Found Dolls

It feels a little bit like Christmas to keep finding things I had put in the back of my mind as I keep unpacking and organizing things. All of these dolls were made some time ago from library books. Sorry, I don't remember which ones. I do remember I had trouble with the pattern for this one:

I am no great sewer (that looks so wrong), so it seemed like a big deal to me, but I am sure to most it would be an easy adjustment. She was made as a gift for my mom, and has since come back to me as she tries to cope with allergies and has been eliminating things that might collect or hold dust. I do not know her name.
The second two are Henry and Marie Yvette.

He is from Kansas and was a doughboy during the Great War. While in France he met Marie Yvette, who likes to be called Yvette. Even with her bobbed hair and that entirely too enticing beauty mark, he could tell she was a sweet thing and language proved to be no barrier to love. They were married in France and now live and work on his parents' farm in Kansas. They are very happy.

First Matchbox Swap

I have seen a lot of swaps for matchboxes decorated and filled with an assortment of, well, anything that will fit in one. The most popular size is 32 but there are also swaps for size 250. It took me a while to figure out that the number refers to the number of matches that would fit in the box.
It turns out you don't have to actually buy a box of matches and use them or throw them out. You can just make your own matchbox. So I finally signed up for a swap and made a box (size 32) out of an old Christmas card.It is filled with lots of things including a book thong and earrings. I was surprised how much I could fit in such a small box. It was fun to do and I will definitely do it again.
For this swap, we were also supposed to include an edible treat. My partner did not mention anything she likes to eat so I just added a few peppermints to the package to meet the requirements of the swap. She did, however, mention that she likes Dotee dolls very much. So this is what she is getting as her real treat.

Hope she likes her package.

Matryoshka Dolls All in a Row

Matryoshka Dolls 2
Originally uploaded by joanieponytail57

Here is another shot of the dolls so you can see the little ties on their babushkas. I think you can also see the colors a bit better in this shot. The baby is wider than I would like but I made him first, and I didn't want to undo him. Dark thread, dark felt. Ooh, my eyes hurt just thinking about ripping it out. And yes, I could have made another one but he needs a family even if he is a tight squeeze.

Matryoshka Dolls Nested

Matryoshka Dolls Nested
Originally uploaded by joanieponytail57

This is a set of dolls I did for yet another swap on swap-bot. It is hard to tell in the picture but the mother doll is purple and the baby is dark blue. The person these are for said she likes jewel tones of blue, green, red and purple. I don't have jewel-toned green felt so this is what she got. After I embroidered the outlines on the mom's facial features I filled them in with colored pencil. I also gave the mom and little girl colored pencil roses for their cheeks. The flowers on the mom's and little girl's babushkas are hand embroidered.