Not Just A Small Distraction...

 

The Enchanted Cottage Close-up...

Some of you, Dear Readers, might have Noticed the little Cottage in The Enchanted Forest in my previous post. First, let me say it is not a Dollhouse. But it is an Enchanting little cottage! It is actually a small sewing box, made entirely by hand by myself. I started it last year as soon as I had retired from my regular day job. But the Dream of making this cottage began many years prior to that when I first saw this project being stitched on another needlework blog (Janet Granger's Passionate About Embroidery) way back about 2015 or so. She had a Book called " Home Sweet Home" that was detailed patterns and instructions for making this and many tiny stitching accessories to go inside it, written by Carolyn Pearce, originally published by Inspirations Magazine, an Australian publication. At the time that she was stitching it, Janet informed us that the book was already out of print and the "kit packs" of supplies unavailable. She was sourcing her own threads and beads and charms, so she didn't mind that part. It took her ove a year to stitch all the parts and assemble it, and she posted her progress regularly on her blog. Well, I was smitten and added it to my "Someday" list, figuring that I could just copy what Janet did to the best of my abilities when the time came. Imagine my surprise when sometime in 2022 I learned that the book had been re-issued in a 10th Anniversary Edition with updated patterns and even a few new accessories! Well, I bought it as soon as I could and began to collect the supplies needed. This was my "Retirement Gift" to myself.... a no expenses spared indulgence in beautiful threads and materials to make this kit.... wool form Australia.... silk from France.... linen from California... beads and baubles and tiny sequins... I was in heaven just gathering the supplies!

                                          I started the stitching the day after I retired in 2023!

The windows are appliqued voile with an overlay of a Cloud Filling stitch.

After lacing the pattern the frames are stitched with a Portuguese Border Stitch.

In my eagerness, I decided to do all the windows for the house at one time...

 to save on having to re-learn the techniques months later!

It was at this point that I realized the back wall of the house

 was not designed to have any windows.

 

 This seemed a terrible waste to me... there was the back wall... 

looking out on a lovely tree and no windows?? 

So began my excursion into adding More all over the kit!

As you can see, I decided the back needed three windows!

 (I was really enjoying making them and loved the way

 the voile glittered in the light like glass!)

Alas, somewhere about now was when I injured my arm

 and had to do Nothing At All with it for about eight weeks!

This gave me plenty of time to slow dawn and consider the project as a whole.

And when I did start to stitch again... in tiny little increments... 

I decided to do as Janet had done and make the "smalls"

 (all those accessories) first.

This way I learned a Lot about the scope and details of the project

 starting small and making those inevitable mistakes in a small way!

 

Here you can see the beginnings of the Emery Block... 

a 1.5 inch by 1 inch little gem you use to sharpen needles.

The items being stitched were so small... they did not over tax my arm!

 

Here you see one of those "little mistakes". 

The visible dashed line was supposed to be done

 only in basting stitches for placement purposes.... not ink!

Thus I learned the hard way to pay close attention to those

 instructions about tracing the patterns onto the cloth!

I did "fix" the above mistake by adding a line 

of stitching around the border to cover the ink lines.

 

Here you can see the lines have been disguised. 

The box is only awaiting the emery powder 

to be inserted and then stitched closed.

And you might have noticed I had drawn the pattern

 for another of the "smalls" on this same piece of linen...

 

This too, was not a good idea!

 As you can see I made the same mistake with the dashed lines....

 using ink instead of basting stitches.

And because this is so close on the cloth to the Emery box, 

I had to stitch this before I could cut out the Emery box to complete it!

A small frustration... but another lesson learned!

 

Here you can see the completed Needle Book... 

and I used the same tactic for covering the inked lines.... 

just add more thread and gold!

And as you can probably imagine... 

it took almost an entire month just to stitch

 and assemble this little book!

I learned so many stitches and varied padding techniques....

 not to mention construction techniques... 

it turned out to be a really good idea to start with the "littles"!

 

 

There is not room in this post to detail any of the 

half dozen other "littles" I made before I got back to the main project...

 the House Box itself.

 

And if you look closely, Dear Readers, 

at this House Front and compare it with the one on the Book cover, 

you will discover that they vary in a few details.

I tried, at first, to make the project just as the Book described.

It was only after I had finished the other three walls

 that I decided I really did want to make some significant changes.

