What was great about working on this order was that it wasn’t very specific and I could let my creativity run free.

Two baskets of fruit and vegetables

This was my first try at crocheting fabric, and I found it a lot of fun. Making the vegetables was even more fun!

Basket of play vegetables and fruit

Second Basket

Basket of play fruit and vegetables

Apple

Fabric Apple

A “Baby born to the Flower Fairy”

The Baby has a leaf shaped cradle and is bundled up in with another leaf. The children can tuck the baby to sleep and sing her a lullaby..

Baby born to the Flower Fairy Waldorf Doll

The kindergarten had already bought the “Baby born to the Winter Queen”  a few months ago, and the children loved her.

Baby born to the Snow Queen Waldorf Doll

A King and Queen for theater or for the winter table

These are palm sized dolls that can stand on their own.

Waldorf King and Queen Dolls

Dog and Puppy

Parent Dog and Puppy Dog Waldorf Pet

Squirrel

Squirrel Waldorf Animal

Mare and fowl

Mare and Fowl Waldorf Animal

Fabric Chala bags

Fabric Bag

Every Friday the children bake a special Chala bread and take it home.  Each child receives his own little fabric bag inside which he puts the little loaf of bread he made.

Fabric Chala Bag

All the items were, of course, made only of natural materials and stuffed with sheep wool, according to the Waldorf tradition.

Sometimes this communication leads to interesting journeys…

When a customer of mine noticed that the items are shipped from Israel, she asked me if I lived near any religious sites. I happen to. I don’t know if it’s a real coincidence, because come to think about it, there are religious sites everywhere around here…

And so, a Plush pilgrimage was born…

First we went to the Mount of beatitudes, it was too early, so we just looked in from the outside:

Then we visited the Church of the Heptapegon at Tabgha, with the beautiful fish pond:

After that we went to Terra Santa at Capernaum, but the church wasn’t open yet…

So we stopped by next to Capernaum for the beautiful view of the sea of Galilee and the Date palms..

We also went buy the Orthodox Church at Capharnaum, the girls thought it was Barbapappa’s house..too bad that telephone line was in the way, but i guess the nuns need a telaphone just like us…

After all that was done, we went for a swim in the Sea of Galilee – we call it the Kinneret.

The Dolls joined us, of course..

the dolls going on tour before being posted to their new home across the ocean, together with a small stone I collected at each sacred place they visited:

Well, I really have nothing to do with cards, and trying to find something to connect me to the theme, I started reading about the history of cards and searching for photos of Antique Cards. I decided to make a Waldorf Doll Queen of Hearts.

Looking at the Antique Cards I realized that there were no rules about how the queen should look, and that every artist that drew the cards as his heart desired.

I then looked at many images of queens, and realized that when I think of “A Queen”, I think of Queen Elizabeth the 1st.

Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Portrait, 1558. Artist Unknown.

So, now I knew the Era of my Queen, and rummaging through my fabric closet, I found some very fancy fabrics that were given to me by my husband’s aunt Rina Zin (www.rinazin.com). She is a very talented fashion designer who makes amazing clothes, and uses beautiful and expensive fabrics. Lucky me, I get the leftover fabrics  : – )

I started researching Elizabethan era clothing, And was astounded to learn all kinds of interesting information and many new and strange words (That I will probably never get the chance to use again..) like Spanish Farthingale and Bumroll. Did you know that the women wore up to 7 layers of clothes? and that the sleeves were not sewn to the gown? And that the women could mix and match the sleeves to the Forepart that shows through the overskirt?

I found it fascinating!

Here is a good place to read about Elizabethan Era clothing : http://www.elizabethancostume.net/order.html

I started by making the queen’s underwear from beautifully embroidered tulle. I made the Partlet with a full gather around the neck, to resemble a Ruff.

I was very curious to see if I could design an Elizabethan gown. I decided to jump right in and make a gown for the half finished doll.

I was delighted that my first try went so well! And Maya, my daughter’s doll, got a new outfit : – ) The girls were happy!

At this point I kind of delved into the project and forgot to take photographs of the process, so i will just show you final product..

This is her Kirtle. It is made of luxurious silk blend fabrics. It is completely reversible.

The gown is made of two parts. The bodice is heart shaped and is made like a Corset, with boning.

I love the way it ties at the back, over the Overskirt and Kirtle. Too bad that that part is always hidden by her hair :

Next came the crown, crocheted in gold embroidery thread and adorned with fresh pearls:

I embroidered fabric to make her these cute Slippers, tied with ribbon. Here is a peek under her gown to see them :

In this photo you can also see the hearts I embroidered all around the Overskirt hem in gold embroidery thread. It took me forever!

