“Elsa” Victorian Faceless "Lady" Bridal Art Doll

Elsa is a free-standing doll all ready for her wedding day.

It's the first of October so she's hoping that it will be a bright and sunny day as she wants to look her best. She chose October as it shouldn't be rainy, shouldn't be snowy, and shouldn't be hot. However, she fastened her hair in a bun just in case it were to rain.

Her beautiful, thick head of flaming red hair tends to frizz on a rainy day unless it's contained in a bun. So, for her wedding day she's taking no chance. A bun it will be.

She has a long, fancy lace trimmed dress with a flowing train, and eyelet lace covered puffed and lace trimmed long sleeves. Her wedding gown also has an eyelet lace and gathered full length dress front insert with ribbon floral lace trim. Her veil is made of & fancy lace and floral. Underneath her gown she is wearing a lace trimmed slip.

She has a painted wood head and covered round wood base. Her inner body is made from a dowel covered with fabric and eyelet lace. Her arms are wire-shaped and covered.

Her red hair with bangs is fastened into a bun. Two large floral and lace pieces adorn the top of her veil and bodice of her dress. She is carrying a bouquet of flowers with streamers.

So far there are no signs of rain. Elsa has her fingers crossed. She just wants a beautiful wedding day.

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

My “Mary Elizabeth" Victorian Faceless "Lady" Art Doll

Mary Elizabeth just loves her twin sisters: Mary Elizabeth Loves Black and Mary Elizabeth Loves White. She doesn't even mind that they idolize her. They always want to wear the same outfit as their big sister does. However, when it comes to the color of their hair this is where they differ. You see, Mary Elizabeth Loves Black wants her hair color to be black and Mary Elizabeth Loves White wants her hair color to be white. So, instead of dying their natural hair color, which is dirty blonde and the same color as Mary Elizabeth's they decided to buy different color wigs.

"Mary Elizabeth White" is 13" a free-standing Victorian doll all ready for her summer friends. She is wearing her favorite 1894 Paris Summer Gown. She has a two-tiered pointed and lined jacket with a 3-tiered collar, long puffed & color coordinated cuffed sleeves, lace and ribbon waistband and silk floral closure. Her fancy lace & floral lined hat with a large ribbon tied in a bow, floral decoration, and feather sits lovingly upon her head. Her beautiful blue laced trimmed dress has a lined train, lace collar, and silk floral decoration. Her curly white hair with bangs is fashioned into a bun and she is carrying a lace trimmed parasol. Her arms are wire-shaped and covered. She also has a painted wood head and covered round wood base. Her inner body is made from a dowel covered with fabric and eyelet lace.She has a two-tiered pointed and lined jacket with a 3-tiered collar, long puffed & color coordinated cuffed sleeves, lace and ribbon waistband and silk floral closure. Her fancy lace & floral lined hat with a large ribbon tied in a bow, floral decoration, and feather sits lovingly upon her head. Her beautiful blue laced trimmed dress has a lined train, lace collar, and silk floral decoration. Her thick blonde hair with bangs is fashioned into a bun and she is carrying a lace trimmed parasol. She also has a painted wood head and covered round wood base. Her inner body is made from a dowel covered with fabric and eyelet lace. Her arms are wire-shaped and covered.

When it comes to hair and hair color Mary Elizabeth's sisters think they are experts at matching the right hair color wig to the right complexion. Mary Elizabeth is not so sure. She much prefers her natural blonde hair.

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

Zacheus and Ursula At Play

I love "faceless" dolls as I believe that without their faces the doll's personality can speak for itself. You tend to look at the whole doll for her beauty versus just looking at her face. There is a quiet beauty to "faceless" dolls and "Ursula At Play" is one of those quiet beauties. She is new doll from our "faceless" colonial boys & girls series.

She and her brother, "Zacheus At Play!" along with her best girlfriend, "Rebecca" are a tight knit group of boys and girls. They are all "faceless" colonial beauties who just love hanging out together. Rebecca is the most dignified of the group and the most studious. Ursula and Zacheus are much more playful and love to tease each other as only "brothers & sisters" can. They pay attention to their studies, but when their done - well, they just love to play.

Zacheus can play with the best of them. Don't let his frilly outfit fool you. Zacheus is all "boy" and as rambunctious as only boys can get. He might have a filly outfit on but that won't prevent him from climbing a tree, going down to the pond to collect tadpoles, rolling down the hill, or chasing after butterflies.

