And then there were 3 - Another Dolly Story

Audrey & Lillian were on a modelling shoot, colourful maxi dresses for Summer, but it was not going well.   The light was wrong, the photographer was grumpy, Lillian was having a bad hair day ... nothing was going right.

Frustration causes orange eyes in Blythe Dolls

Then some parcels were delivered and the photo shoot was abandoned ...

Excitement causes pink eyes

Audrey :  This enormous box is from Junie Moon, don't some Blythe Dolls come from there? 
Lillian :   Let's open the smaller parcel first - I think it might be the shoes we were meant to be wearing with these dresses.

What is in there?

 Yes - the smaller parcel was the platform shoes to wear with those maxi frocks.  Blythe dolls just love getting new shoes!

Yea - new shoes!

How do you manage to walk in these?

Audrey :  Whoa!  We are very tall now but I feel quite wobbly, think I'll just lean against the box.
Lillian :  You get used to them - Carmen Miranda used to dance in platform shoes like these.
Audrey :  Goodness Gracious!   How did she manage that?  and with fruit on her head!  I don't think I can even walk!

Lillian :  Don't you think we should see what is in the enormous box?

Do be careful with those scissors Lillian.

Audrey : Oh my - a box in a box ... is this like those Russian Dolls?
Lillian : But do you see what is printed on the box ...

Oooo this is SO heavy!

Audrey : Another box ... it IS like those Russian Dolls.

But Look - it is a Blythe

Audrey & Lillian were getting rather disheveled

Audrey & Lillian :   Ooo - how exciting!  Isn't she Lovely! 

  
Audrey :  It is my cousin a Simply Thumpty Thump.  We are such a large family, us Simplys.

Hello Cousin

Let me help you out of there.

Audrey's cousin has come to live with her and Lillian.  Her name is Violetta.  Violetta is in show business too - she is an ice-skater & dancer and gets a lot of work in musicals and live theatre. 

Audrey explained absolutely everything about her new home to Violetta while Lillian played with her hair. 

Lillian loves Violetta's pink/purple hair and her special mauve eyes. 

Brought to you by the letters H & M

Remember that Alphabet Project I was making for my grandchildren?   I gave them the first part last Christmas (posted about it here) - the middle part will be one of this year's Christmas pressies - from H to M.   And it was those 2 letters that I hadn't yet made the toys for.

H - what animals have names starting with H?   Hippopotamus is definitely not Australian so I settled on Horse.

An easy pattern from Sarah Gasson's Knitables and very cute.  Am not a fan of eye-lash yarn but it does make a good horse's mane and tail!


The letter M simply had to be a Marsupial Mouse - remember The Muddle Headed Wombat  by Ruth Park?   Wombat's friend Mouse was a Marsupial Mouse ... she had a pouch.  Well, marsupial mice are not nice at all - they are carnivorous marsupials related to Tasmanian Devils - they just happen to be mouse sized; the Latin family name is Dasyuridae.  We have the Antechinus and the Dunnarts - I tried to make a Dunnart because they look so cute - I think this is a White-Footed Dunnart.  And here is a Wikipedia article on the Dunnarts.

Used Marisol the Mouse pattern (link is to Ravelry) because Dunnarts have a pointy slightly up-turned nose - just like Marisol.   Adapted the limbs by making them shorter & in the pale yarn, the tail is shortish and fur-colour, the ears are larger with pink linings, nose and eyes in black and quite large (Dunnarts are nocturnal).

The body is very adapted - to give her a pale tummy and a pouch (made like a pocket) and there are babies in that pouch - 6 bobbles in pink yarn, I even stitched eyes on them …. none of which can be seen :-)


The pale mouse on the left is a Marisol Mouse unadapted … a regular Mus musculus.  They seem to be friends.

The Perils of Wearing a Flowery Hat to the Races

Audrey and Lillian were enjoying a lovely afternoon at the races ...

When one of the horses thought that they looked quite interesting ...

Audrey:  "Oh look - a friendly horsey"...

Audrey:  "Oh no! I think he wants your hat"...

Audrey:  "Quick Quick - run away" 

Lillian: "Oh my lovely new hat.  What a naughty horsey!"

A Cat & Doll Story

My elderly Cornish Rex cat felt somewhat neglected and ignored during a recent photo-shot ... she wanted to join in all the fun.

Lillian was still recuperating from her full-body-transplant operation (read all about that here) and was quite alarmed - so she fled the scene.  

But Audrey finds "lions" rather fascinating; so she stayed and was very brave ...

"Perhaps if I distract her with something shiny ..."

However, the cat wasn't very interested in Audrey's new blue art-deco bead ... and for a moment we feared the worse

"She's going to EAT ME !!!"

"Oh - she gave me a kiss"

But the Cat only wanted to smell Audrey ...

And now Audrey and the Cat are good friends.

"I think she likes me"