 In particular, I wanted the designs to "go around the corner....

 not stop neatly at the edges and leave a gap

 before starting again on the new wall.

And the other significant change was

 that some of the metal "charms" 

that were part of the original designs 

(the bunny was supposed to hold a carrot)

did not appeal to me, or were impossible to find.

So I either added charms to my liking (like the teacup above)

 or ended up making a stitched version instead of a sewn on charm.

And for the teacup above, I needed to invent a mushroom...

 my own original design Stumpwork Mushroom!,

 for the teacup to sit upon.

 Otherwise it would have dangled sideways 

off the box wall and looked ridiculous.

And at the very last, I wanted to stitch the Cottage's name...

"Cottontail Cottage" above the door... 

tucked under those rose blossoms!

 

The second side I stitched was the simplest and I made very few changes.

I couldn't find a charm for the salamander 

so I stitched a version of the Red Eft that is native to this part of the world.

 And I didn't like the charm for the lady bug....

 so I just didn't add one. The stitched one is part of the original design.

Also there were supposed to be small flower shaped beads

  to use right above the Red Eft... 

but I couldn't find appropriately sized or colored ones 

so I used ordinary beads.

 

The opposite side, or end wall, has a Strawberry blossom theme...

 and here I made quite a few additions to the original design.

For starters, at the top I have added a dew spangled spiders web... 

and a lovely black and yellow garden spider of my own design.

And because the spiderweb would only be dew spangled 

if the whole world surrounding it were also dew spangled.... 

so if you look closely... there are clear little beads everywhere!

And where I was supposed to add a little metal charm "bee skep"

 which I didn't like the look of... 

I added a "Dandelion Fairy" dancing upon another Mushroom...

 all my own Stumpwork designs!

And in this panel you can also see along the "corner edge" 

I have stitched ivy... because I added it to the back wall of the House!

 

Really I changed almost everything on this back wall!

For starters, the wool, a variegated mahogany and rust 

colored skein from Australia, was no longer available. 

So I pieced together different sections of stitching 

in various wool yarns I had from crewel stitching many years ago.

And then the original design was for an "Orange Tree"... 

but we don't have them in this part of the world! 

So I converted it to a "Pear Tree"

Using the same variegated silk thread

 but making them pear shaped and pendulous,

 rather than upside-down like the original design.

And the basket was supposed to have large "beads"

 masquerading as oranges.... so I stitched pears instead.

And for the Bee Skep... it was supposed to be

 one of those metal charms....

 but there was also one of the "smalls" 

(I haven't made that one yet!) 

that had a lovely stitched version of the skep....

 so I just used those instructions to make this one.

And the bee itself...! The one on the Emery Block ... 

all metallic and weird must be some kind of Australian bee.... 

I had to make this one a Bumblebee... 

using the "Ghiordes Knot" stitch to make

 the fuzzy texture for the body!

And of course... those windows looking out on the yard! 

And the ivy climbing up the walls... turning colors for fall....

 and blackberry canes on the right side....

As I said... about the only thing unchanged was the leaves on the Tree itself!

Oh, I had so much fun!

And then it all had to be assembled into a box..... 

with lining and an interior lift-out tray....

 

Another entire adventure 

in matching pattern across different pieces... 

fitting and stitching together the inner tray... 

which you see here holding a few of the other "smalls" I did make... 

a tape measure cover, a thimble holder, 

a Spool holder..... and the Emery block.

 

And here you can see the lower compartment

 with the Lift-out tray removed.

And the open roof panels with the elastic bands

 to hold scissors or a measure stick or seam ripper.

 

And at the bottom of each tray compartment I stitched a small symbol

 of one of the images on each of the items that fit that space!

 

And the roof panels open at the top, 

closed by loops over the bead "chimneys".

I just can't describe how much fun I had making this project!

 I learned so much about fine needlework in the process, 

stitched with treads like silk and very fine wool 

that I had never used before! 

And gained the courage to try my hand at

 inventing a few details like stumpwork mushrooms!

Yes, Dear Readers, making this Enchanting Cottage

 was way more than just a small distraction...

 it was practically a Master Class in fine needlework!

Deep, Dark and Dangerous....

 

All The Way....