Ursula pays close attention to her studies and is very attentive to the needs of her brother, Zacheus and her best girlfriend, Rebecca. While she loves to play she never forgets her manners and always remains very ladylike.

Zacheus also pays close attention to his studies and is very mindful of his duties. However, when he gets a chance to play he really likes to do so. And, even his frilly outfit, won't stop him from doing so. He is a rambunctious and playful Colonial boy after all.

"Ursula At Play!" is a 12" Colonial "faceless" cloth doll with muslin body and blushed cheeks . Her boots are painted black and cross-laced. Ursula has a mass of curly brown yarn hair all over her head. She is wearing lace trimmed bloomers that are gathered at the waist. Her slip is lace trimmed and gathered at the waist, as well. Ursula's yellow print dress has a multi-layer lace trim down the center front of the dress bodice. The sleeves are gathered at the shoulder and lace trimmed along the sleeve hem edge. Her dress has a combination dress skirt and lace dress overskirt that are both gathered at the waist. Lace bows decorate the front and back of the bottom edges of the lace overskirt. She has a lace shawl wrapped around her shoulders with a ribbon bow in the front. Her lace kerchief sits beautifully atop her full head of hair and is tied in a knot just under her chin.

"Zacheus At Play!" is a 12" Colonial "faceless" cloth doll with muslin body and blushed cheeks . His boots are painted black and cross-laced. Zacheus has a mass of straight reddish brown mohair hair all over his head. His printed sleeveless shirt has a center front lace strip and is gathered at the neck and he is wearing a matching suit. His pantaloons are lace trimmed along the bottom hem edge and gathered at the waist. His lined and coordinated two section jacket has two-toned lined over sleeves and lace trimmed sleeves that are both gathered at the shoulder. The jacket top is lined and the jacket bottom is lined and gathered at the waist. It also has lace trim along the neck, front, and bottom edges and is fastened in the front with an antique button. The sleeves of the jacket are gathered at the wrist.

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

My “Sweet Julianna” Primitive Art Doll New E-Pattern

"Sweet Julianna! Sweet Julianna!" There should be a song about "Sweet Julianna."

Sweet Julianna is a sweet and shy young primitive woman. She doesn't want to intrude. She just wants to help where ever she can.

She loves cleaning, gardening, sewing, crafting, decorating and cooking. She's extremely creative and oh so clever.

She was "Martha Stewart" before Martha was.

Sweet Julianna is just the sweetest little thing. You can't help but love her. And, she has a head of the most gorgeous dark gray curly hair that you'd ever want to see. It is so thick that it is the envy of all her graying friends.

Her goal in life is to serve others and do a little crafting."

She has a mass of dark grey curly hair which she is trying to control to no avail under her kerchief. She is a free standing doll with a cloth body, embroidered face with glasses, frayed house dress with lace collar, and frayed apron with bib and ties. “Sweet Julianna” is coffee stained throughout. She just wants to help.

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

My “Helena” Colonial Doll New E-Pattern and Handmade Doll

“Helena” is a PROUD member of the “Gray Is Beautiful!” Club.

Helena is a 12" Colonial doll that is proud of her beautiful grayish white hair. She's a tough old bird and can definitely handle anything that is thrown at her. The reason for that is that there is nothing in life that Helena hasn't seen or done. Everything she's learned to do she has taught herself. She's street smart, wise, prudent, loyal, feisty, and delicate, too. After all she is a female. She may be tough but she still likes frilly, feminine things like lace trimmed dresses and lace shawls. Helena kind of reminds me of the two old biddies from the movie "Gone With The Wind." You might see her walking down the street conversing with everyone and definitely letting them know her opinion on different subjects. Of course, she's also the one you turn to when you need advice for you can always count on her. If Helena says she'll do something then she will. She has beautiful whitish gray hair underneath her straw bonnet. She is a free-standing cloth doll with an embroidered face, lace trimmed dress with lace insert and floral ribbon decoration, lace trimmed slip, and lace shawl. Her bonnet had velvet ribbon ties, velvet ribbon band, and a floral ribbon decoration.

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

My “Play Ball, Please! Jeffrey” Little Boy Doll

Play Ball, Please! Jeffrey just wants someone to play ball with him. That's all he can think about from the time he gets up until the time he goes to bed. He just wants to "play ball!" Anyone up for a little baseball. Come on now. Jeffrey wants to "play ball!" Anyone?

