key. Both were easy to read and very clear. While I had no problem with the chart and keys I did have a problem with the way the DMC floss was presented. All of the floss was tied together in one big knot so you had to separate the floss pieces yourself, sort them, and try to interpret which color belonged to which floss # and symbol key on the color chart. If you only have a few colors to deal with this isn't a problem. However, if you have several different colors to choose from that are close in color then interpreting the chart can be tricky. You may assign the wrong color to the wrong symbol if the colors are too closely aligned.

As I have done with other cross-stitch kits I've completed I had to design my own thread color sorter and symbol key. I took a piece of thin cardboard and cut a 1" x 9" long rectangular piece out to use as a thread sorter. I then punched 13 holes in my cardboard strip in which to tie each of the different colors. Just above the hole I wrote the DMC floss # and just below the hole I added the respective cross-stitch symbol. I then inserted the floss threads that went with that # and symbol through the hole and tied them in a loose knot. This kit could be much improved if a thread sorter with respective #'s and symbols was provided.

The beads were contained within two small ziploc bags which was fine. However, when several different beads of similar color or size are included within the bags it can be very difficult to distinguish between the colors or between the petite and regular size beads. Labeling the ziploc bags as to which bead number they contained would enhance this kit and allow you to tie the bead # to the symbol number on the charts.

The pattern called for certain areas of the perforated paper to be left untouched as the background like the picture shown below:


However, I don't like seeing the different perforated sections in the background and opted instead to finish all of the background with a light blue DMC embroidery floss color sewn as a half-cross stitch using two strands of the floss. I didn't want to use a brown floss as I thought the light blue was more appropriate for a winter theme. I had decided to square the edges of my picture and also decided to add two rows of the dark blue floss, that framed the top and bottom rectangles in the picture, around all the edges to make sure the perforated paper would not be visible once my cross stitch picture was framed in its' shadowbox.

I had a slight problem with the upper left hand corner and the perforated paper. It ripped part way through so I added tape to the back left corner of the perforated to secure the paper and threads.

In looking at the picture I decided to deviate from the pattern and change two things. ;I decided that I wanted the snowflakes to be white instead of the light blue that was called for in the kit. I also decided to use 3 strands of the floss for the snowflakes versus the 2 strands that were called for in the pattern as I wanted the snowflakes to stand out a little more. Plus, I didn't think the trees stood out enough so I decided to outline the trees for more emphasis. You can see them in the close-up picture above.

I was also thinking about changing the color of the words "Brrr...." as I wasn't sure they were going to stand out enough but decided to follow the pattern. I wish I hadn't as when the picture was done the "Brrr......" really didn't stand out. I should have used dark blue.

Instead of mounting my picture on foam as I had done with my previous cross-stitch pictures I opted instead to mount my Winter Chill on hard chipboard.

My results with the totally finished background, square edges, and hard chipboard is shown below:


The kit had included a red button for the scarf but I decided not to use it.

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was thrilled with the way my Mill Hill Winter Chill Winter Buttons and Beads Counted Cross Stitch Kit shadowbox picture turned out - even if it was a winter scene. There is a lot going on in a very small cross-stitch picture and it is amazing to see all the details.

It took me 27 1/2 hours to complete this picture including the framing. As always, my comments are meant to be constructive to enable future purchasers to benefit from my experience and to enhance their ability to create a wonderful little cross-stitch design.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Trillium Blues Mini - New E-Pattern by Inspired Creations By D


In April of 2011 my baby sister decided to combine her love of quilting with her love of gardening and started designing floral wall art quilts for Inspired Creations By D. Her first quilt design was called "Trillium Blues" which I absolutely loved. It had the most beautiful blue colors to it and had my mother's, my, and baby sister's favorite color - blue.

So, of course, I dropped a lot of hints about how lovely it would look in my house. But, I wasn't the only one dropping hints. Her step-son did too. Since the original Trillum Blues was too big to fit in his house she designed two much smaller versions: one with a wood frame and one dowel hung. Since she was creating two mini versions of "Trillium Blues" she decided to create a new e-pattern so you could create a smaller version of your own.