The Times had grown Dark, Dear Readers, and the Wizard was afraid! He had felt the seismic shift in the World about him as he stood upon the Castle Tower, the very Earth shaking beneath his feet. He had witnessed the Sun itself go Dark in the middle of a sunny day. Times were changing around him and he had no way to know the reasons or the results of this shift. He knew he could not begin to control the Earth or the Heavens themselves, but he believed that he could at least give aide to those in need when the occasion arose, even in the littlest things helping to mend what he could. And he knew that those littlest things were often not so small after all! Thus when the Wizard had noticed that the Castle seemed unnaturally quiet, he sought answers. The Halls were empty, the posts deserted, the children nowhere to be seen. Yes, the Wizard was afraid! 

 And he was not alone in those fears. Even high above the Earth in The Cloud Palace the Fairy Bears were seeking answers and doing their best to give assistance to their littlest friends. The Fairy Bear Sir Orion had offered to help Mr. Plum Bear find the Little Dreamers, which Mr. Plum Bear had thought was a good idea! Mr. Plum Bear climbed onto Sir Orion's shoulders and away they flew!

It wasn't very far to the Briar Moors where

 Sir Orion hoped to find his friend the pony Thunder.

 

And before long the ponies came galloping over the horizon.

 

Thunder came to greet Sir Orion and was only too happy 

to take them in search of the Little Dreamers!

 

Sir Orion and Mr. Plum Bear climb on 

and they rode off across the Briar Moors.

 

All the other ponies came racing along with them!

 

Before long they found the Little Dreamers sitting on the hillside

 indulging their favorite game of "what if?"

 

Sir Orion explained how Mr. Plum Bear's friends

 Tiny Bear and Petunia had been snatched away

 by the Dragon Slitherwing. 

"I thought you might be able to help us find them..." he added hopefully.

"I think we need to go see the Wizard...." said Little Dreamer Beth. 

"He will know what can be done to find them!"

 

Little Dreamer Beth quickly climbed onto her favorite pony "Whisper"

 and Little Dreamer Amy climbed onto "Ginger Snap" 

and they headed as fast as they could go toward The Castle, 

racing the very wind itself!

And in case you wanted to know, Dear Readers, 

Sir Orion and Mr. Plum Bear had barely left The Cloud Palace

 when a very special visitor arrived to see Blue, the Blue Fairy Bear.

 

Oakalina Floreena, The Forest Guardian herself, 

had come to let Blue The Blue Fairy Bear know 

that the missing Tiny Bear and Petunia had been taken to

 the Deep Mysterious Woods.... otherwise know as "The Enchanted Forest"

 a place of great unpredictability and not a little danger!

"I just thought you would like to know," she added, "

that I am alerting my friend 'Sylvester Nightwing'

 the guardian Dragon of the Forest

 so he can be on the lookout for any mischief. 

"Your wisdom and help is very welcome" replied Blue the Blue Fairy Bear.

"We will make sure The Wizard knows....!" she added.

"I am on my way to see Old Meg," replied Oakalina.

"We will need a potion brewed..."

And she was off before anybeary could blink an eye!

 

When she appeared in The Castle Kitchen, 

Old Meg was expecting her. 

"Ah, my Dear Friend," she declared quietly, 

"it is an honor to see you here in this Ancient Hall... 

and a tiny bit alarming that it should be necessary...!"

"It is a joy to see you as well.." replied Oakalina Floreena gently.

"But it is a comfort that you are here

 and able to help our Tiny Friends!" she added.

"There will need to be a powerful but delicate Forgetting Potion brewed

 and given to the Tiny ones to keep them from suffering 

the overpowering effects of Enchantment."

"As you know, for some, the loss of enchantment

 can bring on despair..."

 

"And you will need to know of the extra protections required

 for The Little Dreamers who will venture into those Magical Woods...."

"It must never be taken lightly..." added Oakalina.

"I will go directly to The Spring of Dreams...." replied Old Meg.

"There is no more powerful antidote to despair....

 but it, too, must be taken sparingly..." she added thoughtfully.

 

 

 "And a touch of moonbeam dust might not be amiss either" she muttered.

 

Old Meg dipped the vial into the Spring and chanted the charm...

 

And the Wizard, too, had spent long hours at his Scriving Basin.. 

and at last he had seen the Way open before him.

The Little Dreamers would have a task to perform.... 

and he hoped it did not try them too deeply...

