Violet takes a bow.....

A new girl came to live here yesterday, arriving safely from her 'birthplace' in Germany....she is Violet, a new Zwergnase Junior from the 2016 collection.  I have loved the Zwergnase dolls for a while now but I was unhappy with how sparsely rooted their hair is at the front.  It's a shame because the rest of their hair is so thick and full, but the front does let it down, and it has put me off buying another Junior from them.

So imagine my delight when I heard that their 2016 collection included some girls who were now wigged instead of rooted!  Zwergnase Juniors used to be wigged before 2008, when they were discontinued and they first released rooted girls.  But finally the company seems to have listened to their customers and have brought back wigs......I hope this continues.

I was atracted to Violet straight away, but hesitated too long when she arrived at a doll shop in France that I sometimes buy from.   But in the end I decided to order directly from Zwergnase in Germany and I must say, if my experience was anything to go by, I would highly recommend them.  All of my emails and questions were answered quickly and my order was processed with speed.  About two hours after I paid my invoice so I received my shipping notification and my doll and two pairs of extra boots that I purchased, arrived within 5 days, which is really good!

So here she is, my sweet little Violet who is now known as Léonie, because of her 'mane' of lovely hair!  She is handpainted and her wig is full, soft and curly.  Her outfit which consists of lightweight cotton trousers with elasticated waist, sleeveless grey cotton smock top, striped socks and a fully lined vinyl hooded raincoat with patch pockets, is bright and colourful and well made.  Her big boots are real suede. And she has an attractive wooden necklace.   I think I'm going to have fun with this pretty and quirky girl!

Now for photo overload!!!!! ;)

I hope you've enjoyed meeting Léonie.  

Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your week!!

Marlee and Skye....other vinyl dolls

I've been sewing for two of my other vinyl dolls because neither of them had anything but their 'default' outfits to wear.  I had to make new patterns as both of them are bigger than the Sashas and Natterers, and of course, as luck would have it, both are different to each other!  So two new patterns had to be made before I could even start sewing.  Luckily though, I think both bodices worked out quite well on first attempt, so here are a few photos.

The first girl is Marlee, she is a Zwergnase Junior Marlene and is approx 19 inches tall.  She is all vinyl and made in Germany.  She has handpainted eyes and very unusual, but endearing (to me!) features.  Her hair is lovely, very thick and wavy and a gorgeous red colour.  The first two photos are of her in her default outfit which is far too warm, being velvet, for the hot weather here.

Here she is in her new summer dress, made from beige linen and striped socks.  She is still wearing her heavy black boots....they really are her 'trademark'!!

Next to get a new outfit is Skye.  Skye is a Classic Kidz Luisa by Gotz and is all vinyl with rooted silky blond hair and inset acrylic eyes.  She is 48cm tall and is the biggest of all my vinyl dolls.  She also has extra joints in her legs and elbows, allowing her to do a number of extra poses.  I made her new dress from knit fabric and it fits her perfectly.  I will have to now try making it with woven cotton and hope that the fit will still be good, as knit can be very 'forgiving'!!!  Skye only got a dress, she didn't need socks as she prefers to go barefoot!