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!
A couple of years ago, I had a wonderful time designing, carving and painting one of a kind wooden Teddy Bears and Pandas. Each one is unique.
They all have jointed arms and legs, so they can sit and move about.
I am not carving wood anymore, and won’t be making any more of the Wooden Teddy Bears or Pandas. These are the last of my series and are for sale.
Hand Carved WOODEN PANDAS
1- This Panda is approximately 6 1/2 inches (16.5 cm) tall $95 + shipping
Note: It has a beaded necklace that can be removed if you prefer them to not wear a necklace.
2– This little Panda has a gold heart, red bead necklace and red shoes and is approximately 5 1/2 inches (14 cm) tall $95 + shipping
3- This Panda has a gold heart, a gold bead necklace, red shoes that have flowers on the soles, green and purple leggings and a flowered body suit and is approximately 7 1/2 inches (19 cm) tall
$95 + shipping
Hand Carved Wooden TEDDY BEARS THAT ARE ABOUT 7 1/2 Inches TALL:
4-This Teddy Bear has red bead necklace, red boots with flowers on the soles, blue and white striped leggings and a flowered body suit and is approximately 7 1/2 inches (19 cm) tall $95 + shipping
4- This Teddy Bear is approximately 7 1/4 inches tall (18 cm) and has a pinkish gold necklace, pink and purple high top boots that have flowers on the soles, a floral body suit and leggings. $95 + shipping
I have made a couple of dresses that fit these Pandas and Larger Teddy Bears and are available, too….
A hand knitted old fashioned looking dress: $35 + shipping
It fits the 7 1/2 inch bears but is too big for the 4 inch bears
This is what it looks like on the bears (the bear is not included in the purchase of the dress…. they are all sold separately)
And here is a little sewn dress that is reversible. It fits all the bears. $20 +shipping
Here’s what the dress looks like on the bears (dress and bears sold separately)
4 inch tall Carved Wooden Teddy Bears
1a- 4 inch tall Hand Carved Wooden Teddy Bear in a Pinafore (the pinafore is included in the price) $95
2a- 4 inch tall Hand Carved Wooden Teddy Bear in a Tutu (the tutu is included in the price) $95
3a- 4 inch tall Hand Carved Wooden Teddy Bear with an Acorn Hat in a Vestwith removable wings (the hat is glued to the Teddy Bear’s head. The vest and wings are included in the price) $95
If you are interested in purchasing any of the bears, please drop me a note in the comments or send me an email and I will get back to you asap. ❤
The death of our beloved 15 year old small dog has been really hard on both my husband and me.
I wrote in my previous post about the Comfort Doll that I carved from a fallen branch- LINK
When I was carving her, I was inspired to carve a Teddy Bear that would have an open space in it’s heart…..
I used amber color shellac to paint the Teddy Bear to look like our little dog, and then…
My husband and I each placed a tiny scoop of our little dog’s ashes in the open circle.
Then I glued a gold heart over it to seal it….
The glue seals it completely.
It took a while to dry and turn clear.
We both held the little teddy bear and found it to be very comforting….
We sat Teddy Bear and Pollydolly in front of the box of our little guy’s ashes, but when I finished weaving her outfit and knitting a red sweater and blue jeans for him, we sat them on top of the box:
My husband loves working with metal, so he made a little steel doggie: Edward Alloy in tribute to our wee fellow, and it has joined them on the box…..
We have found this tender making of small things in celebration of our wee dog to be very comforting!
Last week, our darling little dog died. He was 15 years old and we miss him terribly.
The day before he died, a branch fell from the huge Elm tree in front of our house. I love the tree and so I picked up the branch and moved it onto our lawn, thinking that I should probably carve something from it.
A couple of days after we came home from the Vet, without our dear boy in our arms, the impulse to pick up the branch and start carving grew stronger and stronger.
I had been feeling called to carve another 6 inch doll like one that had carved last fall, so I used her as a companion and guide:
I used the same branch for her arms:
And for her legs, but I got the first pair all wrong, so I made another pair from another scrap of wood.
Of course, it took me a few days to carve her and to allow the still wet wood to dry before I could paint her.
This allowed me to follow my inner prompts that were a gift from this little healing dolly and start work on carving a teddy bear. I have posted about him here: LINK
I was surprised that she wanted a very round head, but when I went to carve it down, she firmly told me to just sand it smooth and live with it. Okay…. it’s important to not try to push the doll where she does not want to go!
She let me know exactly what she wanted for her hair, leotard, leggings and boots:
I knitted her a dress that was totally wrong for her, but works beautifully on a different doll.
Then I tried a different dress that I had knitted for another little doll. Nope.
She wanted me to weave her a white skirt and shrug from yarn that my daughter in law spun.
So, I did….
Her name is Pollydolly and I have found the process of carving her (and the teddy bear that I will post about next) to be very soothing and healing.
Dollmaking is very much a healing art and no matter what form it takes, it’s good for the soul.
Grieving is a journey that is unique to each person who has to follow the path, and it’s important to do the things that help the grief be nurtured in a transformative way that becomes the root of compassion.
Carving dolls and bears and knitting and weaving are an important part of my way of healing.
In the next post about the Teddy Bear that Pollydolly told me to carve, I’ll show you where she is sitting now. LINK
If you are grieving, please know that you are not alone. There is so much to grieve right now, and we all have to find our way through it. Blessings on your journey!
Vasilisa Comfort Dolls that are Lucet Cord makers: LINK
These Vasilisa Comfort dolls are larger than the original ones….
This photo gives a sense of the size difference:
ARCH SHAPE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS
HELPING HANDS:
In gratitude for all ways that people help one another. 3 1/2 inches/9 cm tall
THE BLESSING CUP: SOLD
about 3 inches/ 8 cm tall
“Being a Mother and Being a Daughter”
about 3 inches/ 8 cm tall
SWEET DREAMS:
about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall
A BLESSING FOR THE CHILD
about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall
AND THIS GROUP OF LARGE VASILISA COMFORT DOLLS HAVE JOINTED ARMS:
“Sunflower Song” We’ll never see Sunflowers in the same way again, will we? Praying for Peace in Ukraine and an end to the invasion
about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall
ROSIE:
about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall
BUTTERFLY DREAMS
I did the tatting, using shuttles that I carved myself. She’s about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall
DREAM CHILD
about 5 inches/12.5 cm tall (GLASS BACKGROUND NOT INCLUDED)
SURPRISE and her BABY
Surprise was a fascinating doll to create…. she kept taking me in new directions…. including wanting a baby…..
With her hat, Surprise is almost 8 inches/20 cm tall
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING ONE OR MORE OF THESE DOLLS, PLEASE LEAVE ME A NOTE IN THE COMMENTS (IT WON’T BE PUBLISHED) AND I WILL GET BACK TO YOU ASAP
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