Tiny and Then More Tiny

There is something in me that loves tiny. I'm not sure what exactly in my history leads me to be drawn to the minuscule but it never fails to attract me. I have a collection of tiny German paper mache animals that I just love, I also have a thing for teeny little tea sets, and then of course there are dolls. I have always loved dollhouse sized dolls and I'm pretty sure that's why I love to make them ...duh right? But also, every time I design a new doll , I get it finished and start thinking of ways I can make it smaller. And that's what I've done with my gnomeling dolls. So let me introduce you to my newest creation...a tiny Gnomeling...a Gnomelette!

And here's the Gnomelette with a Gnomeling for comparison...

You can find the new doll in my shop ... more soon!

A Vacation State of Mind...

There were no blog posts from the Nest last week because I was away on Vacation! This is a practically unheard of occurrence for me, we rarely go away for more then a weekend, but this was an entire week away without TV, internet, offspring, or even pets! My husband and I went to a lovely cabin in the beautiful mountains of Floyd, VA and had a wonderful relaxing time. So today I thought I'd share a few photos...

Of course there were fabulous views...

I have never seen so many butterflies!

And Blackberries everywhere! We brought home a bunch...jam making will commence...

If you see a magical path through the woods, of course you should see where it goes!

It may lead to a quiet spot for resting.

And with all that free time, I even finished my sock!

Alice at Last!

Today is reveal day for the 2nd Annual ADO blog event...Hurray! The challenge this year was to make a character from "Alice in Wonderland" and if you are a regular reader of my blog, you know what an Alice fan I am! This was a challenge I couldn't refuse. I did reveal a few WIP pictures of my Alice in earlier posts here and here , but now it's time to see the complete finished product... so Viola!







My Alice has cloth skin over cloth and wire armature, painted shoes, Lots of pintucks in her clothes, and mohair curls. Chessie is made from a felted sweater and has an embroidered face.
So what do you think?
This Alice has been sold, but I'm planning a dark version later this month so keep watching to see how she progresses. I also have plans for a White Queen, but for the moment she's still "percolating" in my head.

On July 9th you can click this link and find a list of participants in the blog challenge. Go take a peek at some of their wonderful dolls...you'll be amazed at what you find...just don't fall down a rabbit hole!

A Bit of This and Some of That

I had several dolls languishing in the shop that I decided needed new photos so with the lovely weather we had yesterday I got to work. First I took a few bunny shots and I thought this one was especially cute...note the "what's up?" look...


I also finally added this little crocheted bunny sweater to the shop..next I want to design some knitted ones...if I ever finish my socks! :P


Then some nice pictures of a tiny purple pixie. These are so much better at showing off her pretty dress...


And lastly a few of Calida with some funny props.


Then, with chili peppers on my mind, I went and made a treasury in honor of my husband and boys, who never sit down to a meal...even breakfast...without an assortment of hot sauces. Go take a peek and see what you think!

East of the Sun, West of the Moon

For the longest time I've wanted to make an East of the Sun West of the Moon set of dolls. It's always been one of my favorite fairy tales, right at the top of the list with "The White Snake", but that's another post. I thought about this for a long time...probably over thought it which is my normal working mode. The bear wasn't the problem...well considering I'm a novice needle felter he wasn't exactly easy but at least I knew what he needed to look like. It was the girl who was the issue. I love the Dulac illustrations but I knew that wasn't my style and I just couldn't see how she should look. Then I did a bit of research and found that the story is Scandinavian in origin, and that's when it clicked for me. I could see her in my head perfectly! Don't you love when that happens? Sometimes an idea just has to percolate! So here they are...

You can see more photos of them here. What do you think, did I get it right?

WIP Wednesday

Lots of tiny shoes waiting for tiny feet...


And lots of Storybook dolls on the table!

Can you guess who they are?

Confessions of a Fiber Addict

Hello my name is Cynthia and I am a fiber addict. It's true; to me the lure of nubby yarns, silken embroidery flosses, crisp fabric bolts, and rainbow felts are completely irresistible. Wool, cotton, silk, they all seem to have a magical pull on me; enticing me to run my fingers down the length of a piece of fabric, to rub a strand of yarn against my cheek...I can't resist the siren call of a fabric or yarn shop...it's just beyond me. And don't even get me started on all the wonderful fibers and fabrics to be found online. I try to be good and to limit myself to things I know I'll use but sometimes it's SO hard.

Here's a bowl of my current yarn passions, two are wool/ silk sock yarns and the other two are alpaca (the brown)and angora (the white) for knitting bunnies. The wonderful blue gray sock yarn is hand dyed and from the marvelous Phiala. See what I mean about online supplies?


I've been knitting since I was a child but never as well as I could crochet. I've done scarves, mittens, hats, and the occasional stuffed animal but never the biggie...socks! Recently however, I've found myself in the strange position of teaching several of my friends how to knit. Since this is something they all want to do eventually (shoot, one of them has outpaced me already!) I decided it was time to take the plunge and finally learn to knit socks. It's been a slow process but I eventually found a great pattern and since then I've been making good head way. I love how organic it looks so far, like a creature found in a coral reef. I'll be coming up on heel turning soon...wish me luck!


In addition I recently made a trip to the mountains and of course had to stop by School House Fabrics...that place is so amazing...and added these to my stash.


Won't that bunny print be sweet on one of my felt bunnies? That and the pink print both have a wonderful retro feel.
Lastly, and since you've made it this far, I'll leave you with a sneak peek at the fairy I'm making to donate to The Night Garden. We had a vehement argument on the length of her hair, I wanted short, she wanted long...you can see who won.