The wood frame mini wall art quilt is going to her step-son. Lucky guy.  I, of course, keep dropping hints about the dowel hung one and how beautiful it would look in my house. My pleas keep falling on deaf ears. My sister thinks it would look beautiful in her house, too and already has a place in mind for it.

I keep hoping that she'll take pity upon her "older" "big" sister who hit a milestone "old lady"  birthday this year and give it to me.  I'm hoping........

It would look wonderful in my house.......  baby sister, hint-hint!

Come on now, you know you want to give it to me.........


Here's what she said about her mini quilt:

My youngest stepson wanted a Trillium Blues for his home but he did not have a space big enough for the original Trillium Blues so I simply created a more compact size.  The original was 28"x 33" but this Trillium Blues "Mini" is 19" x 19"; a perfect size for a smaller space.  It has all the same beautiful cobalt blues, white trillium and of course, the butterfly, as the original did.  Perhaps this will fit in a smaller spot for you as well!




Copyright © 2013 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed by Debbie Bohringer

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

"Ambrose and Theodora - With The Big Eyes" - A Pair Of Adorable Identical Twins


"Ambrose - With the Big Eyes" and "Theodora - With The Big Eyes" are identical twins, brother and sister. They are way too much alike. Way too identical. If you closed your eyes you wouldn't know who was who. Even their voices are alike.

Like a lot of identical twins they seem to be able to read each others minds. So much so that it's downright scary. One can finish the other's sentence and vice versa.

Their Mother always thanks her lucky stars that at least they were a different sex. If they weren't even she would not be able to tell them apart.

They stick together like glue. Where there's one there's the other. Plus, they just love to tease each other. Especially, Theodora who is forever teasing Ambrose. She can't help it because she's a bit of an imp.

Ambrose is just the happiest guy you'd ever want to meet. Nothing gets him down not even the constant teasing from his twin sister, Theodora.


"Ambrose - With The Big Eyes" is an 18" Country boy doll pattern who is wearing his favorite shirt and favorite pair of gray pantaloons. His hair is so gorgeous that he has a hard time keeping Theodora's girlfriends hands away from it. Of course, Theordora always puts them up to it. She does just love to tease him.

“Ambrose - With The Big Eyes” is just the happiest guy you’d ever want to meet. Nothing ever gets him down. Not even the incessant teasing he gets from his twin sister Theodora.

He is country boy doll with a cloth body, an embroidered face, and a full head of bronze straight hair. He is wearing wool pantaloons with pockets and buttons, a cuffed shirt with buttons, and black laced boots.


“Theodora—With The Big Eyes” is forever teasing her twin brother Ambrose. She can’t help it because she’s a bit of an imp. Can’t you tell from her smile?

She is a country girl doll with a cloth body, an embroidered face, and a full head of curly bronze. She is wearing a pretty red lace trimmed dress with embroidered bodice insert with red buttons, bloomers, ribbon tie, and black laced boots.

She is wearing her favorite red dress. It's just so cheery and beautiful with it's embroidered insert. Of course, she also wears it to tease all of Ambrose's friends. She knows she looks good in it and knows they all have a crush on her. Sometimes when she and Ambrose are playing she makes him call her "Scarlett" as in "Scarlett O'Hara!" Now there was someone who could tease and tantalize the boys.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Monday, February 17, 2014

Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin - Punky's Little Brother Munchkin Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins



What you already know is that "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" and "Elmer's Little Boy" are best friends. Punky is a" Victorian Munchkin scarecrow who looks just like his best friend Elmer except he's a scarecrow.

What you don't know is that Punky has an adorable younger brother and younger sister who just happen to be fraternal twins. His younger brother is "Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin, Punky's Little Brother Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins." His younger sister is "Melanie Munchkin, Punky's Little Sister Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins." Morty was born December 31 at 11:59 P.M. Melanie was born January 1 at 12:01 A.M. So, while Morty might appear to be a year older due to the year differences in fact he is only 2 minutes older.

