It's our Milly in CK magazine!....

Hello my friends...

Where has the sun gone...I wonder?

...although a lovely evening glow has suddenly appeared over the tearoom

and so I am quite hopeful for tomorrow!.....

~~~~~~

Isn't it great when you get a surprise?

.....something totally unexpected.....

Well, this is exactly what happened at the tearoom a few days ago

when our Milly was spotted in the latest

Cath Kidston Magazine

We were jumping up and down in excitement friends

...Milly amongst all that pretty CK loveliness!...

Cath Kidston has been one of my all time favourite shops
ever since I received a small catalogue through our door many years ago...

and I fell in love...with everything!

It made us all very happy to see Milly there my friends

wearing her favourite dress...made with

CK ' Mini Shooting Star ' haberdashery fabric....of course!

I am regularly asked questions about Milly...

and am receiving a lot more since she has been seen in the magazine....

and so this seems a good time to answer them here too!

Is Milly for sale?

Well, Milly isn't for sale at the moment...

 She may be sold at some point in the future...

although I am not sure we want to part with her....

as we have become very accustomed to seeing Milly around here!

~~~~~

Do you sell a 'Milly' sewing pattern?

I don't have a pattern available for Milly

After looking at lots of Waldorf doll patterns over the years...

I put her together as I went along and at the moment

 I only have sheets of paper with scribbled drawings and notes...

all very disorganised!

The patterns for Waldorf style dolls are really quite basic and for me

I would say that the more difficult part is in the structuring of the head...

working with very stretchy fabric...and stuffing with wool batting

Milly also has traditional wooden button joints...

I would suggest lots of reading if you want to make one of these dolls

(there are several books on Amazon)

 and then I think in the end it is a case of throwing yourself into it

and just having a go...

It really is lots of fun and very rewarding creating a little person!

~~~~~

Where did I purchase my materials for Milly?

I purchased all my materials for the basic doll from the lovely

Little Oke Dolls

where you can also purchase patterns for Waldorf dolls

...including lots of information for your project ...

~~~~~

Are you going to make any more dolls like Milly?

Yes! ....

I will definitely be making more Waldorf style dolls in the future

although I can't say when at this moment as I am involved in other projects...

but I do already have 2 designs in mind..

and would like to use them for my illustrations

Let's hope 

the lovely sunshine

returns this week friends!...

Bye for now

from Milly and everyone at the tearoom....

Our May Winner!...

A sunny afternoon in the tearoom garden....

...homemade cake and the clinking of tea in pretty china cups....

...time friends for a celebration!

~~~~

Lots of excitement here today

as we announce

The Mary Jane's TEAROOM

'May Yarn Giveaway '
Winner!

For those of you who have been aware of the Blogger problems..

this has been a bit of a bumpy ride, hasn't it?

All of our early draw entries were lost during their maintenance work,
although fortunately we still had a written list

(there was a huge sigh of relief at that point....so unusually organised here!)

Many of you very kindly returned to add your entry again....

but then a couple of days ago all the original entries reappeared

meaning that some names were then duplicated!
Testing times my friends...too much Blogger confusion by far..

~~~~

Well, we have carefully worked through our list

and have made sure everyone has been entered the correct number of times..

It was then decided that the best way to find our winner
 was to draw the name out of a hat

as the number generator was too confusing for everyone 
due to duplicate entries ect.

~~~

...and so finally...
(with a drum roll please Oscar!)

The Winner is...

'Dot'

who is far away from our tearoom in Australia!

Congratulations to Dot!!

I will be in touch shortly

or if you read this first....

if you could contact the me with the details
of the address to which you would like to receive your yarn

and it will be in the post first thing in the morning.....

~~~

Other news.....

You may have noticed 'Lola' sitting prettily up in the top corner
...on her little toadstool...

All our favourite blogs have been put into a basket

...lots of them...

and each week a name will be drawn out for

'Lola's Blog of the Week'

and the link will be renewed each Friday...

