Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Mary, Millie & Morgan eBook & Quince Yarn Giveaway!



Edited to Add: Please visit my friend Dianne of Sheep Dreams giveaway for the cozy Knitted Slipper Book by Katie Startzman. Click here to check it out! Please give Dianne a hello from me if you enter.

Hi, Knitters,
Please read to the end for information on the generous giveaway from Quince & Co.! You won't want to miss it. Also, the winner of the Mollie Makes set of 5 craft books is knitclicketyclack (rav id). Congratulations to you!

About a month ago I had an adorable little pattern ebook published by Quince & Co.  The book couldn't be sweeter as it is a doll collection I've had knocking around in my head for many years. I've always wanted to design a series of knit dolls with clothes and accessories. I'm happy to say that this time has finally come!

Mary, Millie, and Morgan are three little knit folk dolls inspired by dolls in my imagination. I would have loved to own these exact dolls when I was a girl. I can imagine how I would have cherished and played with these well-crafted homemade dolls as a youngster. Even then I loved anything homemade. This project is one of my proudest knitting accomplishments. Each piece was carefully and lovingly designed over time and added to the collection.

Please be sure to look at the beautiful lookbook created and published by Quince & Co. This is a feast for your eyes, so simple, pure and lovingly made. My own sketches are included on the pages. Under the direction of the always lovely Pam Allen each page of the ebook is a winner including the text that winds its way through the pages.




The photography is by the talented Carrie Bostick Hoge, one of my favorite designers and photographers. Carrie helped to accomplish the purity and simplicity of the little pieces all while showing off the dolls' traditional beauty. I love everything about the group effort put forth on the Mary, Millie, & Morgan project.

The following photos share the different states of dress the clothes and accessories offer. Make multiples of the pieces and you have unlimited mixing and matching. I would suggest making more than one doll, too, because everyone needs a friend or maybe a sister. 

All of the clothing patterns are provided in the ebook along with the doll patterns.


The dolls are knit in one piece, seamlessly from the top-down. I love the construction so much that I am adding a brand-new Seamless Knit Doll Workshop to my upcoming class offerings. I am pretty excited about this and I think there will lots of interest in this topic from top to bottom.


The doll names, Mary, Millie and Morgan, are after my own family names that represent many generations. Perhaps you'd like to do the same and name your doll or dolls after members of your own family past and present. It gives such a feeling of ownership to make and name the dolls as a nod toward your own family history. 

The dolls, clothing and accessories are all knit in possibly the sweetest yarn I have ever come across, Quince & Co. Chickadee. It's a sport weight 100% American Wool yarn that is round, springy and frankly delightful. I have fallen deeply in love with Chickadee and I think you will, too. It's as close to perfection as any yarn will come in my opinion. 


With the beautiful and wide selection of colors Chickadee, you are able to create your very own version of the little folk dolls to represent your family if you'd like. There are many lovely skin tones and hair color choices, so many combinations are available. Personalizing the dolls will make them even more loved and they may even become family heirlooms to be passed on to future generations to come. This would be my dream come true for you as the knitter of these little darlings.


The dolls start out with knit-in outfits, or under-clothes so to speak. Even starting out with creating the basic doll is enough to get going because she is already dressed. You could change things and do solid tights and stripey undershirts, or maybe you'd like an unclothed doll to start the journey. That's all good. You get to knit your own story!




Here is some further information you might like to know about the ebook Mary, Millie, & Morgan:

Click here for the Ravelry page for the Mary, Millie, & Morgan ebook! The ebook is only available through Quince & Co. at this time. It is priced at $12.00 for the collection of patterns. 

In a couple of months I will be adding the ebook and also the doll and individual clothing and accessories patterns for purchase in my own Ravelry Pattern Shop. 

Finished measurements
9” 23 cm tall when standing, 6” 15 cm body circumference,
approx 3½” 9 cm arm length, and 4½” 11.5 cm leg length
Yarn
1 skein each in the following colorways:
Doll #1 (Millie ~ blonde with white skin):
Egret 101, Bird’s Egg 106, Frank’s Plum 114, Storm 104, Winesap 133, Glacier 105, Carrie’s Yellow 125
Doll #2 (Mary ~ brunette with peach skin):
Petal 111, Carrie’s Yellow 125, Kumlien’s Gull 152, Gingerbread 120, Crow 102, Lupine 116
Doll #3 (Morgan ~ black hair with brown skin):
Twig 119, Iceland 153, Peacock 109, Crow 102, Winesap 133
Note: Yardage includes yarn needed for outfits.
Needles
• One set of 4 double-pointed needles (dpns) in size US 3 3.25 mm
Or size to obtain gauge
Gauge
6½ sts = 1” 2.5 cm inch in stockinette stitch.







It's such a sweet collection of clothes. I am planning many more items for dress and play for the dolls and even boy dolls are coming in the future. Just think of all of the mixing and matching you could do with these adorable pieces.


This is my little suitcase, in the photo above, that I sent along to Quince with the dolls inside. It is lime green on the outside and orange on the inside. I have had my play suitcase for many, many years. It is really a cute way to keep your doll collection together. It even has a vintage feel and would be fun to decorate as well. The suitcase is a win in my opinion.


The following are some of my own home photos of the dolls in progress before I sent them off to Quince. The level of excitement on my part while I was knitting up the dolls was so high. What a happy project.



 




I have an exciting giveaway offer for you today. The extraordinary Pam Allen, the founder and creator of Quince & Co., has generously offered one of you the opportunity to win a copy of the ebook, Mary, Millie, & Morgan, AND 6 skeins of Chickadee in your colors of choice! That's right, it's an enormous prize. Thank you Quince & Co.! 

On a brief side note, Pam Allen is one of the loveliest, most talented, smart, sweet, generous and understanding people I have ever worked with. She doesn't rush things but instead lets them simmer until they are just right. I admire this quality so much. I would love to see everyone rally around her yarn company in force. What an inspiring role model Pam has become for me. We are lucky as knitters to have Pam so involved in the knitting industry. I am hoping to do many more projects with Quince & Company in the future.

Please leave one and only one comment on this blog post to enter win this deluxe doll giveaway! Please include your Ravelry ID or your email address. It takes awhile for your comment to post so please be patient if you don't see your comment right away and be confident it will appear within a short time. 

Coming in early spring I intend to host a knitalong for Mary, Millie, & Morgan so stay tuned if you are interested in joining me. If you'd like to start knitting your dolls now, no worries, I will still let you enter the knitalong with your dolls, whenever started, to win prizes. I won't stand in the way of doll-knitting, ever!

Good luck and let the comments begin!
best, susie