Punky got his nickname when Elmer was a little boy. You see, Elmer couldn't pronounce "Pumpkin" which was Punky's Dad's name for him. So, "Punky" just stuck and it's been his nickname ever since. "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" would prefer to be called Pumpkin, at least it relates to the Fall and scarecrows. Elmer pays him no heed. He likes "Punky" just fine.

So, when he learned that his younger brother and sister LOVED pumpkins and LOVED being surrounded by them he was thrilled. They could sit in the pumpkin field surrounded by pumpkins for hours on end and be in pumpkin heaven. For scarecrows it doesn't get any better than that.

"Melanie Munchkin, Punky's Little Sister Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins" just LOVES her older brother, Punky. So, when she found out that Punky had his own line of custom fabrics she wanted a dress made out of his Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Large fabric. Since she asked me and since I love sewing with Punky's custom fabric line I happily agreed. And, since she had some of Punky's customs fabrics in her clothing her twin brother, Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin, Punky's Little Brother Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins, had to have something made out of Punky's custom fabrics as well. He has a shirt made out of Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric.

Punky has four different fabrics in his line so Melanie is hoping Linda will make her 3 other dresses out of his Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric, Punky With The White Background fabric, and Punky 2 With Brown Background fabric.  She's got her fingers crossed.


Morty’s face is embroidered and he has a cloth head and body.  He has a beautiful shirt made out of "Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric" that is fringed along the sleeve hem edges and bottom edge and gathered at the neck and wrists. He is sporting an adorable bow-tie made out of  "Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric" as well. His shirt hangs out to cover his pot belly. He's also wearing a Fall color coordinated lined vest that is running stitched embroidered along the edges and a lined Sculley cap that barely controls his thick, curly, blond ash locks. His brown pantaloons with cuffs and pants waistband are made out of matching "Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric."


Melanie and her twin brother, Morty, just LOVE their quilted pumpkins and especially love their older brother, Punky. As far as they are concerned life doesn't get any better than sitting in the pumpkin field surrounded by pumpkins and Punky.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Floral Beauty


How can you  not love beautiful fresh flowers?

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Melanie Munchkin - Punky's Little Sister Munchkin Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins



What you already know is that "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" and "Elmer's Little Boy" are best friends. Punky is a" Victorian Munchkin scarecrow who looks just like his best friend Elmer except he's a scarecrow.

What you don't know is that Punky has an adorable younger brother and younger sister who just happen to be fraternal twins. His younger brother is "Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin, Punky's Little Brother Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins." His younger sister is "Melanie Munchkin, Punky's Little Sister Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins." Morty was born December 31 at 11:59 P.M. Melanie was born January 1 at 12:01 A.M. So, while Morty might appear to be a year older due to the year differences in fact he is only 2 minutes older.

Punky got his nickname when Elmer was a little boy. You see, Elmer couldn't pronounce "Pumpkin" which was Punky's Dad's name for him. So, "Punky" just stuck and it's been his nickname ever since. "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" would prefer to be called Pumpkin, at least it relates to the Fall and scarecrows. Elmer pays him no heed. He likes "Punky" just fine.

So, when he learned that his younger brother and sister LOVED pumpkins and LOVED being surrounded by them he was thrilled. They could sit in the pumpkin field surrounded by pumpkins for hours on end and be in pumpkin heaven. For scarecrows it doesn't get any better than that.

"Melanie Munchkin, Punky's Little Sister Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins" just LOVES her older brother, Punky. So, when she found out that Punky had his own line of custom fabrics she wanted a dress made out of his Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Large fabric. Since she asked me and since I love sewing with Punky's custom fabric line I happily agreed. And, since she had some of Punky's customs fabrics in her clothing her twin brother, Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin, Punky's Little Brother Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins, had to have something made out of Punky's custom fabrics as well. He has a shirt made out of Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric.

Punky has four different fabrics in his line so she's hoping Linda will make her 3 other dresses out of his Punky, Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Mirror Small fabric, Punky With The White Background fabric, and Punky 2 With Brown Background fabric. She's got her fingers crossed.


