Saturday, December 28, 2024

There once was a dolly named Dolly, who lived in a cute, little cottage...........


Hello lovely lovelies♡ Christmas has shone it's light brightly and twinkled away, fading for yet another year. It's been busy, busy, busy here at the bottom of the world, with both frantically finishing Christmas gifts, and entertaining my sweet Riley and her mummy and daddy. 'Twas such a joy to spend precious days with Riley, my daughter and son-in-law. Truly, it was the most precious Christmas gift. But goodness me, this caper they call granny-ing is for a younger age, me thinks. =) I'm exhausted, but oh so contented.

 I hope you had a lovely Christmas day celebrating with your loved ones. For some it would've been a difficult time. The festive season can be bittersweet can it not?? As we age and grow older and our loved ones pass from our little world, it seems to me ambivalent and conflicted emotions, both sorrow and joy, sit on our shoulders concurrently, to-ing and fro-ing. It's never easy. 


There was much joy in our little home this Christmastime


For weeks before Christmas I locked myself away in my sewing room and stitched away on Riley's dolly and the fabric cottage. But oh my, even though I started this pretty many, many weeks before, it still came down to the wire when finishing for the big day. There was soooo much tiny intricate stitching to be done. Dolly is only six inches tall and it took seven hours to create her alone. Then there were the clothes to be fashioned. Oh dear, the tiny armholes, the waist and the hems of the pants.......goodness, they all took an age. So finicky. So time consuming.

But, the architects and builders, and designers and decorators have picked up their tools and have waved goodbye to Dolly wishing her fun, fun, fun in her new cute, little cottage.

And what a cute little cottage it is. The walls of each room are prettily patterned, and coordinated furniture, furnishings and tchtochkes abound; all the pretties that make a home....home. Dolly has all the comforts of home. It is a wee cottage though, with only four rooms. But to Dolly, it is her Goldilocks home.....just right.

Inside the walls of the cute, little cottage there is an oh-so-comfy bed covered with a pretty hexie quilt and a pillow to rest Dolly's weary head after an exhausting day. A wardrobe too, bursting with pretty garments....pyjamas, blouses, pants, dresses....and there's even a knitted little sleeveless sweater. Dolly is known around town as a fashionista so she likes to keep abreast of fashion trends. There's a pretty lamp to cast light upon Dolly when she snuggles down in bed and escapes within the pages of a book. A teddy bear, too. Oh look, there's a kitty snoozing happily in the sunny window.

Across the way there's a bathroom with a clawfoot bath in which Dolly can soak, relaxing; putting at rest her concerns for another day. There's a toilet. Well, every bathroom has to....just has to have a throne......a vanity and a mirror. There's a washing basket that can be filled with clothes waiting to be washed in the washing machine. An ironing board and iron are always ready to be put into action because Dolly rather loves to iron. She is that dolly who loves all her pretties to be neatly pressed.


Downstairs there is a kitchen where Dolly loves to cook up a gastronomical storm in her oven for her friends. She loves to bake. There always seems to be yummy cakes as there is many a visitor popping in to spend time with Dolly in her cosy home. I mean.....just look at those cakes in the fridge! It makes me want to rat-a-tat-tat on that pretty front door. Some chocolate cake smothered in chocolate frosting would go down very well, right about now. But then, there's strawberry pie, too. Oh, what the heck, Dolly and I can enjoy a slice or two of each cake; can't we?? Oh, may I have a glass of icy, cold milk with my cakes, please, Dolly??

Dolly has decorated her kitchen with pretty plates, teacups, a clock......as Dolly can lose track of time while cooking up a storm. And, as she washes the dishes she can look out her window to the view beyond.

And, after all the baking and tidying up of her pretty kitchen is done, Dolly can collapse on her pretty blue sofa and squishy, squashy cushions and read a book with the sunshine beaming through the prettily curtained window. Dolly does love a good read. Of course, on the coffee table nearby there's a teapot filled with English Breakfast tea to enjoy in a pretty teacup. When it came to purchasing the perfect dining setting, Dolly went all out and splurged on a Saarinen, Tulip table and chairs. After all, nothing but the best will do. She's glad she spent the big bucks as the suite does rather 'maketh' the room. Oh...and there's a tulip armchair, too. Nothing but the best for our Dolly.



But....there's one glaring omission though. Can you spot it?? There's no garden!! What??!! Really??!! Not one single flower sashaying in the breeze. "How can that be", I hear you ask. I mean, I'm the flower lady who overdoses on all things flowers; right?? There was always the intention to have both a front and back garden blossoming with many a flower, but I just ran out of time. I don't think Dolly will mind though, as she would much prefer to whip up gastronomical delights in her kitchen, or laze around on her comfy sofa reading a good book or two, rather than weeding in a garden.

