Finishing things

Hello dear friends & readers

this past week has seen me finishing a few things that were begun quite a wee while ago

Prior to my last post I had actually finished 2 things but did not wish to post about them until their new "owners" had seen them first ...

the first finish was an order from my friend Leeanne from here

On her last visit Leeanne had ordered a Miss Alice doll

She was to match a stunning quilt Leeanne had made & quilted

You can read her blog post about it here
(Miss Alice is a Mogs Design Pattern by Melissa Duncan)

to be honest I dont think neither mine nor Leeannes photos do Miss Alice justice

she is in gorgeous deep mustards & reds, & a friend who dropped in & saw her, mentioned she looked like a prim Amish girl - which I thought described her perfectly

I was so pleased that Leeanne loved her

(as I had offered for her to come back & live at my house!!!!!)

The 2nd finish I achieved was something a little unusual. . . 

When I visited with my friend Claire a month ago, she had revamped her laundry with beautiful vintage & shabby chic accessories

once again, my photography does NOT do it justice sorry folks

Now I knew Claire was always rather fond of my peg garland

made for me by my friend Elaine.

So I decided to make Claire a peg garland for her "new" laundry

but rather than the prim style I decided to try to go more shabby chic/ vintage style (yes these ideas just all float around in the wilderness inside my head!!!)

I was so happy with the finished result (as was Claire)

but I must confess to you . . . 

there I sat on the deck happily painting/sanding my wooden pegs

& a customer happened along. . . 

when she asked me what on earth I was doing??

I should've lied .... made something up ...

as when I explained I was making my friend a "peg garland"

she commented that I must be seriously bored/ perhaps needed to "get a life" !!!!!

(I didnt reply - I was too stunned - she just didnt GET it 

but Claire & I had a good chuckle about it later)

When the lovely ladies visited in February from here

& spoilt me presented me with this amazing parcel of goodies for hosting them

I was especially taken with this piece of fabric (back left hand corner) - that I had in mind to dress a dolly in & use the ric rac to trim her frock

I was quite delighted with how she turned out when I eventually got finished clothing her

Once again I have used the Rosalie Quinlan pattern "Friendship Angel" from the Homespun magazine

My friend Christine is a mad keen teddy bear fanatic & her house is full to the brim of the most gorgeous bears

(& its a 2 storey house I might add!!!)

She had long ago asked me to make a doll to hang in her entrance that was related to her bear collecting passion

so I dug out my Rosalie Quinlan "Ruby" doll pattern & found I had 2 doll bodies made already

the first one I kept entirely to the pattern

but for Christines order I altered it a little so I could tuck a bear in her arms 

plus I gave her a little felt hat I had made just so I could stitch the little bear button onto it (felt hat from Miss Alice pattern)

I hope she likes her "Ruby" bear-collector doll :-)

We have had some damp foggy Waikato days lately & the fire has been working overtime

it is good for drying dolls shoes when you are in a hurry to add the 2nd coat

No dolls were harmed in the taking of this photograph!!!!!

but you have to keep an eye out that they dont get singed!!!

I had the most special visit today from a very lovely blogging friend that I had met through our craft blogs

Wendy came over to visit with me from here :-)

We had a cuppa & a crafty chat & it certainly cheered my week immensely :-)

Wendy presented me with this beautifully wrapped package

(yes Wendy ... I wrapped it up again to photograph!!!)

Almost too beautiful to open!!

Inside was something I had commented on before on her blog, & had decided to purchase myself a copy in the future

the Simply Rouge book from House on the Hill design

gosh ... how special .... Wendy has made some of the gorgeous red handcraft designs in here

she does the most beautiful work & I am especially fond of her redwork & cross stitch

Thank You So Much Wendy for your very thoughtful gift - I am off to make a little heart out of the book (dinner can wait awhile!!!)

I have been especially lucky through my blog to meet the most loveliest like-minded craftspeople

& I feel very thankfull  :-)

Wishing you a wonderful week folks - happy creating where ever you are

Thanks for stopping by

much love/hugs/friendship,

Julie xoxo