This has already included

Saskia's heart warming 'Join My Joy'

and Maaike's so pretty 'Crejjtion'
and from today it is the turn of  Lily's wonderful
'Making It Vintage'
~~~

Also...

I have been working on some illustrations...

something I am really enjoying....

and of course pattern making continues

...more news about these projects soon...

~~~

Well, that's all for today...
Thank you so much to all you lovely friends
...old and new...
who spare your precious time to visit the tearoom..
I love to read your comments
and always enjoy calling by your inspiring blogs too..
(An essential part of my morning routine these days along with my coffee!)
~~~

Wishing you the very best of weekends..
and if you missed out on the draw this time
...there will be many more in the future!

May Yarn Giveaway!.....

Sitting on the sofa....knitting....
...with a lovely cup of strong coffee.....heaven!

 Next to me...waiting for a new home...are these beautiful yarns....
Can't you almost feel those lovely textures and pure yarny goodness
 my friends?...

~~~~~
All part of the latest
MJT
Month of May Yarn Giveaway!
~~~~~

Here is a list of the lovely yarns included......

(You can click on each yarn name for more details)

RYC Baby Alpaca DK 50g in Jacob x 1
Rowan Fine Milk Cotton 50g in Tutti Frutti x 1 (knits to 4ply)
Rowan Milk Cotton 50g in Tutti Frutti x 1 (knits to DK)
Rowan Wool Cotton 50g in Tender x 2
Alpaca Select Cusco DK 50g in Light Camel x 1
~~~~~
If you would like to take part in the draw....
It couldn't be easier!...

All you have to do is.....

Enter in the comment box below that you

'would like to take part in the draw'
If you are also a Follower of my blog...
please add 'Follower' and your name will be entered twice...
If you are a Facebook Fan (click) just add 'FB Fan'...
 meaning that you can enter up to a possible 3 times...

If you don't have a google account then just add your first name too

...so that you can be identified if you win!...
Hope this is clear for everyone....
...and if not....
please don't hesitate to contact me!

~~~~~

Numbers will be given in order of the comments left
then entered into the random number generator
and the winner announced here at MJT on

May 27th 2011
at 4pm
by the
TEAROOM Clock
...put it in your diary friends!...
(All entries to be made by 26th May please)

~~~~~~

Good Luck Everyone!

Oh so pretty!....

Good morning Friends!

How are you on this fine day?

Is the sun shining for you?

If not.... then I am sure these beautiful photographs

will brighten up your day and definitely make you smile.....

Aren't they just the prettiest images?...

Sent to me by a very kind customer

who knitted an amazing 5  'Daisy Rabbits' for her little nieces

.... all bridesmaids at their lovely family wedding...
and even managed to match the colours perfectly with those pretty dresses...
You are a star Suzanne...

and thank you so much for sharing your day with us here at MJT...
I will treasure your lovely photographs!...

~~~
Also, more news...
I will be back in a few days time with the new

'MJT Giveaway'...

Hmm.....so many lovely yarns...
so many decisions to be made here my friends!....

~~~

Take care until then....
and I hope the sun does shine for you today

Afternoon Tea at MJT.....

~~~~~

How are you?
Once again, time has flown since we last spoke, my friends

I have just spent a very happy week
doing some of the wonderful everyday things in life that I love most....

family time...baking...gardening...lots of Spring cleaning...
with plenty of laughter along the way...
I am suddenly feeling unusually organised and full of fresh inspiration!

.....Baking.....

It's just so good for the soul.....don't you think?
(whether you be the baker or the sampler!)
My kitchen is definitely one of my most favourite places these days...
full of all things good

I made these pretty 'Butterfly Cakes'

from a recipe in the irresistable

Mary Berry's Baking Bible

for an afternoon treat yesterday....

(A pretty plate of cakes and the clinking of tea in china cups ...

I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon...)

I will be back to my knitting next week lovely friends

and there will also be news of a new

'MJT Giveaway!'

Until then,

I hope life is kind to you
wherever you may be...

have a great weekend doing all the things

you most love to do...