I enjoyed designing, problem solving and stitching Dolly and her cosy cottage. Would I fashion another? Probably not. =) As there weren't any patterns I made it up as I went along. At times, it took a lot of time throughout the process to figure out how I could accomplish what I envisaged. Everything is so tiny. Dolly is only six inches long and she took an age to make. Seven hours....and yes I was counting. =) Turning the arms and legs inside out created a bit of angst and stuffing these components were a nightmare. Then there were the clothes which  were a pain. Ordinarily one would think one could whip up a collection of garments quickly. Not so. Being so tiny there were a lot of bumps along the garment making road. But, I persisted, and I must say Dolly's sweet garments do make me smile. Stitching the miniscule details.....the teapot, cups, plates, books etc etc took an age, too. The sewing machine dawdled, the needle barely moving as I navigated around each item. There is so much detail in the little cottage which took oodles of time to complete. A friend, when seeing Dolly and her little cottage said "oh, you should really sell these". Of course I replied with a resounding "Nooooooooooo". There is not enough money to induce me to fashion another. One dolly and her sweet, little cottage is quite enough for my lifetime.=)

But, Riley loved it, though I don't suppose the enjoyment of playing with Dolly and her little cottage for hours will come until she is a little older. I wanted to create something special that she would enjoy when she's able to sit by herself and escape and have fun with Dolly; dressing her, putting her to bed etc etc. Riley has so many toys to play with at the moment that I wanted to make something that will last the length of time and which was a little different from gifts purchased from a shop. A fun pretty which she can sit for hours and play 'lets pretend' with Dolly.


Dolly and I are wishing you, lovely lovelies, a beautiful day♡ Thank you, lovely lovelies for all the times throughout this year you have stopped by my little place and blessed my day with your beautiful words♡ 'Tis always a joy when you visit ♡ A blessed New Year to you♡

See you next year. I wonder what the new year will bring with it?? I'd bet my bottom dollar it will be an interesting one.

Until the next time......




Linking this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching because, with hand on my heart, I very slowly  stitched, from dawn to dusk, on many a December Sunday. =)
Linking also to Frédérique's Quilting, Patchwork, Applique.

36 comments:

  1. Oh Kim ! What a beautiful little house for Dolly/Riley !
    So much creativity and talent ! Bravo !
    Glad you had the best time with your family for Christmas !
    Wish you and your family all the best for 2025 !
    Hug
    Anna

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  2. This is such a delightful house and dolly! Riley will have a lot of fun with this little doll and you had a lot of fun designing and making it. Happy stitching and Happy New Year!

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  3. What a lovely and heartfelt reflection on the holidays! It sounds like a truly special Christmas with your family and all the care you put into creating Riley's dolly and cottage. I hope the new year brings even more joy and treasured moments. I invite you to read my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2024/12/the-dark-side-of-tipping-culture-when-entitlement-turns-deadly.html.

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  4. Lots of fiddly bits in Dolly’s cottage but oh so worth all that effort! All those little details are filled with granny’s love for her little granddaughter! There will be endless hours of imaginative adventures for Dolly and Riley! Well done Kim! So nice to have your daughter, son in law and Riley there for Christmas! I agree with you…one cottage is enough! Happy new Year! Gail at the cozy quilter.

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  5. What a wonderful little playhouse and Dolly for your Granddaughter; beautiful work on this;))) She will have such fun using her imagination to play with dolly and her house..
    I hope your New Year will be a healthy and happy one hugs, Julierose

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  6. So good to hear you enjoyed the Christmas time with your family. Oh this is so special Kim your granddaughter is going to treasure this for years to come. I hope she passes it down to her daughter. Wishing you a wonderful New Year!

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  7. I must say I have to beg to differ over the fact that you think you didn't include flowers. Of course you did! Just look at the little pieces of fabric that featured flowers that you used throughout. See? You DID include flowers!!
    Coming from one who has made four of these type of little books, I know what you mean about them being extremely time-consuming, and about the resounding 'NO!!!' when told you should make them to sell. I had such fun making them but won't be repeating the process anytime soon. Same thing for all the pretend foods I made out of felt, a blast to make but oh so time consuming. It does my grandma-heart good to see them getting lots of play though so it was worth the doing.
    Happy 2025 to you and yours Kim!

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  8. Dear Kim, you have certainly created a treasure for little Riley with Dolly and her pretty cottage. And to think that it was all done from your imagination, without a pattern! Well done indeed.

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  9. I am absolutely in love with all the dainty details of the doll house. It will be so loved! No surprise that it is detailed, I dub you Queen of the "little details". Your blog blossoms with it.

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  10. Cuantos detalles y cuanto cariño hay entre ésas innumerables puntadas,
    FELICIDADES POR TAN HERMOSO REGALO.
    FELIZ AÑO NUEVO Y BESICOS.

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  11. Make them to sell?!!! They'd cost as much as a real house, with all the time, effort and detail you have gone to. No store bought toy will be a memorable or treasured as one made, with love, by her grandmother! Happy 2025 to you and your loving family!

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  12. Such a lot of work Kim but oh so lovely and worth it for your Riley. Glad you had such a lovely Christmas. xx

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  13. Such a wonderful labor of love! It's a toy she'll love till she reaches her tweens.

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  14. Oh my goodness, Kim! What a project! So many fun details to look at - I wish I could play with Dolly and her sweet little cottage myself. So glad to hear you were able to have the family for Christmas and enjoy time with little Riley!

