Finishes in May

When working on the Emil and Ida dolls, I started this doll for one of my grand nieces.

She has a nightgown made of the remains of one that her grandmother or I have had when we were little.

I made her a quilt so the new little mom can put her to bed too.

She has now arrived in Germany and her new home. Dolls are allowed to travel unaccompanied by mail. My sister has organized adoptions for over 20 of my dolls there. The German Unicef doesn't have the fabric dolls on their fundraising program.

My bed socks have been worn very thin over the years so I knitted a new pair with a free pattern I found on some blog I can't find again. The rest of this pink yarn with the rests from other pink socks I have knitted this season were just enough for the other pair where I added two rest balls of white.

Three dolls with clothes, a doll's quilt and two pairs of socks. I must have sewn some fabric masks as well, at least these on the upside down photo.

Dolls' news and new dolls

Earlier this year my young friend Arthur in England asked me for a pattern for a knapsack so he could have one made for his own Dick Callum doll. He has seen this one I made for the Dick doll I made almost ten years ago.

It was easier for me to make the knapsack (and make notes for making one more later, if needed). I made a T-shirt and shorts for him as well.

And as Arthur and his team are making a Dot Callum doll as well, I made a bag and a set of shorts and a blouse for her. Now they will be well equipped for their adventures as Picts and Martyrs with the Amazons.

My imagination has been running wild with ideas of other literary dolls, and today I finished the last details of this new pair, again a brother and sister.

They are Eemeli and Iida Nieminen (or Emil and Ida Svensson) from Astrid Lindgren's children's novels of Lönneberga. Emil has round blue eyes, round red cheeks and beautiful fair hair, and he was always wearing his "rather ugly cap".

The little sister Ida also has round blue eyes and round rosy cheeks, and her fair hair is neatly plaited. She is very well behaved, and wears a apron to keep her red frock clean. I made the apron reversible so she can wear the clean white side out on Sundays.

I really like the apron!

I hope they will find a family where they can live an adventurous life.

This special Spring

 In April on one of our walks we saw these suspicious looking creatures. Virus flowers?

I have been sewing masks for myself and family. Some large Marimekko prints, some cheerful colours, some matching my clothes and some more suitable for men.

The forest is full of wood anemones, and I picked some for the small window .

I had collected some old bottles and thought they looked nice with just one or two wild flowers in each.

This weekend I took photos of the socks I have knitted recently, and thought they would look nice in the bright sunshine.

I was wrong, the pink above is hardly to be seen, and you don't see much of the Aino S' pattern of the bright white socks below either.

This is our weather today, the poor peonies and grape hyacinths must be shivering.

The birches had just opened their tiny leaves and there was a fine light green shade in the forest.

All birds have gone silent, they must be waiting for the snow and cold to go away. I prefer Winter weather during the Winter months, not when we are expecting warmth and sun and flowers and birdsong.