Sorry for not being here much lately.......we are having a new bungalow rebuilt to cater for my husbands wheelchair needs and it is taking much more of my time than expected...but I have some exciting news.
At the beginning of this year I asked my "mini" friend Gill of Teenytinyminiatures to be my swap buddy for a MINI CHRISTMAS SWAP for the 12 days of Christmas, and guess what she said YES!!!! so we will be posting on our blogs over the 12 days of Christmas while we open and discover the little surprises we have made for each other, I am so excited....I would love to hear from you about our tiny gifts and so that you can follow Gill as well, you can find her at http://teenytinyminithings.blogspot.co.uk
Keep watching and happy blogging xxxx
date of first blog to be decided, but I will let you know in good time xxx

A touch of luxory part two!

 well here we are as promised......the finished outfit that is a touch of luxury for one of my tiny Belly Button Babies.....

My friend Patty, who lives in Louisiana in the U.S.A. is going to be so thrilled with this tiny treat.....my intention was to get it to her for her birthday in November but I have managed to complete it so early she will be able to enjoy it all Summer long...............................................

I love the way the dress and underskirt are so light and floaty, they drape with such ease.  The shawl is also very light and delicate and enhances the gown.....I have knitted a few rows in the lacy edge of the shawl with the palest of pink yarn..it is just visible on the photographs....

 

 

Lovely???? What do you think???

 

 

Let me know.....I love hearing from you all, hugs till next time xxxxx

4th July

                                                            a very happy 4th of July!
                                         and a very very warm welcome to my new followers xx

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A bit of luxory for my Belly Button Baby

Hello everyone! and welcome to my new followers..

Well here is my latest project so far...........I have enjoyed very much knitting this beautiful outfit.

The design is very delicate and light and flouncy due to the yarn I am using.....the pattern calls for Venne colcotton 70/2, an ultra cotton thread slightly thinner than sewing cotton and once knitted is extremely fine in texture......

 

 the front panel comprises of three separately knitted frills incorporated into the skirt by knitting both the frill and the garment stitches together across the row.......

The gown has short cap sleeves that cover the dolls shoulders beautifully...........I have used pink pure silk ribbon to trim and embellish throughout, I think it gives a delicate contrast, white would be lost within the intricate pattern.

 
The bootees have a tiny picot edge crocheted in pink in contrast and again I have embellished them with tiny silk bows........the diaper, an added change from panties, fastens at the front with tiny buttons which I made from a piece of plastic tub...........like most hobbyist I keep everything just in case and plastic pots make the tiniest buttons......  

 

The back view shows the crocheted edge of the diaper and a glimpse of the edge on the bootees too........

I have placed a tiny bow at the back of the bonnet to continue the link with the rest of the outfit, and have added silk ribbon ties.

there is still quite a lot to do before this project is complete, there is a second under dress to do with the lace pattern just at the hemline.......then there is a wonderful matching shawl/blanket.

 

 

The pattern and lots more, can be purchased from

Sharon De Vries

at     Sharon@chrystalsdesigns.com

 

 

I will post updates as and when I have them.......would you believe I am doing Christmas items in between orders and this project, getting ready for my first Advent swap this year.....

 

Bassinets as promised

before I start...a warm welcome to all my new followers...........

Although I love to knit I do occasionally get out my hooks and do a little crochet.............confession time, I have always been able to crochet, well as long as I can remember, but about 2 years ago I went on a course to try to learn how to follow a pattern..........I have never been able to make anything other than granny squares as I couldn`t follow the simplest of crochet patterns......best thing I`ve done in years.....I digress......Whenever the fancy takes me, and to be honest, when I want something a little more lacy, I get out my hooks....can you imagine my delight when I discovered there were miniature crochet hooks as well as knitting needles..........                      

1:12 scale

one of the first things I made were these delicate bassinets. I started with the 1:12 scale and went great guns...I had it finished in next to no time.
  Then I tried to do it in 1:24 scale....I did use the same cotton so the tension was a lot tighter and the lacy appearance disappeared somewhat.....but it still looked pretty, and if I am honest it stood up better than the 1:12 scale...