Play Ball, Please! Jeffrey loves baseball. Jeffrey is a free-standing boy doll. He has an undershirt, long sleeve knit shirt, and sweatshirt vest. He has knit pants and Champion athletic socks. His face is drawn and he has round black button eyes and ears. He also has a fabric covered wood head, wood body and wood sneaker feet. His hair is long, brown, and wind blown. He is carrying a ball and bat is his hands.

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

My Tassels & Tiaras: A Winged Wonders Doll Projects Artful Gathering Class - Butterfly Dolls

As you all know I love taking online arts & crafts classes. I literally could spend 24/7 just doing that.

I have been taking online classes at Artful Gathering since 2012 and have loved every one of the eleven classes I've taken.  Each year the selection gets better and better making it almost impossible to decide which class to take. So far I've taken crazy quilting, mixed media art dolls, needle felting, cloth art dolls and paper-clay art doll making classes.

I have to admit I'm a little partial to any classes being offered for doll making and have taken several of those.  Four have them have been taught by Hally Levesque who is an exceptional art doll artist and instructor who has a passion for historic, primitive, and mixed media art dolls.

Hally's classes are always filled with historical tidbits, multiple projects, and very detailed instructions on the making of each of the class projects.

The class I took in Session One this year was the 11th class I've taken at Artful Gathering and, once again, it didn't disappoint.  It was another of Hally's art doll classes and was for making 3 different kinds of 1900 - 1920 art deco or art nouveau tassel half art dolls.

Hally's classes are always filled with historical tidbits and this class was dedicated to some of the more famous women of the 1900's like Mata Hari, Lillian, Gish and Theda Vamp.

Like all the other classes I've taken my projects don't always end up looking like the finished class projects.  This class was no exception.

No matter how hard I try my dolls always seem to have a tiny Victorian slant to them. Even if they are supposed to be vamps.  What can I say - I love everything Victorian.  In this instance I gave them a Victorian type hairstyle versus and vamp hair style.

Since the class was about creating butterfly type art dolls I decided to look at real pictures of butterflies.  I saw so many beautiful pictures of butterflies with beautiful colors I couldn't decide which color I liked best so I decided to make 5 dolls instead of 3.  I know, I can never do anything in moderation.

I saw a beautiful picture of a multicolored blue dragonfly that I liked, a black and orange monarch butterfly, a blue and yellow tiger swallow butterfly, and a blue morpho teal butterfly.  One of the projects was for creating a Luna moth and I loved the lime green colors of the doll so I decided to make her as well.

I'm not just partial to everything Victorian, but when I paint I always end up sponge painting parts of it.  So, this time was no exception.  Their wings, bodices, and gloves were all sponge painted.  Here's my results:

My multi blue colored dragonfly.

My blue and yellow tiger swallow butterfly.

My black and orange monarch butterfly.

My blue morpho butterfly.

My luna moth.

Each of the dolls has a little bit of sentimentality attached to it with regards to their hair, clothes and accessories.  All have my mother's pierced earrings and most have a necklace or two of hers.

Many, many years ago my sister-in-law asked me if I could use some old lace and ric rac trims she had that she was going to throw away.  I, of course, hate to throw away sewing and craft supplies that could be useful so I said I'd take them figuring she had just a handful.  Well, a handful turned into a ton of trims which I put into two large containers which I had saved over the years.  I could never bring myself to throw them away. You never know when you're going to use something and the tassels would put many of them to use - which I did.

Each of the dolls hair is also from some of the beautiful hand dyed alpaca roving my sister gave me. She and my brother-in-law are alpaca farmers and the owners of Rock Garden Alpacas.  She sells her alpaca fiber products at her Rock Garden Alpacas Etsy store.  

The multi blue colored dragon fly is my mothers favorite royal blue color and has her gold and blue dangle pierced earrings.  Her beautiful blue and black hair is a some of my sister's hand dyed alpaca roving that I combined and twisted for a curly Victorian effect and her breastplate buttons are from an old business suit of mine.  Most of the tassel trims were from the ton of various blue colored ric rac and lace trims my sister-in-law gave me as well as other royal blue mixed media trim pieces and ribbons I had in my stash.

