Autumn Leaves Come Tumbling Down

The leaves from our Maple tree are falling and it is an almost daily task to rake them up and put them in the compost.

Peggy Sue says:  I'm helping, honestly I am....

I think she enjoys playing with the leaves...

The leaves make a soft, if somewhat damp bed!

But later on...she looks at what appears to be a daunting task.

Some time later...

the task is completed!

Outdoors in September - Two: Changes in nature

After a terrible few days weather wise and a day of continous rain yesterday it was good to be able to get out in the garden today.

The miracles of nature never cease to amaze when we discovered these fungi that had come up overnight.

Are they edible?

I am not sure, so best to err on the side of caution I think.

Look the leaves are also changing colour.

Isn't this leaf so pretty?

The Lilac Girls and more

Having been tempted by another doll today, and resisting temptation as  no I do not need another one, I decided to pay the ones I do have some attention.

 My assortment of red heads dressed in lilac, inspired by the Lilac flowers.

Peggy Sue discovered the pond today and is delighted with it.

She is wondering when there will be some wildlife in the pond...

She seems to be missing her companion Little Owen...I wonder where he is and what he is getting up to?

Continuing with paying attention to my existing doll family, this Gotz Little Sister 'Katie' doll has been wanting some attention for rather a long time now.  She is still currently known by her stock name, but is wondering whether she would prefer something else.

Being the same size as American Girl dolls means she can share their clothes and has chosen this pretty knit dress to wear today.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

What is her story?

Working out her story and name....

Preparing....

With the cooler weather and darker nights and days fast approaching there is movement in the Dreary household...with the disappearance of sunlight comes a time for brewing potions, lotions and other such things...a time to catch up with gossip, arrange parties and other such delights...

and the reason Skeleton looks so relaxed....

...he drank too much of the home brewed spirits!

An Autumn Inspired Outfit.

Joining in with an Autumn Inspired KAL on Ravelry resulted in my lovely redhead Gotz girl finally getting a warmer outfit AND a name.  Goodness knows she has been with me long enough, must be about two years I would think and she has only had one summer dress and no name all this time!

So what is her name?  Well it just had to be Autumn, with that gorgeous auburn hair.

I used a combination of two patterns to make her cardigan and added length to the sleeves as I wanted them to be long sleeves. 

Of course a girl needs a hat as well.

I added extra stripes to tie in the colours of the cardigan.

I very nearly sold this girl when I sold all my Gotz dolls, but changed my mind.  I am so glad I did, there is something about her little face that appeals.  

Preparing Peggy Sue's Wardrobe for Autumn/Winter

In February of this year I wrote a post on Peggy Sue's wardrobe and what she has to wear.

While her summer clothes has been added to, her winter wardrobe remains much the same.

Essential for the cold days this purple winter hat and coat is just perfect and a favourite of Peggy Sue's.  I think it might be quite nice to add mittens and a scarf to this.

A purple knit dress which looks great under the coat.

A favourite of Peggy Sue's (and mine!) is this lovely knitted dress.  I would quite like to make another of these in another colour scheme.

Blue & Grey striped linen dress which matches one that Anne-Marie has.

Floral dress - Peggy Sue and I have both reached the same conclusion that we don't like this one on her so it will go.

Laura Ashley Needle cord dress (originally made for Sasha) A dress for 'good' with its little matching broach.

Hooded cardigan that can be used with the dress above.

Grey dress - can change the ribbons on this.

Poncho to go with the grey dress - must add tassels to this,

Two cardigans.  The blue goes with her school uniform and would also go with her grey dress.  

The red will go with her grey dress.

Not photographed are her tights - black, white and multicoloured stripes.  

Three pairs of shoes, black, cream and purple.

I think Peggy Sue is almost set for the colder months that seem to be upon us already!

What I would like to make to complete her Autumn/Winter wardrobe is:

Scarf & Mittens

Undergarments - panties and vest

Play clothes - trousers or dungarees with a long sleeve top.

A long sleeve knitted dress

A long sleeve cotton dress to replace the brown floral dress

Add tassels to poncho.

An Autumnal Dress for Anne-Marie

I also made another little dress for Anne-Marie this afternoon with some Autumnal fabric.  I had just enough!

I'm hoping to make her some shoes to match tomorrow as I was given a couple of pieces of brown leather which will be perfect for the job.

To make the colour I reversed the fabric, so the colour matched

I would have liked the sleeves longer, but unfortunately I didn't have quite enough fabric to do so.  I may add some lace on the ends, not sure yet.  Still they are perfectly okay as 3/4 length sleeves.

Round the bottom of the hem I did a leaf type stitch.  Will take a closer shot tomorrow.

That is far too short young lady!

My sweet little red haired Natterer girl has borrowed one a skirt from the Sasha girls as the poor thing only has a couple of dresses of her own and nothing for winter.  I've explained it is okay for inside, but she is NOT wearing it out! 

Having dressed almost all of  my Sasha girls in the Autumn/Winter clothes today has made me aware of what is still needed.  Two of the Sasha girls are currently still in their summer dresses telling me how cold it is so I am beginning a list of clothes I need to make.  Some of the Sasha girls and what they chose to wear can be seen here.

Two Autumn/Winter dresses, one each for Victoria & Monica (Sasha)

Autumn/Winter dress and/or leggings for Natterer girl - poor thing STILL doesn't have a name!

I am still working on a wardrobe for sweet Annemarie.  I have currently knitted one leg of woollen leggings and have started the second leg.  

Some more winter dresses for the Hitty girls.

I haven't even started on the boys yet, although I do think most of those will be okay.