Happy New Year! – Robyn’s Hogmanay Party Dress

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I wish all my visitors, their families and their dolls a wonderful 2013!

Back to the Hogmanay party, here is Robyn in her lovely little silver dress.

This lovely little party dress is based on Odile’s (of Passion Poupees) pattern for Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white dress. I adapted the bottom to make it a fitted slimline dress.

The yarn I used is Twilley’s Goldfingering in shade 05 (silver). And the hook size is Odile’s recommended size 3.00 mm which worked very well last time I made this dress.

I think that Robyn’s dress will impress everyone at the party!

Here is Robyn with Jeannie and Patricia at the party.

Tous Mes Meilleurs Voeux de Bonne et Heureuse Annee 2013!

Happy Hogmanay! – Patricia Arrives at the Party!

Bonjour, mes amies!

HAPPY HOGMANAY!!

Here is another Hogmanay party dress, this time for Patricia.

It is based on a really cute little dress by Odile at Passion Poupees. I’ve already made this pattern as it is supposed to be. Click here to see my yellow summery version, complete with summer hat.

But here is my party version. I used the same top and bottom as Odile’s pattern, but for the main body part I made a simple tube in a fuzzy DK yarn.

The glitter yarn is Anchor Artiste Metallic shade 312 (turquoise) and the fuzzy yarn is Woolcraft Brushed DK in shade 02 (cream).

I made the little shoes by following one of my favourite tutorials found here.

Patricia looks ready to party …

… and here she is with Jeannie. (The other little girls will join them soon.)

Hogmanay is the Scottish word used for the celebrations of New Year’s Eve (31 December).

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

Happy Hogmanay! – Jeannie is Ready to Party!

Bonjour, mes amies!

Well it’s Hogmanay tomorrow, so all the little girls are getting ready for their Hogmanay Party.

Here is the first of them – it’s Jeannie wearing a little cream dress with sparkly gold and copper frills.

This cute little dress is from the Sticka Till Barbie site. It is number 897 and the only adjustment I made was to use size 3.25 mm knitting needles and 4 ply yarn. It has worked out beautifully.

The yarn used is Jarol Baby Supersoft 4 Ply in shade 1813 (cream). The glitter frill is DMC Starlet in shade T143 (copper/golds).

I think Jeannie will cause quite a stir at the party as she looks really cute in this dress.

Bonsoir, à bientôt …

Fabulous Fairisle (6) – Shona Completes the Group

Bonjour, mes amies!

At last, I am done! Here is Shona in her cute dress based on the Tunique d’Abigail pattern by Sylvie at Poupeesdesyl.

Shona’s dress is made with Sirdar Crofter DK Fair Isle Effect in shade 56 (Hedgerow). I used size 3 mm knitting needles and I am very proud of this dress.

I changed the bottom to have two tiers and amended the top to be garter stitch and off the shoulder.

I think Shona looks lovely in this dress, despite her messy hair. Shona does not care about her hair and leaves it unbrushed a lot!

And once again here are all are all my lovely little girls in their Tuniques d’Abigail.

Left to right we have Jeannie, Annie, Robyn, Shona, Carole and Patricia.

Phew!

Passez une excellente journée, à bientôt …

Fabulous Fairisle (5) – Robyn’s Cute Top

Bonjour, mes amies!

Here we are – Robyn’s first garment is a little top based on Sylvie’s great pattern Tunique d’Abigail on her Poupeesdesyl site.

This is now the fifth time I have made this pattern and I have adjusted it slightly each time. For Robyn it is a little top and I have changed the bottom to have two tiers. The shoulders and top of the tunic are exactly as Sylvie’s pattern.

I used Sirdar Snuggly Baby Crofter DK in shade 171 (Lucie). At least I think it is this shade – I bought it cheaply from my local shop with a handmade label saying it was Baby Crofter DK and no other information!

Robyn is wearing her own skirt and boots. I love her freckles!

And finally, here are all five of my lovely little girls wearing their coordinating Tuniques d’Abigail!

From left to right we have Jeannie, Robyn, Annie, Carole and Patricia.

Don’t they look lovely together … But wait! Someone is missing!! Where is poor Shona? She does not have the coordinating outfit yet. Poor little girl, I hope she is not too jealous.

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …

Fabulous Fairisle (4) – Carole’s First Dress

Bonjour, mes amies!

Festive Felicitations! I hope you are all enjoying the Xmas holiday and that Santa was good to you.

I am continuing my tradition of trying to knit every one of my Les Cheries the cute little dress (Abigail’s Tunic) by Sylvie of Poupeesdesyl. Each time I am using the speckled yarn Crofter DK by Sirdar. And here is Carole in her first new dress.

This time I have used the baby version, which is Sirdar Snuggly Crofter Baby DK in shade 161 (Maisie). This is a very bright and cheerful coloured yarn and has produced a lovely effect for the dress.

I have lengthened the pattern to make it a dress and have made the neckline two rows less. (I am trying to make each version slightly different.)

Carole looks lovely in this dress and she is wearing her own shoes.

Here is a picture of her with my Xmas tree.

