Pincushion Ladies........

“There are two kinds of people, those who love dolls and those who don't yet know that they love dolls." ―  Gayle Wray  

I became obsessed with the vintage porcelain "half dolls" last year when I was looking for pincushion ideas.........I found that, like many vintage items, they can be found without having to pay too dearly for them..........I found these on E-bay for a very good price but someone had painted them both....... 

 

It took me a few days but was finally able to remove the awful paint.......and found that the one on the left looks like what is called a "Bathing Beauty" half doll.  She actually has a black cap on her head and is wearing a yellow top.  The one on the right wears a Japanese print top......

 

So after removing the paint I worked on the Bathing Beauty half doll and made her a new dress........................

 

 

I haven't decided what kind of skirt to make for her friend yet.......she looks a bit like a flapper girl to me but like most of my projects.....her outfit will evolve as I work on it.............

 

here are a few photos of antique half dolls/ pincushions I have found on the internet.............aren't they lovely?

 

 

 

 

Soup Bowl Cozy! A Free Pattern!

“Anyone who tells a lie has not pure heart, and cannot make good soup.”   ― Ludwig van Beethoven 


I am a "sit on the sofa and eat my soup" type girl......and those soup bowls can get a little warm to the fingers!  I used to take a kitchen towel with me to wrap around the bowl......that is until I came across this wonderful free soup cozy pattern! (this size is more of a hot cereal size......)

 

You use 2 fabrics from a layer cake (10x10) and 2 10x10 pieces of batting for each cozy to make one large enough for a cereal bowl.  I found they were a little small for a soup bowl so I added an inch and a quarter to each layer cake square and that worked perfectly!  I apologize for my photos....they really don't show the difference in the sizes very well....the red fabric is the larger one

Here you can see the different sizes a little better.........they sew up in about 10 minutes!

 

Click here for a link to the free tutorial!