1:24 scale

Then I tried the pattern in 1:48 scale........I am so glad I tested myself with the two larger......ha! larger......that makes me titter.....the two other scales first otherwise I would have probably been put off miniature crochet forever!!!!!!    I used a much finer cotton Venne Colcotton 70/2 and this did hold up just as well as the 34/2 I used for the larger sizes.                          

teeny 1:48 scale at front of other two scales 

I have since gone on to make a blanket and pillow for each of my bassinets and although I had crocheted the cradles I decided to knit the accessories..........

the pattern is called "lily of the valley" for the 1:12 scale

there is no pattern on the 1:24 scale.......just a crochet picot edge all the way around.   

snug as a bug!

 and as for the 1:48 scale........now that is the question???? I could not find it anywhere, I searched for several days and to no avail........I know I made one, I had the photos to prove it....but could I find it........NO!!! then I remembered, I had given it to my friend and fellow miniature knitter Jeannette Fishwick when she visited the U.K. last year........so I have no tiny cradle to measure by.....the only solution is to make another bassinet and then I can complete by making a teeny cover and pillow for it.....so back to the hooks and back to the most difficult of the 3 sizes.................will give you an update once I have completed.........(don`t hold your breath though lol.)

 

Firstly can I say a very warm welcome to my new followers, I do hope you are inspired by my efforts with miniature knitting, and that it will encourage you to have a go!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Well I thought I would share these tiny outfits with you all. These little 1" dolls are from a mold I purchased from the United States, originally with the idea of making tiny fairy folk, then I realised they made the most wonderful tiny doll for the little girl in ones dollshouse, or, of course, a tiny baby in 1:24 scale. 

Once I had several of these pretty little dolls I then had to source some patterns or make my own......there are some tiny patterns on the market but I wanted more detail and so my hunt began to find patterns that I could, maybe, adapt...here are a couple of those that got through after many hours of testing to see if they would work.

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This first one is an original pattern by Nicola Smith......The knitting lady...I have tweeked it somewhat by altering the amount of stitches and having an opening back so it goes on this tiny doll easier. I have done this one so many times here it is in Lavender, and blue, and I have also done it in white  and lemon....I have used Mill Hill "petite" beads as buttons and Venne colcotton thread 70/2............this thread is so fine and gives the best results at this very small scale......needles you ask??? well they were U.K. size 24, it would be remiss of me to state a metric or U.S. size as I am uncertain, suffice to say they are very very thin, I know of only 1 set of needles thinner size 28.(which I have used for even smaller knitting)

 

Same pattern in blue

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Same in lemon

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now in white

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This long white gown with bonnet is an original 1:24 scale pattern by Helena Bleaker. If I remember correctly it is named "Helen" and is knitted in one piece. The bonnet has a lovely wide brim that encircles the babys head. I enjoyed doing this one as there was no need to convert and it knitted very quickly even though it has a delicate lace pattern running from bottom to top..
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Now for my very favourite pattern which I again tweeked from a 1:12 scale pattern by The Knitting Lady...Nicola Smith. This pattern is called "Fleur" and in the following photos you can see I have used white throughout with the tiny flower trim in shades of pink for one set and in shades of yellow in the other.

Here baby is in one of my tiny crocheted bassinetts, in a future post I will show you the tiny pillow and cover I knitted for this cradle, and the same bassinett in 2 other scales 1:12 and 1:48....... 
 

The pink trim flowers look so sweet on this version.....I have set the whole outfit in place on the face of a U.K. 10 pence coin, this coin measure a smidgen over 1".......... pity I have not placed the hat better to show the tiny flowers on it, you can see them in one of the photos below..... 

 

 

 

you can find Nicola Smith`s patterns at www.theknittinglady.co.uk

and Helena Bleaker`s patterns at www.helena-petitefashions.co.uk  



you can see the flowers on the hat here more clearly!!!!!