By the way, on the 15th of each month through 2024, we will be releasing a new kit for a design that I have made for the Lily Doll project. They’re all available at the mirrix website.
We’re planning some other fun things, too. I’ll post about them as they come up.
Hope 2024 is full of good things for you and yours: Blessings and hugs ❤ and happy weaving!
The Pixel People are quirky little woven wonderfuls that I designed for the Lily Doll Project.
They began as doodles on graph paper and were so delightful that I had to weave them right away! They are very small, so they are quick to weave and are great little stash busters. (they’re 1 1/2 inch or 3.75 cm square). I always put a ‘Lucky Penny’ and a paper heart inside to make them even more good natured.
They should probably come with a warning that they are so much fun to weave that it becomes quite addictive to weave them. This is really okay, as people love them so much that the Pixel People jump merrily into other people’s hands and hearts and pockets, too.
I find simple little things to be endearing. That’s how I feel about the woven Pixel People that are part of the Lily Doll Project.
I was inspired to design and weave the whimsical little Pixel People when I was sketching on graph paper (one of my most favorite design tools). I was doodling ‘inside the squares’ and started drawing cheerful little faces in the squares. I was captivated by their sweetness so one thing lead to another.
I warped up my Chloe loom and these quirky little darlings evolved from those simple sketches. I love them with their little circle hands and feet, but you can also play with other options, too. They have lucky pennies and good wishes hearts inside, so they have very good energy.
They are fun to carry in your pocket or attach jewelry findings and click them onto a zipper, bag or as a charm on a pouch, phone or other device.
Stitch a pin back on them to wear them as a pin. Glue a magnet to the back and they can live on the fridge or a lamp or other metal surface. These quirky little Pixel People are fun, easy and a delight to make!
Panda bears…. so sweet! I can’t resist…. so I wove a tiny Panda, using scraps of yarn left over from the Lily Doll kit (using the instructions from the Tiny Teddy Bear in the Lily Doll Project)
He felt like having a little nap so I tucked him into the teeny tiny crib. Two of the Tiny Bears raced over to see who was this new little friend in the studio.
Panda said that he was a little chilly all alone in the crib, so the Little Bears invited him to hop into their cozy bed and tell them all about himself….
They are so happy being together in the studio that they are hoping that there will be more bears coming along, soon to join them! They posed for a few photos…
And went back to bed to tell each other winter stories and to nap and dream of Springtime….
Once upon this time there is a darling 3 year old, (named Lily) who inspired me to create the Lily Doll Project- a year long celebration of delight, joy and creativity.
When Lily’s Mamma, Elena Kawachi, posted pics of little Miss Lily taking her first steps into the world of ballet, I couldn’t resist designing a tutu for Lily Doll, woven on the Mirrix Chloe loom.
And because ballerinas need to stay warm after class, I designed a wee shrug for Lily Doll, too. The kit for the shrug and tutu are available at LINK
The Shrug also looks great with the Pinafore Pocket Dress (kit also available on the Lily Doll page LINK)
Here’s to the joy of woven dolls and imagination! Hope you’ll join us in the delightful, healing art of dollmaking and make your own, unique version of Lily Doll and her friends! <3
It’ s the festive season, so I designed a party dress for Lily Doll:
And, then I discovered that there is enough yarn in the Party Doll kit to be able to weave the Pinafore Dress (with a pocket!), so, I asked Elena and Claudia at Mirrix if we could add the Pinafore Dress to the Party Dress kit. They thought that that was a great idea. 😀
It struck me that people might want to weave the Lily Doll in a way that is unique to them. I love exploring creative and imaginative options, so I decided to weave a doll using the Lily Doll Pattern, but to change things up a little.
Well, LOL…. I ended up having to weave her arms twice, because I managed to (HUH?!?!) mess them up on the first go. Okay, so I un-picked them and wove them again. Got it right this time. Whew.
Then, I was weaving too late at night, when, thanks to Long Covid, my cognitive function isn’t always at the top of the loop- oops… and I wove the body in plain white, which I hadn’t meant to do. Went to bed shaking my head. Got up the next morning and wove the body using Herringbone technique. (I’ll do another post about weaving Herringbone on the Chloe loom). YAY! Got it right!
Next, I merrily wove her legs using pick and pick in tapestry technique which mysteriously gave her very out of proportion legs. Sigh. Un-wove them and wove them in pick and pick, but THIS time, I used the tabby technique. AND YAY! The legs are totally tickety boo…. whew…..
And, luckily, her dear little head (using the pink and purple yarn and hand dyed silk left over from the Party and Pinafore Dresses kit) turned out perfect the first time round…. so…. here she is!
Lily Doll would like to introduce her cousin, Lally Doll!
and here they are, wearing the Party Dress and the Pinafore with a Pocket Dress:
Ooh, I am so delighted with them! Even though I seemed to get so much wrong on the way to getting Lally Doll right, she was totally worth the effort.
The Herringbone technique is explained in step by step photos in my book: Innovative Weaving on the Frame loom. It, and the kits and patterns for the Lily doll project are all available at: LINK
I am no longer carving wooden dolls, (health issues).
These One of a Kind Wooden Dolls are all for sale. They are $100 each + shipping.
I spent hours making little fitted shimmery vests, and spent more hours messing around with lace for skirts. Sadly, the lace skirts just didn’t cut it.
So, when a dear friend gave me some vintage hankies, I had an ‘aha!’ moment…. and the skirt dilemma was resolved: Tie the hankies on with ribbons. This is a super simple non-sew skirt option that I came up with decades ago for dolls in my book: Soul Mate Dolls: Dollmaking as a Healing Art. It works so well! And, now, I am happy!
Lily Doll says that it is chilly, and even though she likes her upcycled lace dress, some woven dresses would be nice….. so she even offered to help with the weaving…..
Be patient, Lilly Doll! Dresses are on the way…. soon, Little One! Soon…..
I am a dyed in the wool Teddy Bear fanatic. I especially like very very small bears.
So, of course, when I was designing for the Lily Doll Project, the first friend I designed for her is an absolutely tiny Teddy Bear.
These tiny Teddy Bears have my ‘signature’ hugging arms so they can hug back and also hold onto things.
Because they are so little, they are fairly quick and easy to make, so they are a great choice as Pocket Bears, and as Comfort Bears to give to other people.
I am delighted that I can pull the curtain back on a project that I am so excited about….
For months now, I have been hard at work, designing a darling little doll, Lily, and her friends, and clothes and accessories to weave on the Mirrix Chloe loom.
The Lily Doll Project is an ongoing series of kits from Mirrix that are available at LINK
Everything begins with the Lily Doll kit and Tiny Teddy Bear kit, then every other week, there will be a new kit available with full instructions and everything you need to make the project.
This is so much fun! I hope that you are going to love Lily Doll and her friends and treasures as much as I do!
The Lily Doll and all the projects can be woven on either the 5 inch or the 8 inch Mirrix Chloe looms. They are such a joy to weave with!
Hope you will join me for this fun adventure in joyful weaving!
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