Melanie's face is embroidered and she has a cloth head and body. She is wearing lace trimmed bloomers gathered at the waist and ankles and has black felt boots with laces criss-crossed with embroidery thread.  She has a beautiful dress made out of "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow - Large fabric" that is lace trim edged and gathered at the waist, neck, and wrists. A large ribbon is wrapped around her waist and tied in a large bow in the front.

Her Fall color coordinated vest is lined with bright and cheery yellow print fabric and is running stitch embroidered along the edges. She has beautiful and thick straight orange hair along the side seams of her head with the back of her head left bald which is barely contained underneath her lined bonnet with fabric that matches her lined vest. A brown bandanna is wrapped around her neck and she is surrounded by two of her favorite quilted pumpkins.


Melanie and her twin brother, Morty, just LOVE their quilted pumpkins and especially love their older brother, Punky. As far as they are concerned life doesn't get any better than sitting in the pumpkin field surrounded by pumpkins and Punky.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Punky and The Munchkins With Their Pumpkins



What you already know is that "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" and "Elmer's Little Boy" are best friends. Punky is a 10" Victorian Munchkin scarecrow who looks just like his best friend Elmer except he's a scarecrow.

What you don't know is that Punky has an adorable younger brother and younger sister who just happen to be fraternal twins. His younger brother is "Morty The Pumpkin Munchkin, Punky's Little Brother Scarecrow Boy Doll and His Pumpkins." His younger sister is "Melanie Munchkin, Punky's Little Sister Scarecrow Girl Doll and Her Pumpkins." Marty was born December 31 at 11:59 P.M.  Melanie was born January 1 at 12:01 A.M. So, while Morty might appear to be a year older due to the year differences in fact he is only 2 minutes older.

Punky got his nickname when Elmer was a little boy. You see, Elmer couldn't pronounce "Pumpkin" which was Punky's Dad's name for him. So, "Punky" just stuck and it's been his nickname ever since. "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" would prefer to be called Pumpkin, at least it relates to the Fall and scarecrows. Elmer pays him no heed. He likes "Punky" just fine.

So, when he learned that his younger brother and sister LOVED pumpkins and LOVED being surrounded by them he was thrilled. They could sit in the pumpkin field surrounded by pumpkins for hours on end and be in pumpkin heaven. For scarecrows it doesn't get any better than that.

Punky adores his younger brother and sister and hopes you do too. 

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Monday, February 10, 2014

"Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" - My Victorian Munchkin Handmade Scarecrow Doll and E-Pattern


"Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" and "Elmer's Little Boy" are best friends. Punky is an 11" Victorian Munchkin scarecrow who looks just like his best friend Elmer except he's a scarecrow. So, what's a little difference between friends? This doesn't bother Elmer a bit.

Punky got his nickname when Elmer was a little boy. You see, Elmer couldn't pronounce "Pumpkin" which was Punky's Dad's name for him. So, "Punky" just stuck and it's been his nickname ever since. "Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" would prefer to be called Pumpkin, at least it relates to the Fall and scarecrows. Elmer pays him no heed. He likes "Punky" just fine.

As we said, Elmer and Punky are best friends. The only problem with this is Elmer doesn't understand that "Punky" is a SECRET pal. As such, he's only seen and heard by Elmer. That's right. Only Elmer can see him and talk to him.   Punky likes Elmer but feels that Elmer keeps him from doing his job. After all, he is a scarecrow.


Punky, on the other hand, knows that he's a SECRET pal. He also knows that he has a job to do and Elmer is keeping him from doing it. After all, he is a scarecrow and has to do what scarecrows do - nickname and all.  And his job is to scare away the birds and the crows not to spend all day playing with Elmer.

But, he likes playing with Elmer so he's learned how to charm his way around the birds and scarecrows. And, it actually is working. Elmer is his friend. In fact, he's his best friend. Not only that, but he's his only friend. So, he'll play along with Elmer as much as he wants. For he knows that if Elmer doesn't think about him he doesn't exist.


