Bouncing in

When Chloe and Max were visiting York in September 2020, they came across a little shop in The Shambles which had a delightful window display containing all sorts of interesting things. They spotted miniature dogs in the window, the Fox terrier in particular appealed to them. However at the time the coffee and antique shop was closed (it was early evening on a Sunday) so it wasn't possible to find out more. My daughter went back another day to see if the dogs were still there and they were. Sadly, since then with the second lockdown in November, the shop has closed permanently.

My photo of the 3 miniature dogs in the shop window.

My daughter's photo of the café & antique shop when it was open

My daughter's photo of the dogs in the window

On Christmas day, among many other lovely gifts under the tree (from a box of gifts my elder daughter posted to us), there was a small package for me to open and the little fox terrier bounced out of the wrappings. My friend Janet has a full sized live dog just like this miniature doggy, his name is Bouncer, so I decided to call the miniature dog Bouncer after Janet's pet.

Bouncer was interested in the ball

Bouncer jumped up towards Chloe

Chloe bent down to stroke Bouncer as Max tried to calm him down

Chloe and Max stroked the excited Bouncer 

Bouncer leapt into Chloe's arms

Chloe gave the wriggling Bouncer a cuddle before putting him down in Max's lap

Bouncer calmed down a little with Max sitting quietly on the floor

Chloe gave Bouncer his ball

Bouncer started chasing his ball

Bouncer and his ball

Later, Bouncer met baby Theo who loves dogs (his favourite Dollydoodles sleepsuit has Snoopy and Woodstock on it). Theo is the Sasha Baby Woolly which my younger daughter won in the 2017 Sasha Celebration Weekend raffle.

baby Theo and a bouncing Bouncer

A slightly calmer Bouncer with baby Theo

I have no idea who made the miniature Bouncer (there is no maker label) and sadly the shop in York has now closed permanently. Even his little ears are posable, he is a dog with real character.

Llama jacket for Maciak and Kruseling dolls

I enjoy doing miniature knitting. I've previously designed a miniature sweater/cardigan and hat for my Heather Maciak dolls Jenny and Lexie and shared the patterns on Ravelry (sweater and hat).

Recently in a Sasha doll group on Facebook, my friend Janet challenged us to a competition to knit Rosemary Shortell's Llama jacket for Sasha dolls. I commented in the group that I really wanted to scale down the pattern for my miniature dolls and didn't have the time to knit the Sasha version for the competition deadline as I was studying. During February half term in a short trip to Belgium with my family I was able knit in the car and channel tunnel journey as my cousin did the driving, so I got started on the Llama jacket (I had scaled down the pattern, using my previous spreadsheet chart for the Maciak doll sweater to get the sizing right). The jacket and hat is knitted with 2 ply yarn and 1.5mm needles.

With a short break in between courses in March, the big change to working at home and social distancing with the global pandemic raging (resulting in cancelled examinations for my younger daughter and some evenings which we have used for family movie nights), I have taken the opportunity to do some evening knitting.

Lexie looks pleased with the result (and Chloe the Kruseling has tried it on too, the sleeve cuffs need an extra row of rib for the Kruseling dolls).

Theo (wearing a Rosie Laird sweater), Louisa (wearing a Janet Myhill-Dabbs outfit) and Lexie wearing her Llama jacket and earflap hat

Lexie wearing her Llama jacket and earflap hat

Side view of Lexie in the Llama jacket and hat

Theo, Louisa and the back view of the Llama jacket

Theo, Louisa, Lexie joined by Sofia in the sweater I knitted for Lexie in 2016

Chloe the Kruseling in the Llama jacket and hat

Chloe in the Llama jacket and hat

Chloe and Sofia the Kruselings in my miniature knitting for Lexie

Lexie in the Llama outfit

Lexie in the Llama outfit

Lexie in the Llama outfit

Back view of the Llama jacket and hat, on Lexie

The pattern is available on Ravelry at https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/llama-jacket-for-jenny--lexie

CC BY SA NC 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ DollMum http://dollmum.blogspot.co.uk/

This pattern may be used and adapted for non-commercial purposes only without contacting DollMum. If you wish to use it for commercial purposes (e.g. if
you wish to sell what you make from the pattern) you must contact DollMum at dollmum@yahoo.co.uk for permission and a fee may be charged

Decorating the tree for Christmas 2018

Since my October posts I've not been able to do much with any of my dolls for close personal family reasons so I'm not feeling very festive this year. Loss of a beloved sibling (even though expected after a long, courageous battle) is a whole new experience for my sister and I (having experienced loss of both parents in childhood) and does bring into focus what really matters in our daily lives, even though we live in different countries.  However, we're still doing what we can for Christmas as we cherish the memories of past happy Christmasses which he did so well.

