Three Large Angels Made Using Vintage Linens

Greetings dear friends & readers
Gosh - Thursday already! Another week is flying by!

Jillian came to visit me in late May - she bought with her a large basket filled with her late Mum's vintage linens 
& doilies - she asked me if I would make them up into 3 Angels for her & her two sisters  

We sat together & I went through the basket & selected anything that I thought might be suitable - these are 
my selection above.


Finally - about 10 days ago I found some time to begin Jillian's Order.
Firstly I had to dye my calico for the Angel's bodies

I prefer using Parisian Essence to traditional tea dying as I like the mottled effect it gives plus I find 
you can control the colour alot more this way

Once the calico was dried & ironed I began tracing out the dolls - I wanted to make a decent sized Angel to do justice to the doilies so I chose Charlotte Angel by Rosalie Quinlan Designs as she measures a generous 72 cms tall. 
As you can see above, I had some assistance with laying out the body pattern.

In fact, this assistance continued right throughout the making of these dolls !!

It is always nerve wracking cutting into other peoples treasured vintage linens - but Miss Pippi was there to 
"talk me through" cutting into the beautiful vintage lace tablecloth that I needed to use for a doll's dress

Last weekend during our dreadful stormy weather I stayed indoors & quilted around the Angels wings 
as well as painting their shoes & drying them by the fire
Yes - I should have done the shoes first, but I was undecided about colours until I had them dressed

The White Angel was the first one finished - I had suggested to Jillian that I make a white one, a cream one & then one with a mixture of both colours
(Incidently all the linens & doilies I used for the Angels had to be soaked & washed first as many had slightly yellowed & some had age spots on them)

I pieced two smaller doilies together to make her bodice - I really loved the doiley I used for her pinny (below left)

Her dress was a simple white table runner - but the doiley I used for her wings was one of my favorite's with 
gorgeous fuchsia flowers embroidered on it

Next up was Miss Pink - named because I used a selection of doilies that matched & made up a 
pretty dressing table set.
Miss Pink's dress was made from the vintage crochet tablecloth that Pippi was helping me cut into earlier

Her pinny & bodice were part of the set & then I pieced two smaller doilies together to create her wings.
I cut down a small size crochet doiley to use for her collar & added a simple pearl strand

Her shoes were painted a delicate pink called Pale Rose & then I took the smallest doiley of the set & 
stitched it into her hands

The last Angel I have called Miss Burgundy - due to her burgundy/russet coloured hair. 
The hair I have used on all 3 Angels is hand dyed mohair yarn that I buy online.

Once again Miss Russet has the most gorgeous doilies for her bodice & her wings were another doiley pair 
pieced together.
I lightly stiffened all 3 Angels wings to prevent them from falling forward.

All the Angels have bloomers made from vintage crochet linens 

I did not stitch anything into Miss Burgundy's hands as I remembered that Jillian had a box of her Mum's vintage handkerchiefs - we had talked previously about stitching these into the doll's hands 

   💕All 3 ladies in their finery, reclining on my spare bed  - ready to fly away home to Jillian's 💗

On Monday I had a baking day - these are few & far between nowadays as they are often followed by Eating Days!!

Firstly I made a Feijoa & Coconut Cake using some feijoa pulp I found in my freezer.
While this was in the Oven I made Rice Bubble Crisp - a recipe I used to make frequently when my boys were young.
Lastly I made a Bacon & Egg Pie for our dinner this week - I serve this with either veggies or salads to give 
us some variety.

And then last night I sat with my own vintage linens on the floor to work out which ones I wanted to use 
in an upcoming project 
 As you can see friends  ......  I had assistance yet again !!! 😸


My good friend Julie has started a blog.  Julie creates beautiful children's clothing for sale under the label Bo and Co - we always ensure we are neighbors at the yearly craft fairs we attend.
In this world of Instagram I still really enjoy blogging & reading blogs so I am So pleased Julie has started one 
 Here is the link to her delightful blog ...    Hello Bo and Co
Please do pop over & say Hello & let her know she is not just talking to herself 😉

Thanks as always dear friends, for your visits to my blog,
As the week is nearly over I hope the coming weekend is wonderful for you all,
Take care of yourselves & of each other,
With much love & friendship,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0