Guest Crochet Dollmaker - Joyce Yearsley

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Joyce Yearsley, also known as Dutzie on Flickr.  She is a wonderful crochet dollmaker, and Melanie, above, is the latest example of her lovely work and crochet innovation.   

Melanie has the most delightfully curly hair, made from crochet roses attached to a wig cap!  Simple as that, and yet so cute.  Joyce has shared a tutorial for making this wig cap on her Flicker site, and has also graciously allowed me to share it with you on my blog.  Click the link curly wig cap or find it on the left hand sidbar under Tutorials by Joyce.

This delightful doll also has another cool innovation...ball jointed arms and legs!  This is a technique you can apply to almost any crochet doll you are making; Joyce shows you how in her tutorial Ball Jointed Arms and Legs also shared here.

I am truly fortunate to know such a gifted and generous dollmaker.  Thank you, Joyce, for sharing your talents with us!

My latest Teacupsie Spirit used Joyce's curly wig cap tutorial to make her cute wig.  Crocheted from size 10 crochet cotton, I just made the unrolled roses a little longer for sausage curls.  What a great idea :-)

Enjoy the crochet!

Welcome home, Atlantis. Farewell, Shuttle

All the photos on this page are from the NASA website:  www.nasa.gov


Shuttle Atlantis touched down this morning at 5:58 EDT, bringing to an end the Space Shuttle program, after 30 years of flight.

I watched entranced, 42 years ago yesterday, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.

As a child in grade school in the 60's, every Gemini and Apollo launch was watched on a TV wheeled into the room just for that purpose.  I was captivated by the space program, as so many of my generation were.  The space program was a ray of hope during the bitter decade of the 60's, and inspired me to study science and math, and go on to become an engineer.  

I recall holding my breath as Columbia landed for the first time, in 1981.   I watched dumbstruck as Challenger broke apart in 1986.

And I have been wholly amazed at the construction of the International Space Station.  Not only a marvel of engineering; not only like building a ship in the middle of the ocean from the keel up, but of the international cooperation between countries that only a few years ago were bitter enemies.

Interestingly, we cooperate better in space with former enemies and rivals, than we do within our own congress.

In space we speak a common language of committment, focus, dedication, and passion .  Surely this is a legacy that must be passed on to our children.  If we do nothing else as a country, we should inspire our children to dream beyond their horizons, to be passionate and focused and dedicated.  The space program brings out the very best in us, and shows us just what amazing things we can accomplish, when we work together.

Welcome home Atlantis!  Godspeed, NASA, on your next manned mission of discovery.  I hope the wait will not be too long.

Variations on a Teacup Theme

I'm a sucker for cute, tiny dolls; and these little sweeties are a wonderful inspiration for a variation on the Teacup theme :-)  By altering the basic Teacup Spirit pattern a very happy little crochet Teacupsie Spirit can be created.

You can find the pattern for the alterations here and on the left sidebar under Teacup Spirit Patterns.  She can even wear the Teacup Trousseau :-)

Enjoy the crochet!

Tiny Teacup Trousseau

Now you can cloth your Teacup Spirit in a variety of outfits, from one basic pattern :-)  All of these dainty little costumes start with a bodice worked from side to side, my favorite way of making crochet doll clothes.  If you work in the back loops only, you get a neat ribbed effect, like the pretty pink camisole in the bottom right.  Or you can work in both loops for a vertical line.   You can also alternate colors for vertical stripe, as in top left.  Cap sleeves, lace sleeves, puff sleeves, or no sleeves.  It is a great starting point for your imagination!

The pattern is here, and also on the left sidebar under Teacup Spirit Patterns.

Enjoy the crochet!

Teacup Spirits

Here is a new pattern for an even smaller Spirit doll.  Teacup Spirits!  They are just under five inches tall, and inspired by my little Lati White Belle.    They have movable heads and shoulders, and pose-able limbs.  Once I got the pattern the way I liked it (took four tries!), it only takes about an hour and a half to crochet the little doll.

Tiny wigs from laceweight mohair, fingering weight yarn, or embroidery floss cap these little darlings off very nicely.

This wig was made from laceweight mohair/silk yarn.  A little goes a long way!  It is 7/8 oz and 195 yards.  I used a size 1 steel hook, and made chain loops for the curls.













This wig was made from fingering weight wool yarn.  It is 1 3/4 oz, 310 yards.  I used a size 1 steel hook, and this wig is removable.  If you make the cap a little smaller, I bet it would fit a Lati White or PukiPuki BJD :-)










This wig is made from embroidery floss, which is fantastic at this scale.  All those colors!  It takes three or four skeins of floss to make a wig; for this long wig it took three skeins.  To make crocheting the wig cap easier, I wrap the floss around a floss bobbin before crocheting.  If you need another skein to finish the cap (I did) just wrap it around your empty bobbin and tie it on to your working strand.  Make sure the knots are on the inside of the cap.











This cute, curly cap is made from worsted weight boucle yarn.  A bit big for this scale, and the stitches are not so easy to see, but still doable with a size C crochet hook.  And any mistakes are invisible in all these curls :-)









Click the link for the Teacup Spirit Pattern  or you can also find it on the left sidebar of this blog.

 

Think small!  Clothing patterns to follow :-)

Summer Flowers 2011

The flowers just outside our front door. 

Bleu Faerie Finished!

Bleu is finished, wings and all.  Patterns for the basic doll, wire wings, and how to make a sweet dress from crochet lace are available on this blog.  Check out the left sidebar under Pocket Spirits.

Thinking even smaller Spirits are in the future :-)

Latest Pocket Spirit WIP

My latest Pocket Spirit work-in-progress, a Bleu Faerie commission for a dear friend.  She is alongside a BJD from B&G, a 16cm mini honey named Claire.  The BJD's are what inspired me to make the Pocket Spirits, with their movable heads and jointed shoulders.  This doll uses 9mm eyes at the shoulder to give a nice movable joint.

You can find the pattern for the Pocket Spirit on the left hand sidebar.

More later :-)

Felt Friends Forever

Petunia, Black-eyed Suzanne, and Amanda; Felt Friends Forever :-)

Petunia has a dark fuschia tunic embroidered with lazy daisy flowers and leaves.  It closes in the back with a single button and loop.

Her spring green pants are also embroidered, in featherstitch and French knots.  The waist is pulled in gently with a cord of perle cotton, threaded through the top of the pants. 

Amanda wears a felt and embroidered dress and tabard style apron, appliqued with orange mushrooms.  The apron has a slit at the neck about an inch long to facilitate putting it on, and is tied at the sides with silk ribbon ties.

Black-eyed Suzanne's dress is felt embroidered all over with her signature flower...black-eyed Susans :-)  The dress has slightly capped sleeves and slightly flared skirt.











All of these little outfits are simple modifications of the basic patterns available on this blog for these dear dolls from Gingermelon Doll's Pocket Pixie pattern.  Hand sewing felt is very easy, rewarding, satisfying, enjoyable, relaxing, and spiritual.  Enjoy.