My sister had given me a picture of a monarch butterfly she had taken years ago. I liked the orange and black colors so I decided to make one of those.  Her black drop dangle pierced earrings came from my mother.  Her beautiful orange and black hair is a some of my sister's hand dyed alpaca roving that I combined and twisted for a curly Victorian effect and her breastplate buttons are from another old business suit of mine.   Some of the tassel trims were from the ton of ric rac and lace trims my sister-in-law gave me as well as other mixed media trim pieces I had in my stash.

The blue and yellow tiger swallow butterfly above also has my mother's gold dangle pierced earrings and one of her gold and pearl drop necklaces.  Her beautiful blue and yellow hair is a some of my sister's hand dyed alpaca roving that I combined and twisted for a curly Victorian effect.  Some of the blue and yellow tassel trims were from the ton of ric rac and lace trims my sister-in-law gave me as well as other mixed media trim pieces I had in my stash.

The blue morpho butterfly above also has my mother's pearl drop dangle pierced earrings and one of her white bead necklaces that I took apart. Her beautiful teal and blue/green hair is a some of my sister's hand dyed alpaca roving that I twisted for a curly Victorian effect.  Most of the teal and white tassel trims were from the ton of ric rac and lace trims my sister-in-law gave me as well as other teal and white mixed media trim pieces  and ribbons I had in my stash.

My mother had a white and teal drop costume jewelry necklace that I loved and wanted to use for this project and thought it would be a good addition to my luna moth. The luna moth above also has my mother's silver dangle pierced earrings.  Her beautiful lime green hair is a some of my sister's hand dyed alpaca roving that I twisted for a curly Victorian effect. Most of the tassel trims were from the ton of ric rac and lace trims my sister-in-law gave me as well as other lime green mixed media trim pieces I had in my stash.

I had a lot fun making these dolls.  It took me a long time to gather all the supplies and accessories I would need for them and also took a long time to put all the extra supplies away.  If you're a crafter you know what I mean by this.  I had craft containers organized by type of supply all over my living room and the extra supplies I didn't use had to, of course, be returned to their container.  So, as you can imagine, it took awhile.

Despite the fact that my hand still shakes when I try to paint the faces I was pleased, overall, with the way my dolls came out.

Once again, Hally's class was exceptional. She's an amazing doll artist and provides all the detailed instructions in her videos that you need to make one of her dolls.  Her video's are well thought out, easy to follow, and entertaining.   If you love dolls and get a chance to take one of her classes you won't be disappointed. I certainly haven't been.

If you'd like to learn more about Hally and her beautiful art dolls please visit her Creative  Doll Works website.

Peter, Pamela, Alice, and Denis Loves His Big Eyes

Who can resist colonial cloth dolls with large embroidered eyes?  Not I.  If you can't either you're going to love our “Denis Loves His Big Eyes and Alice Loves Her Big Eyes” colonial boy and girl dolls 2 in 1 combo e-pattern.

“Alice Loves Her Big Eyes” is the epitome of a proper, colonial girl. She has manners and believes in being friendly and courteous at all times. Her one slight flaw is that she can’t stop looking at herself in the mirror. She’s just in love with her big, beautiful eyes.

Both she and her twin brother, Denis, inherited their good looks from their mother.

“Denis Loves His Big Eyes” isn’t at all proper like his twin sister, Alice. He might dress properly but he’s a rascal and the girls just love to run their fingers through his full head of curly burgundy hair.

He also spends a lot of time in front of the mirror just looking at his big, beautiful eyes.

If you love making colonial cloth dolls then you're going to love our "Pamela With The Big Eyes Loves Her Fall Colors" and her brother, "Peter With The Big Eyes Loves His Fall Outfit" 2 in 1 combo e-pattern.

"Pamela With The Big Eyes Loves Her Fall Colors" and her brother, "Peter With The Big Eyes Loves His Fall Outfit", are unusually close. They're fraternal twins, born two minutes apart on October 12 - Columbus Day. As a result they love the Fall and it's bright, beautiful colors, and they love being Colonial. Born and bred in Salem, MA.

So, it is no surprise that they love to wear their best Fall outfits when out for a walk on a beautiful Fall day. They love to walk down near the pier and the harbor. It's just so beautiful and peaceful down there. Plus, when they get hungry they can have afternoon tea and one of their favorite scones at a local cafe.

Pamela is a quiet, shy but proper, colonial girl. She was taught how to be a gracious lady and believes in being proper, friendly and courteous at all times - especially when out in public. Her only problem is that everyone keeps looking at her and her big, beautiful eyes - especially the young "gentlemen.". With all the eyes on her she gets self-conscious and starts to blush. And, when that happens she blushes from head to toe. Then all the young gentleman can't help themselves and vie for her attention - which irks her brother, Peter, to no end.