"Punky - Elmer's Little Scarecrow" has on the exact same outfit as Elmer except his is a lot more tattered and fringed. And, he's allowed to have his shirt hanging out. After all, he works in a field. 

Punky’s face is embroidered and he has a cloth head and body. He has a lined vest, bowtie, fringed shirt which he wears out to cover his pot belly. He’s wearing pantaloons, lined sculley cap and has raffia for hair.

The one thing he has that other scarecrows don't is a wonderful pair of black and white shoes. If his name doesn't distinguish him from the other scarecrows then his fancy shoes will.   He also has a wooden rake all ready for the leaves. Or, maybe he’s using it to swat those nasty crows. Nope! Not Punky. His rake is all show. He is "The Charming Scarecrow" after all.

Plus, he has a SECRET weapon, his SECRET pal in Elmer. Try to top that all you other scarecrows.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Saturday, February 08, 2014

My Little Victorian Munchkin - Elmer's Little Boy


One of my most popular e-patterns continues to be "Elmer's Little Boy." It's not difficult to see why that is. He's just so cute you just want to squeeze him. As a result, he gets squeezed a lot.

Elmer's Little Boy" is so cute you just want to squeeze him. With a big pot belly and big ears he has loads of charm. Worse - he knows it and uses it to his every advantage. He can charm them young, he can charm them old, male or female. It doesn't matter. They all succumb to his charm and that impish gleam in his eyes.



"Elmer's Little Boy" has a cloth head and body. His face is embroidered and he has a mass of freckles along his cheeks and his nose. Elmer has a lined double breasted vest decorated with a double row of buttons, bow tie, rolled cuff shirt, velour pantaloons, black & white shoes, lined cap and uncontrollable wild brown hair.



If you'd like to know the story behind his creation please read the story below:

Here's the story behind "Elmer's Little Boy"..... My sister-in-laws parents who are in their 80's recently had a yard sale because they were moving into a much smaller house. Elmer (my sister-in-laws father) had an old plastic kewpie doll that had previously belonged to his deceased sister that he had kept I think in his toolbox (I might have that wrong).

In any event, he had held on to this doll for over many, many years. The only problem with the doll was that it had no clothes. He was going to throw it away but decided instead to give it to me. I was touched as I got the sense that this doll had a lot of sentimental value for him.

In any event, I decided to take it home and design some clothes for it. I wanted an early American little boy look so I decided on pantaloons, a vest, shirt, and sculley cap. Since I had already designed the clothes for his kewpie I decided to design a cloth doll as well.

A little while later I took the plastic kewpie doll (with his new clothes) back to Elmer. Elmer was thrilled. It touched my heart to see how happy he was with my gift. Elmer's kewpie doll now sits proudly on the top of his bureau (I think).

I named my cloth pattern Elmer's Little Boy after Elmer's plastic kewpie doll. Elmer's Original Kewpie is shown above and my Elmer's Little Boy cloth version is shown below. The clothes for both dolls were made from some of Elmer's old clothes that I had gotten from his yard sale. I hope you like both dolls.


My Version of "Elmer's Little Boy" is shown in the pictures above and to the right.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh


"Doris Marie - Elmer's Little Sister" - My Victorian Munchkin Doll


"Doris Marie - Elmer's Little Sister" was named after my grandmother because she looks like some of the pictures I have of my grandmother as a little girl. Just so adorable.

Doris Marie has a brother, Elmer for which she is very grateful. My real grandmother was an only child and wished and wished and wished she had a brother or sister. So, I thought it might please her to know that her "doll pattern" namesake has a brother. Hopefully, this has brought a chuckle to her face wherever she is.

"Doris Marie - Elmer's Little Sister" is a 10" Victorian girl doll pattern and is every bit as cute as her brother, Elmer, and she knows it. She thinks she can sweet talk her way in and out of anything. She's also a bit of a crossword puzzle whiz.

