Something New for Spring - Mohair Bunny

I've been trying to come up with something new for spring, and while going through my fabrics, I found this vintage mohair fabric. I bought it several years ago at a thrift store, but never made anything from it. I decided it was time to put it to use and make a little bunny rabbit.

My little bunny is inspired by antique Steiff rabbits and the little baby rabbits we took in a few years ago.

I tried making one with an under-body gusset, but that didn't turn out right, so I went with a simpler, two-sided pattern.


The body is made from a vintage mohair (upholstery quality) and the ears are made from recycled wool. The carrot is a vintage crushed velvet scrap and wool. And the big clover leaf is made from wool felt.

I've listed this one at Honeysuckle Lane, and hope to have more ready for the Early Work Mercantile update. 

Spring will be here before you know it! And I'm ready! How about you? :)

Blessings,
Lana

Quilting - Nine Patch Rearranged - Finished!

Remember when I posted nearly a year ago about making a quilt? I had actually started it earlier that year in February, because my oldest son's birthday was February 21st. I got over-whelmed and side-tracked and never finished it... until today... 1 year and 3 days late.

I really, really would have loved to hand-quilt it, but that just wasn't going to happen --- not on a king size quilt! And then I really would have loved to machine quilt it, but again, that's wasn't going to happen either --- not with my little Pfaff Hobby 750. It's a workhorse alright, but a pony kind of workhorse, not a Clydesdale workhorse!

The pieced top ended up being about 108" square. I don't know how I came to determine that size. I think it just happened. I really didn't think it through, other than near the end when I realized I couldn't make it larger than the batting I had on hand. I was going to take off one row so it would be a rectangle instead of a square, but my husband didn't want me to do that, saying that if it was him he would rather have a quilt too big than to small. Okay. :)

In getting ready to tie the quilt, first I had to sandwich together: the pieced backing, the Warm & Natural cotton batting, and the pieced top, and then pin baste them on the living room floor, which was nearly impossible without the help of my husband and daughter!

Then I moved it to the dining table, rolling it up as needed, and hand tied it at intervals.

Last year I found the dog fabric and the camera fabric, which I thought would be something my son would like. He has a German Shepherd and a Yorkie, and he is a very good photographer. He also likes Doctor Who, so when I found that fabric later, I had to add it to the collection. The other fabrics were prints and colors that I thought would work well in this patchwork design. I wanted it to be full of patterns and have varied colors in the black, gray, brown, and tan range.

I chose three different polka dots for the backing. These were also used on the front. One of the polka dots was used for the binding, too. I had to make 444" of double fold binding!

Once the binding was made, I lined it up with the front and began sewing it on. Notice that the batting and backing were trimmed with an inch or so of excess. This will be removed later.

I am so glad I bought an even feed walking foot... it made such a huge difference when sewing thick layers!

Once all the binding was sewn on, I trimmed the batting and backing even with the binding.

And now for my favorite part... hand-stitching the binding!

Fold the binding over to the back and hand-stitch with a blind-stitch all the way around.

Add a label to the back and it's finished!!! Yay!!! :)

Now I'm ready to begin a quilt for my youngest son, whose birthday is next month. :)

Blessings,
Lana

Charity ~ My Latest Queen Anne Doll

I got so busy working on a quilt I started over a year ago that I forgot all about sharing Charity with you!

She has a paper hat and her dress is made from antique linen and several pieces of antique lace.

You can read all the details in my Honeysuckle Lane shop.

I'll be back in a few days to finally share my finished quilt! :)

Blessings,
Lana

Clara ~~~

Clara is the third doll in this collection.

Clara is a Queen Anne style doll, inspired by those of the 18th and 19th centuries.
I have hand-sculpted and painted her head, shoulders, and hands.

All of her clothing is hand-sewn. The dress is antique linen with an antique lace overlay. It is trimmed with vintage gathered seam binding ribbon.

Her bonnet is made from aged parchment paper that has been printed with an antique letter. The paper bonnet rests lightly on her head.

If you are interested in having Clara or her friends come live with you, she can be found at Honeysuckle Lane.

Thanks for visiting!
Lana

'Lizbeth ~~~

It took a while, but 'Lizbeth has now joined Cecilia in the shop!

I have hand-sculpted and painted her head, shoulders, and hands. All of her clothing is hand-sewn. The dress is antique linen with an antique dotted gauze overlay. It is trimmed with antique cotton lace. Her bonnet is made from an antique embroidered cotton cuff.

A little linen strawberry hangs from her dress... perhaps it is a strawberry shaped drawstring bag, or maybe a strawberry pincushion.

I'm thinking I may take a few dolls to the Lavender Festival this year... perhaps they can each carry a paper basket filled with dried lavender!

Have a blessed week,
Lana

Meet Cecilia ~~~

After a bit of fiddling and fussing, I finally got Cecilia dressed and ready to make her debut!

I think the antique laces look lovely with the antique velvet...

and the little cameo is just the right size for her accessory!

If you are interested in her, Cecilia is available for immediate purchase in my Honeysuckle Lane shop.

It's back to work for me... I have three more ladies waiting to be dressed and accessorized! :)

Blessings,
Lana

Doll Update

I thought I'd share a few more photos of the dolls in-progress. Actually it's pretty much one doll in-progress. For some reason, I am so slow at it this time.

I got ready to dress them and started looking through my stash of antique fabrics... all white... pretty, lacy, creamy, white fabrics...

And then I pulled out one lone piece of gorgeous, antique, striped velvet...

It was the perfect size for a skirt, and then I found an old velvet ribbon... just the right width for the bodice.

And now I have one doll nearly finished.

I plan on making white dresses for the remaining three dolls...
we'll see.... ;)

Come back tomorrow evening. I hope to have all of them finished then!

Take care and God bless,
Lana

Soon to Be a Queen...

I know I switch around a lot... from jewelry to paper crafts to painting to punch needle and now to doll making. I just enjoy so many things!

Once every few years I make a few dolls and Queen Anne dolls are quite often my inspiration. I currently have four Queen Anne pincushion dolls in the making and I hope to have them ready by the weekend.

I usually start by looking at my doll reference books or at online photos of antique dolls. I make a few quick sketches just to have an idea of the size they will be and hopefully to get the proportions close to what I have in mind.

This was part of last night's conversation:
"What's in the oven?"
"Body parts. You can put your pizza in there when my timer goes off."
"Uhhhh.... o....k....."

They don't look like much, but hopefully once painted and clothing is made, they will start to look like queens... Queen Anne dolls!

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings,
Lana