All in all Pamela is the epitome of a proper Colonial girl. If only the young "gentlemen" would leave her alone.

Peter is a terrific brother but is a tad conceited. He also has a bit of a temper - especially when it comes to his sister and all the young "gentlemen" vying for her attention. He knows she is absolutely beautiful with her big, beautiful eyes but hates all the attention she gets from the young "gentleman." Since he also has big, beautiful eyes he gets an enormous amount of attention himself from all the young "ladies." Of course, he doesn't mind this. That's okay. Its' just not okay for Pamela.

Pete is the epitome of a Colonial "gentleman" - except when it comes to his sister, Pamela, and his temper gets the better of him.

Alice has a mass of thick, dark burgundy curly hair all over her head with two bows on the top of her head. She has a cloth body with an embroidered face, lace trimmed slip, lace trimmed bloomers, lace trimmed dress with a lace trimmed insert adorned with a floral ribbon, and high waist dress band that ties in back in a bow and black boots with ties. She always has a mirror handy.

“Denis Loves His Big Eyes” isn’t at all proper like his twin sister, Alice. He might dress properly but he’s a rascal and the girls just love to run their fingers through his full head of curly burgundy hair. He also spends a lot of time in front of the mirror just looking at his big, beautiful eyes. He has a mass of thick, dark burgundy curly hair on the top and sides of his head. He has a cloth body with an embroidered face, shirt with collar, a double-breasted lined jacket with 6 buttons, cuff sleeves and matching cuffed pantaloons, and black boots with ties. He’s just a charmer.

Peter is a 16" handmade Colonial boy doll. He has a cloth body with an embroidered and chalk colored face with a mass of brown curly hair on the top sides of his head.

He is wearing his favorite Fall print shirt with burgundy ribbon and lace trimmed ascot and his "Sunday Best" suit. His cuffed  pantaloons are cuffed and gathered at the waist.  His coordinating color lined jacket has cuffed sleeves, fold down lapels, and running stitch embroidery along all the edges.  One large button adorns his jacket.  He also has black boots with gold embroidery floss cross-crossed for ties.

Pamela is a 16 handmade Colonial girl doll. She has a cloth body with an embroidered and chalk colored face and a mass of dark brown curly hair on the sides of her head with the back left bare.

She is wearing lace trimmed bloomers gathered at the waist. Her lace trimmed slip is also gathered at the waist. She has black boots criss-crossed with gold embroidery floss for laces. She is wearing a beautiful , multi-colored Fall print "Sunday Best" dress with burgundy lace trim and fancy cord trim along the bottom hem edge and sleeve hem edges. Her dress has a burgundy lace trimmed pumpkin colored insert which is adorned with two floral ribbon and bead decorations. It is gathered at the shoulders, wrists, and neck and has burgundy lace and white fancy cord trim wrapped around her waist.

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

My “Magdalene -The Drama Queen” Victorian Art Doll New

Magdalene is very much the Drama Queen and is always in need of her smelling salts. She'll faint at the drop of a hat.

Of course, it's all part of her act. She craves attention and wants everyone to constantly attend to her every need. In order to get everyone to pay attention she sighs, huffs, groans, and moans and will even faint for a second or two.

I don't know why but every time I look at her I think of King George. Maybe its her full head of very, very thick white curly hair with a speckle of gray and black intertwined.

Maybe it's because her hair reminds me of the wigs the British barrister's wear in court. Or, maybe, it's her outfit.

Magdalene has a mass of thick, white curly hair on her head with a bow in back. She has a cloth body with an embroidered face and is wearing the latest in fashion - a flounce dress with matching and visible bloomers.

Her dress is so big she requires assistance to get up from her chair. Of course, that doesn't bother Magdalene on bit. Her goal in life is to be waited on at all times."

Make room for "Magdalene - The Drama Queen!" She needs plenty of room and plenty of attention.

Magdalene has a mass of thick white/gray hair all over her head with a bow on the top of her head. She has a cloth body with an embroidered face, a puffy dress with two complimentary fabrics, lace collar, matching bloomers, and a lace embroidered decoration on the front of her dress. Her mission in life is to always draw all the attention to herself.

