Tilda with a Twist

Tilda "bugs" /Christmas beetles from Spring Ideas book

Many of you know that I spent some time in Finland in 2001 and recently returned for a visit and also renewed my love of Scandinavian fabric design. I have always loved Marimekko, so it didn' t take much for me to develop a liking for Tilda - the clean, crisp, softer and appealing designs by Tone Finnanger from Norway. My local doll supply shop, Anne's Glory Box, has recently stocked the delightful Tilda fabrics. books and accessories, so of course I really couldn't resist... And the laces have been hand dyed at Anne's Glory Box to match the Tilda fabrics.
The bugs from the Spring Ideas book are my favourites ( image above) and they will be great gifts for my daughter and daughter-in-law, as I give them a handmade ornament for their Christmas trees each year . Tilda has also become a bit of a craze with some of the cloth doll makers in my Hello Dollies group. Here are a couple of gorgeous Tilda dolls made by a friend, Vicki Leeke of Victori Dolls.

Tilda dolls by Vicki Leeke

If you are not familiar with Tilda dolls and characters, here is a description from the Tilda website
"Tilda is most known for the whimsical, comical and naive characters in the form of animals and dolls. Tilda's world is without a doubt a feminine one, and the most recognisable features are the faces, with two dots for eyes and rosy cheeks."
I certainly did not or would not change the Tilda style, but I added an Australian twist to the gingerbread men I made from the Crafting Christmas Gifts book. The fabric for these little gingerbread men was hand dyed with brown onion skins and syzygium leaves. The syzygium is better known here as Lilly Pilly - an evergreen Australian tree which has glossy dark green leaves and small edible berries or fruits, mostly used to make jam. I thought the dye recipe of onion skins and syzygium turned the calico into a good gingerbread fabric.

Gingerbread Men, pattern from Tilda Crafting Christmas Gifts Book

And for a bit of fun... here is my Chinese bug - Tilda style if that's possible? certainly Tilda with a twist?

Comments

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary. Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers). This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach. Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...

Christmas Countdown 15 : Christmas Tree #11 - Disposable

Plastic cups https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/christmas-stem-ideas-kids/ Advent Blog : Day 11 - Disposable We are all so much more conscious about ridding our landfills and oceans of plastic waste. For Christmas, here is a way to use up some of those disposable items which seem to multiply at holiday parties and celebrations, or perhaps you have just been saving them up for a creative use.... Who would have thought coffee pods would make such stylish Christmas trees ? ... Add caption If you don't have one of those machines, then perhaps you have coffee on the run - Starbucks or Nescafe ? from https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/369858188126737920/ Nescafe cups https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/72761350208620530/ The disposable cups don' t have to be brand names to work well as materials for Christmas trees. Taking an engineering approach to plastic cup trees seems to be the answer for a more ornate result. from https:...

Christmas Firsts #11: Penguins

This year, I fell into the sentimental trap of making some penguin softies for Christmas .... and I am not the only one - penguins seem to be everywhere at the moment dressed in Christmassy costumes, with trees, bells, and all kinds of Christmas paraphernalia. Should penguins really be associated with Christmas? Probably not and not as Santa's helpers as they often depicted. Penguins inhabit the Antarctic region in the South Pole, while Santa Claus it has been established has his home in the North Pole. The theory is that somehow penguins are associated with snow, then Winter, then Christmas, but what about us in the southern hemisphere. Perhaps they are just cute? Whatever the reason, when were penguins first seen as part of the Christmas scene ? While there is no verifiable answer, it would seem that Monty the Penguin in the John Lewis Christmas advertisement in 2014 popularised the trend. (If you are not famil...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

Search This Blog