And a couple with Jeannie to whom she bears a remarkable resemblance 😉

Passez une excellente journée, à bientôt …

Father Christmas Was Good to Me – Two New Arrivals!!!

Bonjour, mes amies!

Happy Boxing Day!

Yesterday Santa brought me two new little girls. My husband gave me Carole and my mum gave me Robyn. I tried to come up with two festive names for the season – and Holly had already been taken by one of my cats!

Carole arrived first thing in the morning with the rest of my presents.

This photo features the aforementioned Holly meeting Carole for the first time…

… meeting my other little girls for the first time …

… and here they all are playing in the mess of wrapping paper generated by my family.

And I collected Robyn later in the day when we all went through to my Mum’s for Christmas dinner. Here she is beside my mother’s nativity scene.

And now both of them together in front of my Xmas tree. Aren’t they lovely?

Robyn is my first redhead and she is named for the cute little garden bird with the red breast that is such an iconic symbol of winter. Carole’s name is obviously after a carol song and also an old close friend of mine. Carole is the doll I thought I had bought when I accidentally managed to buy two Camilles last week. I was so pleased and surprised that my husband chose this one for me.

I’m on holiday now so I should manage to come up with new outfits for them soon. I must go and choose some yarn and a pattern or two …

I’ll keep you posted!

Happy Boxing Day!!! À bientôt …

Merry Christmas Everyone! – Jeannie’s Sparkling Gold Trim

Joyeux Noel, mes amies!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here is the last Xmas outfit for my little family of Les Cheries. Jeannie is wearing a beautiful outfit by Odile at Passion Poupees. This features a simple long sleeved dress, trimmed with some sparkly variegated yarn in shades of gold.

I think you will agree this is a very sophisticated look for Jeannie.

The cream yarn is Sirdar Countrystyle DK in shade 917 (cream). The contrast yarn is DMC Starlet in shade T143 (coppers/gold). Having crocheted with a thicker yarn than recommended, I found that the use of a size 3.5 mm crochet hook meant the dress was a perfect fit!

The Xmas party look is completed by a lovely gilet with a gorgeous flower in the middle of the back. I used a different yarn for this – Woolcraft Brushed DK in shade 02 (cream). This is a fluffy yarn which has a nice effect. I used the same gold contrast yarn for the gilet and it took me a few attempts to get this right. I used a size 3.5mm hook for the gilet too.

And here are all my lovely Les Cheries together in front of my xmas tree.

Festive Felicitations and a very Merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas Eve! – Shona’s Lovely Xmas Tunic

Bonjour, mes amies!

Here is Shona in her lovely new dress. This is made from a pattern by Esyram (at Dans le Pupitre d’Esyram) which is designed for the Boneka dolls.

I have no idea what size these dolls are, but I know they are smaller than les Cheries, so I increased the needle size to 3.00 mm and hoped for the best. Surprisingly it fits very well, although as I was knitting it, I wasn’t sure if it would turn out as a dress or a tunic!

I think using the colours red and white give the outfit a festive air and I am very pleased with the way this dress looks.

Of course, the most obvious way to make the outfit look festive is to add a Santa hat!

Shona’s hat comes courtesy of Marie at Les Voyages de Capucine. A simple and effective pattern that creates a very cute hat.

I used the yarn, Stylecraft Life 4 ply, shade 2306 (Cardinal) and some old white 4 ply from my stash.

I think Shona looks like she is ready to join Patricia and Annie for Christmas.

And without the flash …

Bonsoir, à bientôt …

Still Counting Down to Xmas – Annie Joins the Party!

Bonjour, mes amies!

So here is another Xmas outfit for my Les Cheries. This time it is Annie who is wearing the lovely new outfit.

This pattern comes from the Sticka Till Barbie site and is pattern number 169. I was amazed that I did not need to adjust this pattern at all for it to fit the Les Cheries dolls. All I had to do was use size 3.25mm knitting needles and double knitting yarn (DK). This has opened up a whole new world of potential patterns and I have made a very lengthy list of other patterns I would now like to make (not enough time in my days!)

I used the same red yarn as for Patricia’s dress yesterday – King Cole Big Value DK in shade 09 (red) and for the contrast this time I used Sirdar Snuggly Snowflake DK in shade 630 (white). This gives a lovely fuzzy effect which really suits the festive theme.

The dress has a nice lace pattern in the skirt and is beautifully fitted.

I made the same boots as yesterday, but with the new contrast yarn. I made them slightly longer this time and increased my needle size to 3.25 mm for the last 6 rows to widen it enough to fit neatly over her calves. This super pattern comes from Marie at Les Voyages de Capucine.

And here is Annie with Patricia in their festive outfits. Although these dolls are the same, I am convinced that Annie’s skin tone is slightly warmer as if she has a slight tan. Annie is the Camille Horse Rider doll and her fringe is very flat (from being under the riding hat!)

Here is a back view of the dolls and I hope you are impressed by their hair styles. They were both done by my daughter ‘Katie’. I think she has made a fabulous job.

And here they are enjoying their Xmas tree.

And without the flash …

Passez une bonne journée, à bientôt …