Yesterday my younger daughter and I had a redressing doll afternoon and preparation of the scene, then on Christmas Eve we found time in the evening to take photos.  So enjoy the photos of the much loved pastime of children decorating the Christmas tree in preparation for celebrating the giving and receiving of love.

How to keep two excited toddlers occupied on Christmas Eve?  Give them their own new Christmas tree to decorate!

Edmund had the first decoration - a miniature Christmas tree

Louisa was pleased to hang a snowman on the tree next

Several decorations later

Baby Daisy reached into the box of decorations

She picked out another snowman to hang on a lower branch which was nicely in reach

Baby Nina found a red decoration in the box

Louisa watched a bit anxiously as Nina reached over to the tree to hang her decoration

Nina managed to hang her decoration on the tree without pulling the tree over

Edmund had a red bauble for the tree

Edmund carefully put the red bauble on a branch

Daisy and the tree

Tree decorating all finished - the toddlers looked at each other proudly as Trendon Elliott and Melanie looked on.

Edmund and Louisa with their tree

The whole Sasha family with their Christmas trees

L-R: baby Theo, Timothy, Nicholas James, baby Daisy, Edmund, Trendon Elliott, Melanie, Louisa, baby Nina, baby Davy, Reuben and baby Amy

L-R: Edmund, Trendon Elliott, Melanie, Louisa, baby Nina, baby Davy, Reuben, baby Amy, Laura, baby Leo, Florence, baby Mabel and Miranda

Sasha Celebration Weekend 2018 - Part 5

After the SCW Oscar awards in which those of us who had run a craft workshop were given our own mini teddy, we chatted some more at the dinner table and my girl did another fishtail plait for her own doll Laura.  Trendon Elliott and Laura had come to dinner in their best music themed clothes (made by Lorraine who could not be with us at the SCW unfortunately and who would have joined our music trio playing her clarinet).

Trendon Elliot with my craft workshop thank you gift bear and Laura at dinner

Laura's fishtail plait

Emma and her young daughter invited a few of us back to her room for more socialising, so we joined Emma, her girl, Alison and Jocelyn for some late night chatting. My girl re-plaited the fishtail plait for Jocelyn's doll.

Chatting in Emma's room after completing the fishtail plait for Jocelyn's doll Ella

Enjoying a good Sasha chat

Happy with Ella's restyled hair

Closeup of Ella's fishtail plait (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

It had been such a long, fun, busy day but that didn't stop us talking until late.  On Sunday morning Laura and baby Theo took Animal's SCW Oscar to breakfast so that immediately after breakfast we could photograph the Fanfare band with the award before packing up the band until their next appearance.  Many of the Red Carpet dolls had left the carpet when we arrived, it was sad to see the display denuded of many of its finely dressed occupants.

Laura and Theo with Animal's SCW Oscar

The Fanfare Band with SCW Oscar

All my other photos of the Fanfare band have not shown what was written on the labels for each doll, so I photographed them to show.

Louise Armstrong with his trumpet from High Society - in tribute to the great jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong providing a fanfare fore the red carpet entrants!

'Animal' from The Muppets - a toddler is never far from being an enthusiastic, dangerous, untamed … music maker - give him a set of drums with a crashing cymbal and he is happy!

Janet - a classy lady plays her flute in the band - providing the melodies and trills to accompany the entry of the red carpet Sasha and Gregor beauties!

Janet and her flute

Janet the very classy lady in the Fanfare band

Alan took a group photo of most of the SCW people at 9.30 am, some had already left to catch trains or planes, some were loading their cars but we had all three children in the photo.

Most of the 2018 SCW attendees

Alan had his photo booth for those of us who wanted our dolls photographed in front of a scenic backdrop before we left.

Reuben as Louis Armstrong (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

Louis Armstrong and his trumpet (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

Animal and his SCW Oscar (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

Closeup of 'Animal' (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

Animal in the street (photo Alan Hinchcliffe)

And so it was time to say goodbye to everyone at the 2018 SCW, it went far too fast!  I would like to thank Janet and Tricia for another triumph of organisation, exercise in patience, great ideas brilliantly realised and positive encouragement - their work made the weekend memorable for all of us.

Now I need to work out what the wooden craft will be next time...