People always comment about how much Doris Marie and Elmer look alike. Even if they're not seen together, people would know they were brother and sister. They both have the same impish expressions on their faces and a glint in their eyes. Doris Marie's glint is born of intelligence. Elmer's glint is born of being an imp.

As mentioned Doris Marie is very intelligent and is known as a "crossword whiz." You can find her every afternoon in the kitchen doing a cross word puzzle and drinking a cup of tea. Then, she's off to her library to sit in her favorite rocking chair and read, for she's also an avid reader. Or, should we say voracious reader.


"Doris Marie - Elmer's Little Sister" is every bit as cute as her brother, Elmer, and she knows it. She knows she can sweet talk her way in and out of anything. But, she also knows that while Elmer is adorable she is not only "cute" she's "brainy." In fact, she's probably the smartest "Dollie" in "The Dollie Storage Room." She’s also a bit of a crossword puzzle whiz. Don't think you can fool Doris Marie. You won't be able to. She may be "cute as a button", but she'd run circles around you in the "spelling bee."

Doris is wearing a green linen dress with her favorite lined vest. It's so bright and cheering she can't help but feel gleeful when she wears it. Plus the lining of her vest matches the lining of her hat and her kerchief. And, she just has on the cutest hat you'd ever want to see. All in all she's a "pretty little package" and is right proud of herself.


Doris Marie has a cloth head and body. Her face is embroidered and she has a mass of freckles on her nose and along her cheeks. Doris Marie has bloomers, a adorable green dress with lace trim, lined vest, lined and gathered bonnet, matching kerchief, black & white shoes, and wild uncontrollable red hair.


Elmer knows how cute his "little sister is" and has his hands full when it comes to his pals. What Elmer doesn't realize is that Doris Marie has them all wrapped right around her little finger. She lets him think that he's her older brother and is protecting her. That's okay, Elmer, you're doing a good job! Doris Marie knows that her intelligence will always keep the boys in line.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

Sunday, February 02, 2014

Basket Crafts Free E-Patterns and E-Books


While shopping in the Fall over 20 years ago with hubby we happened to venture into one of those seasonal Christmas decoration shops - just to see what they had.

Well, I was immediately drawn to a pine cone basket that was on the floor. It was pine cones in a large basket that was decorated with berries, ribbons, lace, and assorted dried floral.

I thought it was really pretty and would make a great Christmas decoration until I looked at the price. They wanted close to $180 for the basket which I thought at the time was outrageous. But, the basket was lovely and I thought it would make a wonderful Christmas decoration.

So, I decided to make my own. After all, I had pine cones all over my lawn from the white pine and evergreen trees that had fallen that year. Why not use them and create my own pine cone baskets? I certainly had plenty of pine cones of different sizes and types. And, they were free.

This was the beginning of my love of pine-cone baskets which developed into a love of all sorts of baskets that I could use to decorate my house.  Truth be told I've made quite a few over the years and decided you might like  to make a few of your own so I developed a few e-books and e-patterns for you.

Enjoy!









Please respect My Terms of Use:  All patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products © 2004-2023 Linda Walsh Originals-Designs by Linda Walsh. All rights reserved. Commercial selling or reselling by any means prohibited without the written consent of Linda Walsh.

Patterns, e-patterns, printables, e-printables, e-books, graphics, tutorials, how-to's, articles and other e-products are for personal use only. You may not modify, photocopy, download, upload, post, transmit, display, perform, publish, license, reprint, create derivative works from, mass duplicate, re-sell, digitize, and reproduce in any other form (print, digital or electric) or commercially apply, embed, share, Email, or redistribution in any other means. Use of any of the above is prohibited without the written permission of Linda Walsh.

However, you may link to my website(s)/blog(s) and the individual page(s)/blog post(s) (including 1 picture) but do not copy, reprint or duplicate my website(s)/blog(s) or individual page(s)/post(s ) without my permission.

Items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are intended for personal use for fun or small scale personal and business profit as long as you credit us with the design. Large scale commercial use (i.e. mass production) of items made from Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns are by permission only.

Please see my Terms and Conditions for additional information.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.