It's time to give Dolly a face

Its been a busy day, but in the middle of it all, I sat down for half an hour and Dolly "grew" a face.

I was inspired by the picture below (from fingtoys on Flickr), which I came across by accident.  

She looks a little like Princess Leia! But she is beautiful and I love the knitted jumper.  Most importantly, she has the prim/Gothic/simple/black stitched face that I have been thinking about for Dolly.  I particularly love her fabric cheeks, I had not thought of cheeks...

So I quickly Googled needle sculpting techniques and, with the foolishness of one who knows no better!, stitched a nose.  The 10 yr old has been telling me that I should give Dolly Coraline-style button eyes, but I find them a little uncomfortable to look at, so I compromised with a pair of round jet beads, which I sewed on with four stitches (N, S, E & W).  It's a pretty detail, gives the eyes more shape - pulling the needle through with pliers, when it got seriously stuck, was less amusing!

Finally, I free-styled an embroidered mouth.  It's set slightly to the side, almost as if she is smiling to herself -  it's feels appropriate.

******

We finished the day with dinner with the B's.  Once the boys had gone to the pub for a game, or three, of pool, the lovely Mrs B kindly agreed to help me fit my jacket for the Victorian Costume.  Once I was all kitted up, and Mrs B had stopped laughing at my bloomers and inability to move, she spent an age adjusting and pinning and adjusting again.  She is a good friend is Mrs B and she can fit clothes beautifully!  

Thank you Mrs B x