One Object 365 Days Project: 7/365

Ethel~Maud has finally had a session in the dolly spa!

I think she looks a little lighter in colour now, and her eyes seem brighter to me too, but I'm not sure how well this shows in the photographs. I know that I removed some of the 50-odd years of surface dirt because of the dirty patches on the wash cloth! I was very nervous cleaning her head because it is made from something very firm beneath the fabric ~ some sort of moulded card or papier mache, perhaps. I was very careful not to saturate any part of Ethel~Maud during the cleaning process and thankfully all went well! I was pleased that it was nice and warm here yesterday as it meant she was able to dry naturally but fairly quickly :-)

I had mixed results with the pen marks on her face and leg ~ see the close-up photos further down the post. All-in-all, though, I am very pleased with Ethel~Maud's spa session and she is, too ;-)

As you can see, I have also finally made her a new outfit so she can now discard the hankie-held-together-with-a-brooch ensemble LOL I crocheted everything using a 50/50 cotton/acrylic blend yarn, which is really nice to work with.

Ethel~Maud's new dress is simply a small piece of crocheted ripple; a set of four "peaks" and "valleys" was enough to make this simple sheath. I made a short lengh of chain to thread through the front and back "peaks", which created a sort of halter-neck effect. I made the matching shawl using a 7mm hook and treble (US double) crochet with a simple chain edging :-)

Her shoes were another make-it-up-as-I-went-along effort LOL They aren't as pretty as the ones Firuzan (angelsinmysecretgarden) makes but at least they are nicer than Ethel~Maud's old black boot/feet. I asked her if she would like a bag to match her shoes, and Ethel~Maud very shyly asked if I could possibly make something fairly large. I'm not sure what she intends to put in it but hopefully she will have plenty of room!

Ethel~Maud seems to be very conscious of her somewhat receding hairline so I asked if she would like a pretty headdress. She was so thrilled when I showed her what I had made and said that it reminds her a little of Frida Kahlo!

Ethel~Maud's very simple sheath dress, bag and shoes :-)

As you can see, I didn't have much success in removing the smudged marks from around Ethel~Maud's mouth. I don't know if someone tried to colour in her mouth at some point or whether the original colour smudged somehow. The whites of her eyes are looking brighter now but it is a shame that the brown on her right eye has worn away ~ it has always been like that, ever since Ethel~Maud first came to live with me.

Still, at least she and I know that she has had a good clean now and that makes us both happy :-)

As you can see, I have been unable to remove the black pen mark from Ethel~Maud's leg but at least the red mark came off nicely :-)