I am so sorry to keep Maisie away from you for so long. I promise to share her around and let her do some quilting and doll making. Can you believe that my Mum hasn't even made me a quilt yet? In fact, she hasn't made me anything. I am already 1 year old !
Recently I was contacted by the lovely Kate of Tom and Molly.
Kate had previously purchased one of my Maisie Dolls. I was asked to design and create custom Tom and Molly dolls based on their super sweet logo.
Kate even sent me a piece of fabric used in their girls dresses. I incorporated this fabric into the Molly doll's dress. I coordinated this with other fabrics in my extensive stash.
I advised Kate that my experience in creating 'boy' dolls was not perfected as yet...but I was willing to give it another go.
Here is Tom...
Tom's shirt is made of red stretch fabric with hand stitched detail. He wears denim jeans.
Together they are...Tom and Molly.
I finished the dolls on the day I went into labour with my little Harry. Phew!!!
Here are Tom and Molly the Maisie Dolls helping out Kate and Julie recently at the Sugar and Spice Children's Market in Woodend, Victoria.
Well, not one Maisie Doll has been made in the past four weeks. Lil Harry Monster is now nearly eight weeks old and taking up quite a bit of my time. Should I mention here that he has been sleeping through the night (11pm - 7am) for some time now. He is such a lovely lil boy.
I will be at the BrisStyle Indie Designers Market this Saturday with all my Maisie Dolls and Toys for Boys. Lil Harry won't be there - he is just too small for big outings yet with Mum. He will be at home being cared for by Nanny and Aunty Glennie.
If you are in the neighbourhood pop in and say hello!
x Catherine
I am officially on maternity leave from my full-time job for at least 12 months. I am now 35 weeks pregnant. Am I ready for the impending arrival of my own little Maisie? Simple answer, No! We have all the nursery furniture, we have loads of baby clothes, lots of baby manchester, pram, toys (hand-made of course)... We just need to give the room a paint and decorate according to my theme. Also, wash all the baby clothes and manchester, and generally just get organised.
I don't know the sex of the baby. I love a surprise. The nursery is neutral at the moment, all white with polished wood floors. My theme is 'an accent of red'. This simply means a little bit of red here and there. A red binding on a quilt, a red bow around a hand knitted wombat, a red flag in some bunting...you get the idea.
So here is my dilemma. When making some new Maisies for the recent BIDM in early March, I made a Big Sister Maisie and I named her Tabitha. Her dress is gorgeous with an 'an accent of red flowers'. Fits right in with my theme for the nursery. At the markets I thought, well if she sells - she sells. If not, I will keep her for the nursery - if the baby is a girl. One customer commented that Tabitha looks just like me - that is why I want to keep her.
Tabitha didn't sell - but that is a good thing!
A little wrap up of the BrisStyle Indie Designer Markets from 6 March 2010.
I was there, 33 weeks pregnant, with all my Maisie friends...
A lot of Maisies went to new homes.
Toys for boys made their debut and are available in my Etsy store now.
Some old Maisie friends came out to show the market goers how and where the Maisie story began.
A special shelf of custom Maisie orders too.
Some new Maisies were made just for the March markets...
...and found new homes.
Little Mary Moo's Place was exquisite...
Pendants
and magnets
i Pod cases
Divine purses
messenger bags
and heart garlands..
Retro Bird Designs is a stall full of colourful loveliness...
Little dolls and necklaces.
Doll rattles and tea towels...
...Matroyshkas
Enticing Icing was launched at the March BIDM...
The sweetest cup cake toppers. Above are baby prams, baby onesies and baby bottles. Just perfect for a certain baby shower just around the corner.
Not to forget that the cupcakes were absolutely yummy.
A very sweet market, indeed.
I got back from our annual vacation on Monday. Back to the stifling heat which Brisbane has been experiencing lately. How I miss the cool sea breeze and swimming in the crystal clear water of the beaches that I called home for 10 blissful days.
You may have guessed by now that I am expecting a baby in April 2010. Our first. I came home from holidays to find that my husband had put together all the nursery furniture and had purchased a special feeding chair (which is currently being used by a certain someone to watch the cricket and tennis on tv).
Beside my computer in my little nook is a notebook where I jot down all the names of my Maisie dolls which I have created. I tick the names off as their images are uploaded to this blog, or to Etsy, or if they have sold. Some names have two ticks, some are crossed out. I must have left a particular page open when I left for holidays with my family. At the top of the page were listed a couple of baby items and prices that I have been considering purchasing. This is followed by a list of my recent Maisie doll names. Much to my surprise, I noted that a certain someone had written across the page 'no to all these names' and then had annotated each of the names individually.
Patsy -no
Pepper - no
Patty - no
Rosie - no
Rosemary - no
Rosalie - no
Olive - no
Olivia - no
Ruby - not at all
Poppy - no
Stella - no
Susie - no
Sophie - no
Posy -no
Queenie - no
So, I guess that baby will not be called any of the names above!
Just a short blogging break...I promise. Just popping off on my annual Summer holiday with my family for a well earned break. Lots of developments for Miss Maisie and friends this year.
In the meantime, my Etsy store will be in vacation mode too.
The weather has been a bit gloomy over Brissie the last week, so I haven't had a chance to photograph new dolls for my SALE in my Etsy store. I promise, that this will be done on my return.
What do you think of my new toys for boys? They are stylised softie bears of soughts. Made out of soft corduroy, cute japanese fabric for the ears, stuffed with polyfill and a bit of hand embroidery on felt for the face details. I need to think of a name for these chaps. They will make their debut at the upcoming BrisStyle markets in March 2010.
Thank you for all your lovely emails enquiring as to why I had not been blogging for a while. For those of you who are still wondering why the 3 month break in blogging and making Maisie dolls, here is a little quiz for you...
Maisie has not blogged between August 2009 and December 2009 because:
a) she was getting over morning/afternoon/evening sickness
b) no one had bought her 90210 season 7
c) she has been waiting for the Australian summer of Cricket to start
d) she has been waiting for a new shipment of fabric to arrive
e) all of the above
The answer will be revealed in a future post - unless you guess first.
Anyway, enjoy some new Maisie dolls...
This is Little Miss Olive.
Contrary to her name, her dress has prints of pineapples and not olives!
And Little Miss Olivia.
The minty green and pink always look lovely together on brunette Maisies.
Jane Elizabeth creates the most beautiful handmade purses out of lovely co-ordinated fabrics. My favourites would have to be Jane's choice of liberty prints and this special one (below).
Jane and I met through very unusual circumstances (I won't go into detail here). However, may I say how happy I am to know Jane. We are two girls who want very similar things in life. Oh, and we love to sew!
You may be seeing a little bit more of Jane Elizabeth and Made by Maisie teaming up in the very near future.
You can buy Jane Elizabeth currently at Doll Face Handbag Boutique in Paddington, Brisbane.
Busiest time of the year at work.
Busy making Maisies for July market and custom orders.
Very little winter sun to photograph my work.
Got the winter head cold.
Just a few of the reasons why I have been so quiet.
...but, I am back !
Making lots of nice things
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