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

Victorian Annie and Victorian Andy Art Dolls

If you love making all sorts of raggedy cloth dolls then you're going to love our  "Victorian Annie and Victorian Andy" Victorian dolls.

"Victorian Annie" is so adorable. She could be called "Victorian" adorable. Everything about her is "Victorian." And, she is thrilled with that for she just loves the "Victorian" period. Something about the dresses calls to her and she is especially happy that her Victorian outfit is blue and white, her favorite colors. They showcase her red raggedy hair and complexion so well. Don't you think?

She has a fancy lace and ruffled double-tiered trim dress with front overlay and long double-tiered lace trimmed and gathered sleeves, lined bonnet, lace trimmed and gathered slip, lace trimmed and gathered bloomers, laced tied boots, and curly raggedy red hair. She has a cloth body & head, black beads for eyes and her face is embroidered. Her dress is adorned with covered buttons and a floral ribbon adorns her dress.

"Victorian Andy" is dressed in his "Sunday Best." Make that his "Victorian Sunday Best" for he too, like his sister Victorian Annie, loves his Victorian outfit. It's the perfect Victorian sailor outfit. Why, he can fit just about everything but the kitchen sink in his big pockets. Hey, wait a minute - the kitchen sink is in there!   Victorian Andy has a fancy lace collared lined jacket with long sleeves, bow tie, pantaloons with two-front pockets, satin cumber-bun, lined sailor’s cap, and curly raggedy red hair. His head and body are cloth, his face is embroidered and he has black beads for eyes. His jacket is fastened with small white buttons and his boots are laced.

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

The Story Behind My "Celia's" Victorian Doll Pattern

  

A lot of my dolls have stories behind them. Here's the story of my "Celia" doll:

Celia is married to Elmer (see my post The Story Behind Elmers Little Boy ). They have been happily married for over 50 years and were recently moving into their new home. Since they were downsizing they had to either get rid of a lot of items or throw a lot away. So, they decided what to throw away and what to sell at their yard sale. When you've been married over fifty years there are a LOT of items.

In any event, one of the items Celia had decided to throw away was this old, grungy, doll who was just plain "a mess". She had lost most of her hair on the top of her head and had one long bunch of strands down one side of her head. Her fingers were all broken and her face was dirty. She had on an old, dirty, prairie dress and bonnet. I wish I had taken a picture of her so you could have seen how she was. Needless to say she was in desperate need of a make over. I think she was considering going to a day spa, but she wasn't aware of any dollie day spas. There definitely weren't any in the yellow pages.

So, of course, I took her home and we pondered her fate together. We decided she should be elegant. She'd had enough of this simple, primitive, country look and wanted to be a real "Lady". So we decided on a bit of a "French" aristocratic look for her. We needed something that would cover up her bald spots while still making it seem like she had a full head of hair. Definitely a twist was in store. The problem, however, was what to do with the rest of her head. I though maybe a combination of a large hat and "Gloria Swanson" type of turban would work. Celia was skeptical. It was a drastic step.

So we twisted the one long bunch of hair strands she had on the right side of her head into a bun over her ear. We decided that some old green velour material that I had would make a good turban, high-waisted jacket top, and part of her fancy hat. The other part of her fancy hat was made out of the same material as her dress. You have to be coordinated, you know, to be an elegant "Lady" from France. We arranged some of the green velour material so that it appeared to be a turban around her head. We put her fancy bonnet together and decided it would look very "elegant" if it was slanted towards the left side of her head and tied in a bow on the right side of her neck.

Of course, she had on all the underclothes and items proper "Ladies" just do not discuss. Celia was shaking and had her hands (or what was left of her hands and fingers) over her eyes. I positioned her in front of the mirror and told her to look. Reluctantly, after 15 minutes of coaxing she finally looked. What she saw took her breathe away. She spent the next week just looking at herself in the mirror. Talk about someone getting a "big" head. Celia wanted to change her name to "Venus" as she was now the most beautiful woman, or should I say dollie, in the world. I'd had enough of this and decided it was time for Celia to go home.

So, we took Celia back to the real Celia. She couldn't believe it was the same doll. So elegant, so beautiful, so "aristocratic", so...... well, conceited. Well, I tell you, when you've been around for 80+ years you know how to tame an ego that was getting out of control. Celia sat Celia down and told her "Enough of this crap! You're a doll named after me. The beauty belongs to me, not you." Celia was humbled, or so we think. She now resides in the real Celia's bedroom, turned away from any mirrors. Once in a while she does, however, manage to catch a glimpse of her beauty in a mirror and she just smiles.