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  15. such intricate work! I do hope this will be treasured by the little one. It looks difficult to have made - have not heard much from you this year and I can see this took a bit of your time!

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  16. What an adorable Dolly and her little house. Riley will enjoy these for many years to come. It is ingenious Kim, and so much detail. Love it all! Happy 2025 to you and your family!

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  17. Dear Kim, What an amazing gift for Riley! So much work, attention to detail and so special with all the pieces. A true work of art and absolutely wonderful. Just imagine all the hours she will be able to enjoy this gift and play to her heart’s content! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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  18. Riley is the luckiest granddaughter in the world to have picked you as her granny. She will have more hours of fun playing with Dolly than the hours it took you to fashion this beautiful creation. You'd best start now thinking about how to top this one. Happy New Year, Kim.
    Pat

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  19. How totally sweet. What a wonderful time she will have dressing and playing with her little girl...and totally darling home. Labors of love are the BEST! Sandi

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  20. OMG, you had WAY too much fun putting together Dolly and that house! It is adorable!

    Merry Christmas. :-)

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  21. Oh My goodness Kim ... I think I might like my very own Dolly to play with in her little house or better yet I think I might like to BE DOLLY & get to sleep in that bed under that hexie quilt. You have outdone yourself & Yes I can well see all the hours & hours of work involved in such a project. How stunning - I'll bet Riley was delighted with it !! How amazing you are Kim! xx (ps yes being a Granny is VeRy tiring I agree)

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  22. Hi Kim
    Love the little cottage, such detail. Love all the little clothes. Such fun for Riley.
    Can see why you don’t want to make another, but such a wonderful idea.
    Best wishes for a happy healthy new year.
    Kay cxx


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    1. Thank you, lovely Kay. One little cottage and a sweet Dolly is enough for me, me thinks. =) I must say I love all the little clothes. Riley will have fun dressing Dolly. Thank you for all the beautiful visits you made to my little place during 2024. And of course, your beautiful words each time. You always put a smile into my day. Best wishes to you, too, during 2025. May it be a happy and healthy one. Kim Xx

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  23. Hi Kim, what an amazing project! Making it that tiny is much harder and fussier. I'm sure the Riley will get hours of fun as she grows up. Happy New Year!

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  24. Okay, that is just too cute and the amount of detail is just phenomenal! Okay maybe not a garden but could some flower trim or a strip of printed flowers be appliqued onto the front of it even now? I agree with you, what's a cottage without a garden? Riley is going to treasure this forever, well done!!

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  25. Dolly and her cottage are the sweetest gift. So many lovely details wrapped in beauty.
    A very Happy New Year to you, Kim.

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  26. Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine the time and work that went into "Dolly" and her beautiful little home. All of your stitching is just perfect. What a very special and unique project. You deserve some kind of an award. All of it is beautiful.

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    1. Thank you so much, for your beautiful words. It was award enough to see my sweet Riley's face when she opened her little house with Dolly inside. =) Kim Xx

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  27. Oh my, what a wonderful gift for Riley. I don't think I would have the patience to make that kind of item. It is fantastic! I love the little clothes. I totally agree with the assessment that grandparenting is for a younger age. We just returned from a 4 day visit with our granddaughter, daughter and son-in-law and I am tired. Wishing you and your family a Happy New Year.

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  28. I'm glad you had such a lovely Christmas with your family, Kim. Your Riley is very lucky little girl. I don't know how you ever managed to find time to make that fabulous book. It really is a life's work and will give her years of joy. I wish you all the happiest of Happy New Years! xxx

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  29. Oh, Kim, I just love Dolly and her little cottage. What a joy! Your design choices are spectacular. I'm so glad you did close up pictures of each outfit and each room. Those of us who are sewers understand completely how incredible all your work and all the designing is. And to think you finished it all - amazing. Too many times I have the ideas and then don't follow through. My favorite outfits are the pjs - bees buzzing around all the blooms. Then the outfit in red for a fun time in the garden or out on the town. I went back and looked at the pictures and thought...I like this especially and this especially and this especially, etc., etc., too many to list. I loved the tulip chair and the ric rac clothesline. Riley will have the best time ever playing with her Dolly and cottage. Enjoy, enjoy, Kim, they grow up so quickly.

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  30. What wonderful and treasured gift... Unique and precious artwork! Made me smile... Absolutely adorable! I am glad you had a wonderful Christmas with your Family. Happy New Year my dear friend. Blessings.

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  31. Thank you, lovely Maristella. And Happy New Year to you, too. May the new year be a blessed one. Kim Xx

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  32. Dear Sarah, first and foremost, a happy, healthy 2025 for you and your loved ones. I'm also looking forward to this blog year... it's interesting to see what everyone is doing around our world... what good is being done.
    Your dollhouse is fantastic... I can imagine your little Riley with her happy childish eyes...
    best wishes and a hug for you from Viola

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  33. Oh my gosh Dolly and her house are stunning!! You are a marvel Kim, such a beautiful gift. Happy New Year to you.

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