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Granny Esme and Robert the woodsman have been sitting around waiting for me to finally finish the cat that was commissioned to go with them. I hadn't made a needle felted piece with wire inside before, so it was a bit more fiddly but I like the end result. The wire give much more structure and shape, and I think Pookie has turned out to be a fine looking black cat.




And Granny Esme thinks so too:


Now I can send them off to join Little Red and the wolf in Connecticut.

Robert the woodsman is finally finished. I made him a belt out of felt and a copper finding, added hair made from wool roving and made his axe from vintage wool and a scrap of shiny fabric:


Once I have finished needle felting the cat, I will take a group shot of them all together.

Granny's bonnet is made from vintage muslin:


She just needs some hair and footwear, and she is done:


Robert is now sporting a pair of tartan trews:


With suspenders, of course:


*Edit*
Just finished Granny - here she is with hair and fancy slippers:


And here is Granny Esme with the beginnings of a cat. The cat was commissioned as a tribute to Trina Schart Hyman.
She illustrated an edition of Little Red Riding Hood that has a little black cat as her companion throughout the book.


I wasn't sure whether to make the cat out of fabric or not, but decided to give it a go with needle felting. I built an armeture out of wire, wrapped the wool roving around it, then started needle felting it, so far so good.

Postcards on my desk:Heather Goodchild and Michael Sowa

I have so much fun making the clothes for the dolls. It's a process of trial and error and I am never sure how they will turn out. I used to make doll's clothes the same way when I was a child, so I get quite a nostalgic feeling when I am sewing. The fabric that I use is really important to me and helps me decide what to make.
For example, a piece of soft, vintage linen was perfect for Robert's work shirt and Granny Esme's underoo's, finished off with mother of pearl buttons of course. Robert is sitting with his pants on the ground ;) They will be made from a vintage tartan wool scarf - I am going for a Scottish gamekeeper style woodsman:


I used some wool roving to give them eyebrows and will also use it to make their hair at the very end. I couldn't resist making Robert's moustache - I don't think he will have a beard after all. I really like his little chin, makes him look charmingly Edwardian.


Granny Esme's skirt is made from a sweet piece of fabric that I bought with Claire at The Workroom when I was visiting Toronto. I have been waiting for the perfect project to use it and I think that this is it:


Some vintage muslin that I took from a 1940's apron makes a cute little apron and I will also use it to make Granny Esme a little bonnet. I also knitted up a little shawl, finished up with a vintage button.


Can you tell that I am having fun?
I have been listening to Joanna Newsom's new 3 cd album "Have One on Me" obsessively while sewing, and that is how Granny Esme got her name (the title of one of the tracks). And I thought that Robert was a fine, Scottish name.
I will finish Granny Esme's bonnet today then start working on the rest of Robert's outfit...stay tuned....

Postcard on my desk from the book Courtney by John Burningham