Don't Worry, Be Hippy

This is the last in my latest series of comfort dolls. Four cuties are on their way to Pat Winter for her project now. I love stitching up these little girls so I hope it's a win-win for giver and receiver. And a big thank you to Pat for continuing with this project and giving it so much loving attention.

I chose Barbara Ana's design for this one. Added a few beads and substituted a crocheted flower for the stitched one. Plus I gave her a nose and a smile. The original is eyes only. Barbara's designs could cheer up anyone I think.

Reluctant Scholar

Here's my latest comfort doll. She looks a bit sad, but I think she's just tentative on her first day of school. This is a Carol Emmer design from an old issue of Leisure Arts "For the Love of Cross Stitch" magazine. I still like these kinds of designs with a lot of fractionals, back stitching and shading for contours. I used Pat Winter's Inner Child Doll method of sewing on the backing by just wrapping it to the front, folding over and hand-stitching a buttonhole stitch in pearl cotton to close it. No turning inside out and no machine stitching at all. I think I need more practice, but it worked out ok.



My partner, Jane, in the Stitchin' Fingers biscornu exchange sent me a gorgeous biscornu from a Floss Box design. Didn't she do a lovely job?

Cute as a button

Meet Abigail, my latest stitched comfort doll. Abigail totes a comfort doll of her own so she is very aware of the importance of her role. This design comes from a leaflet called 'Cute As A Button'. The designs in the leaflet are based on a series of dolls by Cheri Saffiote and adapted for x-stitch by Annie Morgan. I think I'll do one more of these since I had so much fun stitching this one.


And this teeny little bunny is here to wish everyone a very happy bunny day. He's only about 1.25" long. Directions for crocheting the little guy can be found here.

Sweet Petite

Those designs by Vavi seem to draw me in. This little cutie was so charming, I couldn't resist turning her into a Comfort Doll. The beads and sequined flower bouquet were my added touches. I was trying to get the shoes to look like flip-flops, but it was a stretch. I also had trouble getting a nice sharp image of this with my camera. Anything that requires more than point and shoot and I'm at a loss. Anyway, I hope she'll brighten your weekend. She's very dear in person.



And thanks for all of the kind words about my crocheted pieces. I think I only did them out of tatting envy.

Born on the 4th of July

Here is my tribute to the sun for July 4th. This little doll is ready for Wimbledon and the after-party with her kick-a-poo joy juice. It's hard to see the hands in this picture, but they are crocheted with all 5 fingers from a pattern in my new book. The little tennis racket and wine bottle are Sue Cook designs. And the sunshine face was a freebie at cross-stitching.com. The motif is called 'Cloister Window'. Sadly, my library book of crochet designs is due back and I've already maxed out on renewals. It's out of print, but I see there are some similar pubs on the market, so I may have to invest.


And for Patternuts, the inside of the altoid box:

One more cutie

I had a Duh! moment and had to make one more little doll to try out another technique for making the dolls. I'd forgotten that I could just make a fabric mat and sew the face behind the fabric, kind of a like a tuck pillow. Once that occurred to me, I had do a test. I used a Flemish crochet motif. The cross stitch face is by Sue Cook. And I added the beads around the face to dress her up a little. I like this method best so far. The pic is before stuffing so I could do a proper scan.



Down to the back-stitching on the 3rd dragon. I'll show a pic when that part is done.

Molly Snowbloom

One more cross-stitch cum crochet attempt. Not sure I'm happy with this one, but I think she may grow on you after a while (at least I hope so). I wanted to find a way to use the King of Siam motif and I thought of making a snowman of some sort. Turns out that motif was a bit big, so I crocheted another called 'Barnacle' with fewer rounds for the body. Then I did the cross-stitched face of Donna Vermillion's April Snowlady for the head. The sequins are used to hide the cross stitch edge. I think that next time I might try using waste canvas and do the cross stitching directly onto the backing fabric. But I'll give the doll-making a rest for now. I've just shipped off this one, with Bekka and Lea to be given out as comfort dolls. Time to return to the dragons.


Thanks again for all of your lovely comments. Looks like a great holiday week-end coming, weatherwise. I hope to spend a lot of time outdoors.

Bekka the Funkette

Here's my first attempt to marry crochet and cross stitch. This is Bekka, a funky little thing. She's not ready for American Idol, but she has star quality and is destined for fame and fortune. The cross stitch is snipped from an Ursula Michael design called "Wild Dancing". The dress is my Bermuda Triangle motif. I added star-shaped sequins around her face, a few little beads for trim (including one in the belly button!) and a heart in each hand. I'll sew on a backing, stuff her, and send her off to Comfort Doll-land.

Lea is born..

Here's my latest comfort doll. She's not sewn up yet, but the stitching is complete. Her name is Lea and she is from a design by Vavi

I just love how French she looks. I had fun with the little ribbon rose for her hat and the heart charm 'brooch'. I'll keep her around awhile before I send her off for adoption.