Two New Angels ........................................

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Two newly created Angels flew out of my Sewing Room over the festive season ... both Wendy Briggs of "Country Friends Designs" Angels (tho' Wendy is no longer designing patterns unfortunately)

It all started when my dear friend Sandy & I were exchanging little snippets of our Christmas decorating with each other via private messaging.

  Sandy sent me the photo above, of two of her Angels, both purchased from me when I was running my craft cottage & making & selling dolls.  I drooled over the image & when I saw Angel of Joy I thought to myself "Oh I do want one!"   💗

So I hunted out my pattern book & began to make my own Joy Angel.  She is from Wendy's book Season of Joy ....

As I have forgotten to take a photo I have borrowed this image from ebay

I was lucky enough to have everything I used already in my stash but I had to buy a fat quarter of the red felt as mine was too "purple-ish" & this was a nice Christmas Red.

Yes her hair actually Is whole cloves!!! Hence she smells rather divine.   Painted shoes - I mixed together some red & black paints to get the right brown/reddish shade.

The trickiest part (for me) was cutting out the hearts neatly in the bottom of her felt tunic.  

I have photographed her out on my deck table as our light is glary today & it's hard to get a decent photo inside the house. 

After I finished Angel of Joy, a couple of weeks prior to Christmas, I decided I would carry on & make another Wendy Briggs Angel ... this one is from the Homespun Magazine above which is dated July 2005 !! 

I have only had this pattern 18 & 1/2 years ... waiting to be made!!  She is called "Berry Christmas Angel".   I even bought the white Linen back then, second hand from the thrift store - it has almost yellowed with age !!  😲

I put the final stitch in her yesterday & I love her.  I have hung her from my old leadlight window frame & think she looks very happy there.  In the pattern Wendy has sprayed her entire Angel with a water/parisienne essence mixture to "tea-dye" her ... but I couldn't bear to do this to my pristine white girl. 

Instead of a felt star on her bodice, as the pattern suggests, I have sewn on this copper heart button - it was high time I used this as I purchased it a VeRy long time ago!  Her plum pudding is calico sewn, stuffed, painted white all over then the brown base painted on & embroidered with black french knots.  My "pudding" went missing for an entire day & I found it hidden under the spare room bed ... I am sure Little One had something to do with this tho' he denies it!

I used the same felt as I used for Joy Angel to trim her skirt, same colour painted shoes also.  

You can see in the pattern above left, that Wendy's version has her eyes looking downwards.  I did this initially but felt she looked too stern, too severe ... so I painted over the whites & then made her look heavenward.    Wendy's dolls are often inclined to have quite serious looking faces & I don't usually mind this, but I like her much more looking upwards.

I am in love with my two new Angels & can't quite bear to pack them away just yet so I have told them they can remain out for the rest of the month so long as they behave  😉

Beautiful sweet peas, picked this morning.  I am having to move any scented flowers outside when The Mr is home as he has Long Covid & anything fragrant makes him cough terribly.  

I thought I would share the Christmas Card Sid made me ... dear boy, he is growing up so very fast & will be 7 soon!

Alec & his lovely Mum Sarah are on a 3 day tramp on Mount Taranaki & sent this photo to my phone this morning.                       Look at that stunning mountain in the background - they are having wonderful weather. 

Earlier this week I made Banana Bread as our banana's ripen fast this hot weather.  I made two loaves & gifted one to my daughter in law.  They tasted delicious - this is such a nice, simple but moist recipe & keeps very well. 

Little One was most unwell an entire day last week.  I cried, fretted, prayed, & generally aged about 10 years in one day worrying over him.  The next day he'd bounced back right as rain & ran up a tree! He has taken up residence under my Tilda Dolls Cot as he thinks no-one can see him under here.  Little does he know that Ginger furry girl can sniff out anyone !!!  

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead dear friends - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

Thank you as always, for your ever-welcome visits here today,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry three x0x0x0