Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Baby Love


This is Baby LuLu and Baby Alfie. Both are very gentle and oh so child friendly... made of vintage table linens, which I quilted all cuddely, and then lovingly free-motion machine stitched all the details with dark brown thread.


I gifted baby Alfie to a friend who is expecting her first child, (a baby boy) next month, but here is a little info on him anyway:

Extreme pacifist...
Has yet to utter a word...


Can sit for hours, perfectly content, in a field of buttercups...
Very observant.

Baby LuLu is a bit sad now that Alfie has gone to live elsewhere, but hopefully she will be adopted soon. Here's a little bit about her...


Baby LuLu:

Likes ginger flavored zwieback...
hearing stories about Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt...


Sandboxes...
and trees, especially Oaks.


Baby LuLu is available in my Silly BooDilly Shop.

26 comments:

dutchcomfort said...

I’m amazed by the lovely creatures/ odd dolls you come up with and I love the descriptions almost even more. They make a smile a lot.

marysgranddaughter said...

I love baby LuLu! Such a beautiful doll with such a charming story.

Unknown said...

They just absolutely must be twins!! Very cute!

Lindsey said...

Sweet...great work...love the story as much as the doll!

Fer said...

So cool! Now, if I have a baby girl LuLu may just find a home!

gina said...

there you go again...making wonderful things & inspiring me - thank you :)

shellysquilts said...

V, Very sweet. They remind me a little bit of my two little angels (who are at school as I write this, Thank God. Isn't it funny how when they are at school they are angels and when they are at home, not so much.) Excellent work and as always you have made me smile. Have a fabulous day!

msalleycat said...

The way you draw with thread and your sewing machine continues to blow my mind! Do you pencil in your designs at all beforehand? How long does the stitching take you? Would you ever be teaching a class (that I'd love to take)?

Kel said...

WOW
WOW
WOW
These are SOOOOOOOO Amazing
CUTE!!!!

Victoria said...

Thanks for all the kind comments, I really appreciate them!

msalleycat... for these dolls, I have just been doing it "free-hand", no penciling in. (For something more exact, such as this piece called Invasion, I do first pencil the outline in).

It's hard to say how long it takes me, as I sometimes go from one to another, and also time sort of gets suspended when I am doing this. Time also depends on how much detail is added. I would guess for one of these dolls I probably spend about 1 hour just on the illustrating part, (that doesn't include the quilting, the cutting, the turning, the stuffing, the tiny hand stitches to close up the opening...) Also as I stitch different areas, I also am stopping, pulling the front threads to the back, cutting them, then going back and stitching the next detail, which adds to the time.

I have started keeping a sketchbook of ideas for dolls, and am starting to keep the sketch book open next to me as I am sewing for inspiration... I can pretty much look at the sketch and re-create it as I stitch.

I would love to teach a class on this someday, as I think the number one thing that holds people back is a bit of fear. Maybe if they could see someone doing it, it wouldn't be so scary! In the meantime, I would suggest just playing around and have fun practicing... once you get use to how to move the fabric, and how to control your speed, it goes pretty smoothly. That's how I started. It also helps if you like to draw!

Michelle Engel Bencsko said...

I'm beginning to think you make these just to see how silly in love I'll get with them. Well, it's working! You can your free-motion stitch drawing have won my heart over and over again- not to mention the absolutely poetic descriptions you give them. Love.

jacquie said...

you are on a roll, my friend. they get better every time i come. the personalities you create make them even more special.

Colleen MacDonald said...

Baby Lulu is just so sweet! I love her!

Stickers and Stuff said...

oh my, these are an adorable pair, your creativity is unstoppable!
I love the personalities you give them, they really do shine through and they look exactly like you describe them.

Jackie said...

Lovely and their stories are great.
x

Anonymous said...

Your dolls are fantastic....I can't stop looking at them...They are infused with such character....I have a strong feeling their creator is shining through! I am so uplifted...and inspired by the quality of your work, the humor....and the fact that you generously share so much with others....thank you.

Susan

Janis said...

Jacquie is right, the dolls are spectacular but the personality descriptions make them come alive. I'm sure Baby Lulu won't hang around the shop long!

Fabulous, inspiring work!

Hugs to Mo!

Fleur de Boheme said...

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for an award - it´s on my blog, can´t find out how to send a proper link, have to get my boyfriend to link you properly later!

Hope Mo is well?

Cheryl Arkison said...

I love this style of dolls. They are simply beautiful.

Manola C. said...

I love your work! Your style is very wonderful! ^^

Kim said...

Hey Victoria, I was just wondering how the Mo was? I do love your dolls, they have great personality!

Victoria said...

Such kind comments! Thank you everyone!

Kim, Mo is hanging in there, but things are getting more difficult for her... Some minor nose bleeds have started again, and breathing is very labored due to lots of congestion from the sinus tumor, which has gotten a bit larger and is starting to slightly distort her snout. A little bit of prednisone each day seems to help open up the airways, making it much easier for her. However she still seems happy... she barks and wags her tail and trots around the yard... we still just keep taking it day by day. Thanks for asking, :0)

Hey Harriet said...

Geez I'm away for a week and look at all I've missed! You're on fire! I'm loving all of these creations and as others have mentioned, the descriptions are just gorgeous!

Oh and 'Sam the Dog' has been very good. No misbehaving at all!

please sir said...

You are so talented - they just keep getting better!

Andi said...

These are so odd .... so quirky ..... and so amazingly adorable.
I love them and will definitely be attempting to copy them to give to friends' babies.
Thanks.
Andi :-)

Jaimee McClellan said...

They're adorable!
It's amazing, the control you have with free stitching. I really must try it.