Well, since I had already created the patterns for the undergarments, dress, fancy hat, etc. I decided that I should make a Celia cloth doll and pattern. My version of the Celia doll is shown below.

"Celia" is dressed in her "Sunday" Victorian best. From her high waisted dress to her tiny jacket, to her bloomers, to her frilly lacy hat, to her slip she is all "Lacy Victorian." She, of course, couldn't be happier as she is a "frilly girl" through and through. Lace, frills, and ruffles. The more lace, ruffles, and frills the better. She wants it all. That is, she wants it Victorian and all.

Celia has a fancy double-tiered lace and ruffled trim lined jacket with long puffed up sleeves, very fancy lace & floral decorated lined hat with tulle, fancy lace & double-ruffle tiered dress, lace gloves, lace trimmed and gathered slip, lace trimmed and gathered bloomers, and blond hair tied in a bun. She has boots tied with laces and her lined jacket has large ribbon ties which are tied in a bow in the front. She also has a fabric covered head and body and black bead eyes.

Designer-Linda Walsh Originals

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

My Country Welcome - Button & Beads Mill Hill Cross-stitch Kit

When I look at different cross-stitch or needlework kits I might like to do I'm always drawn to pictures or ornaments that have the word "joy" in them or have "doggies" in them.  The ones with "joy" always remind me of my beloved mother as that was her name and the "doggies" remind me of my beloved cairn terrier.

So, when I saw the Country Welcome - Button & Beads Mill Hill Cross-stitch Kit with the little "doggie" in it I knew I wanted to make it.  The dog button doesn't look anything like a cairn terrier but it's a "doggie" nonetheless.

The Country Welcome Beaded Counted Cross Stitch Kit Mill Hill Buttons & Beads Autumn Series MH14-7206 pattern uses full counted cross-stitch and straight stitch highlighting as well as beads of various sizes 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.

A lot of the cross-stitch 5" by 5" pictures I have made were finished in small 6 1/2" by 6 1/2" shadowbox frames with 5" by 5" openings that I had gotten at Michaels when they went on sale on year.  I used up all the shadowbox frames I had gotten that year and have been looking for them ever since and haven't found them again.

So, when I saw that Michaels had small 6' by 6" shadowbox frames on sale again I bought a few figuring they'd work okay.  I thought they would be like the previous frames I had bought by they actually were bigger.  They were 7 1/2" by 7 1/2" shadowbox frames with a 5 1/2" opening. I didn't realize when I had bought these that a lot more of the cross-stitch picture would be showing.

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 lightly drew a diagonal line across each corner with a pencil to get the center point of the perforated paper.

The pattern called for a white/gold wooden frame and 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 since a lot more of it would be exposed with this frame I opted instead to finish the ground with a medium gray DMC embroidery floss and the rest of the background with a light brown DMC embroidery floss color sewn as a half cross-stitch using two strands of the floss.

I had decided to square the edges of my picture and also decided to add as many rows of the light brown and medium gray floss around all the edges to make sure the perforated paper would not be visible once my cross stitch picture was inserted into the wooden frame.

However, this time, when I measured the picture and frame I realized that I would need to add a lot more of the brown floss and medium gray around the edges as a lot more of the picture would be showing.  Instead of using the brown floss and medium gray floss I decided to use ecru colored .25m floss sewn as one half cross-stitch that would make the picture look like it was matted..

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 like ecru and light beige. The key code chart should have contained the number of strands that were included in the kit so I would know how many strands I had for the different floss colors.

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 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 three small ziploc bags which was fine. The chart had footnote symbols to help distinguish which beads were within which bag.

The kit included a dog button that was to be sewn at the bottom of the picture.  The button was okay except it was glued to a small piece of cardboard which did not easily come off and the glue used had hardened and extended over the sides of the button.  I cut it with scissors and managed to make it presentable enough to use in my picture. I have found over time that the buttons used in the Mill Hill cross-stitch kits are usually of poor quality and the worst parts of the kits. Sometimes I use them sometimes I don't.

The wooden frame came with a 6" x 6" cardboard mounting board for the picture but had no back so I decided to cut a 6" x 6" white foam adhesive board to use to glue my picture to.

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

Despite the relatively small issues I had encountered with the kit I was happy with the way my Country Welcome turned out.

It took me 26 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.