Her hair is rolled up using “Rats”:

And all these clothes on, together, with her jewelry, necklaces and girdle belt:

Isn’t she a cutie?

When she was finished, I suddenly remembered a possible source of inspiration for this doll, that had slipped my mind – my Grandmothers old Card Table.

When I took a closer look at it, I saw that it depicted a beautiful Queen of Hearts..

The Exhibition starts tomorrow, wish me luck!

Aren’t they just so pretty?

I will show you how to make a small bag or tote that can be a doll’s tote or used for storing small items in the home. for example, you could hang it on the bathroom wall full of fragrant potpourri!

This project is so easy, simply anyone can do it!

All you will need is two vintage embroidered Napkins and 40 cm (16 inches) of ribbon for handles.

Cut two 20cm (8inch) long pieces of ribbon.

Mark the top edge of the napkin, where you will sew the ribbon to create the handles. If you will divide the width of the napkin to three equal parts and mark with pins, the two pins will be exactly where to sew the ribbon.

Sew one end of the ribbon on the inside of the first napkin, make sure the ribbon is not twisted, and sew the other end of the ribbon.

Now do the same for the other napkin, with the other piece of ribbon.

Now, the last part!

Place the napkins one on top of the other, with the WRONG SIDES FACING! That is, the pretty embroidery should be on the OUTSIDE – As seen in the photo above.

Sew from the top, joining the side, continue and sew along the bottom, and then up the other side. (If you are using a sewing machine, Don’t forget to do a little back and forward at the beginning and the end of the seam).

And you’re done! You don’t even need to turn inside out!

Thanks to email and digital photography, I can work together with a child in a far away land, to make her or him a custom doll.

Before starting work, I like to see photographs of the person the doll is being made for. Or even meet that person in person, if possible! That helps me fine tune the doll to capture something of it’s future owners essence and gives me inspiration for my work.

Then we start communicating, and deciding on the doll’s features.

First we decide on skin color, hair color and length, eye and mouth color, etc.

After that we start working on the clothes. First to decide what kind of clothes the child wants, new or vintage fabrics, floral or geometric patterns, etc.

Then  I photograph my fabrics, send a few photos with several options.

In this case she chose a vintage floral fabric for a dress.

Then we choose matching yarn for the sweater.

Here is the Cardigan in progress:

Then I add some embellishments:

If the child wishes, I mail photos showing the progress of the doll. It might be too creepy for  some children, but I think that it is also interesting for the child to see it’s friend being created and slowly bond with it.

Then it’s time for the shoes:

And some matching accessories:

When the doll is completed, I send photographs by email, and the doll goes into a box and shipped!

But not before she gets lots of hugs from my daughters before the jorney !

People have asked me what they are for. Well, they are just to make you happy! A nice little gift of love or a decoration for a glum corner in your house.

I have a chain of hearts hanging and twisting in the wind like a mobile.

Today I’ve made a whole bunch of hearts, that I add to the gift wrap of my items.
Just an extra little treat to my customers

And this is how I gift wrap all the items that are purchased at my Etsy shop:

The Front – closed. I like the way the flap turned out with the horizontal and vertical lines:

The Front – open, showing the two chest pockets from the jeans jacket!:

The back, with the square stitching from the jacket label:

The interior – Very roomy bag! plus a large button up pocket, using the shirt buttons, and two more pockets on the sides:

Side detail – Original pocket turned up:

I can’t believe it!

Talia Wanted a small doll, and I made her an 11inch doll (28cm). This smaller size is super cute, and I think it was an excellent choice. A perfect size for an older child. All the other features of the doll, like hair color and style, eye color, color of the clothes etc, were also made according to Talia’s request.

Because Talia is a little older, I thought she might be interested in seeing how her doll is made and follow my progress. I posted photos to my Flickr account, and you can look at the them, starting at this photo.

It was real fun making a doll for someone I can remember being her age…I felt like a child again, making clothes for my doll. Not having to worry about small parts, I was able to embroider the doll’s Shrug I knitted, with tiny amethysts.

When I make something for a specific person, I have that person’s spirit in mind and they are like a muse. Meeting Talia before I made her doll, I could imagine her gently changing her doll’s clothes before going to sleep, but not into pajamas, that won’t suit Talia. Talia’s doll should have something more “Jane Austen” in style, and so I came up with an idea to make a night dress from a vintage hand embroidered napkin. I have a collection of handmade linens, from which I chose a classic white on white cutwork piece.

In the next couple of days I will add a tutorial for making a doll’s nighty and head scarf from a vintage napkin or handkerchief.