Laura's Rug at Home at Last

Just received a note and this picture from Laura, my dollhouse-loving cousin in England, who opened the envelope with the dollhouse rug today and immediately installed it into her arts-and-crafts dollhouse (as opposed to the cottage, the butcher shop or the Downton Abbey lookalike, of course). I am beyond  pleased to see it in such a nice spot.

What's New in the Dollhouse?

I met a very nice person named Michele via Kijiji this week who sold me four pretty little pieces of furniture, including this table with drawers, just the thing for the kitchen. She not a dollhouse person herself, she says, but her husband, who's interested in miniatures of another kind (railroads), apparently couldn't resist them, and I'm the beneficiary

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This nice white dresser is another of Michele's pieces. I made the blanket out of a spare bit of felt, and the sheet and pillows from a fine linen table napkin. The braided rug was made simply by braiding three colours of cotton embroidery floss together, then sewing them into a flat coil (essentially the method for making any braided rug; just very small.)

The flowers under the window are sitting on a short table with drawers, also courtesy of Michele. Not shown among her contributions is a wooden corner cabinet.

I bought this Schleich golden retriever on impulse. I think he looks right at home. The sewing machine was a spontaneous present from my very serious dollhouse friend Susan. Only problem is I now want to get a dressmaker's dummy to go with it.

Another Dollhouse Rug

I've been at it again – for about three years. This dollhouse runner carpet is for a family member dollhouse enthusiast who doesn't yet know it's coming to her. Once again, the pattern is from Needlework in Miniature by Virginia Merrill and Jean Jessop. I think it took about 75 to 100 hours of spare time on buses and in front of the television, but all the materials were things I had around the house, so it's a bargain... right?