 

Meanwhile, Dear Readers, over at The Lovely Old Dollhouse, 

the family are getting ready for the All Hallows Eve Party at The Castle!

 Helen had decided after all to be A Lady,

 and Charles was dressed to be her Lord.

"You look absolutely Enchanting!" declared Charles.

"But I can't find the parasol!" said Helen. 

"I thought I would have a parasol too!"

"A parasol would hide your lovely smile, my Lady," he replied. 

"And the sun has already set so it should not be needed" he added reassuringly.

 

Arthur and Pollyanna have decided to be A Wizard and Witch,

 and Joanna and Victor are going as Maid Marion and Robin Hood.

"Robin Hood is my favorite costume..." declared Victor.

"Are we all ready?" asked Joanna. 

"We should get going or we will be late!" she added.

 

Indeed, the guests had been arriving early this evening!

Juliet is already here with Gabrielle her Nanny, 

and her mother Fleur who is dressed as a maid. 

She will be supervising a party of Little Princesses

 at the Great Hall tonight. The other children had not yet arrived.

Juliet is hoping to have her fortune told by The Gypsy Fortuneteller.

 

Sally May and Chip and Annabelle are already here, 

they just might have been the first to arrive!

Sally May is a Witch, Chip is sporting his trademark "Regular Guy" costume

 (he claims he doesn't do costumes!) 

and Annabelle is the cutest Little Fairy ever!

 

The Aileens are here... Frank is a Pirate

 and his wife, Cherie is his Moll.

Their son Jasper is a little Pirate... 

and their daughter Amber is one of the Little Princesses,

 probably already at the Fortune Teller's table.

 

Lady Athena, Lady Cassandra and Great Aunt Agatha 

are guarding the Portals.

 

Our Host, Kendall the Mysterious Count has donned his cloak...

and high above in the Gallery...

 

"The Deadly Nightshades" are starting up the band...

 

Oh, look...! The Lovely Old Dollhouse folks are finally here!

Pollyanna and Arthur have stopped to greet Chip and Sally May.

 

And here are Helen and Charles.... 

"But, Charles," says Helen... "I think we are late!"

"Not at all, Darling...!" says Charles....

"Everybody else must be early for sure!" he declared.

 

And Deep below the Castle, 

in The Wizard's Dark Cave

 The Little Dreamers have arrived.

 

The Wizard stared at them solemnly for a while.

Then he spoke.

"There is a task afoot 

to find Tiny Bear and his friend Petunia." he said. 

"They have taken refuge from Slitherwing... 

but unbeknown to them they 

have found a dangerous place to hide. 

They are in 'The Enchanted Forest' 

a place where only the Truly Innocent can go

 and escape damage to their spirit" he added.

He paused then added "I believe you are Innocent and will escape all harm,

 but you must wish to go or I cannot send you."

 

"I do wish to go...." said Little Dreamer Beth.

 "I want to help Tiny Bear and Petunia" she added.

"You will both arrive at the Forest," said the wizard, 

"but only one of you may enter it."

"The other Must stand outside the Forest to hold the Path

 for your sister to find her way back!" said the Wizard sternly.

"This is very important!" he emphasized. 

"Do you both understand?"

 

They nodded mutely.

"Then you will take this potion from Old Meg..." he said.

 

"When you and the little ones are back outside the Forest " she said

"Then and only then will you pour a few drops over their heads!"

"Then they will be able to come home with you..." she added, 

"And suffer no harm."

 

Then the Wizard took his staff 

and scribed a circle in the dust chanting as he drew.

"You will both stand in this circle back to back

 when you are ready to go" he said clearly.

It will take you instantly to The Enchanted Forest 

wherever that happens to be at the moment."

"You may enter when ready" he added.

 

One by one they stepped within the circle, 

first Little Dreamer Beth, then Little Dreamer Amy.

They barely had a moment before...

 

"Poof"

They disappeared into a cloud of dust!

 

Outside the Wizard's Cave, at the top of the cliffs, 

Sir Orion and Mr. Plum Bear had been waiting 

to find out what would happen next. 

They were trying to find Tiny Bear and Petunia, after all!

"Oh, My!" declared Sir Orion

 when he saw The Little Dreamers disappear, 

"We better hurry back to The Cloud Palace

 and let Blue know!"

"She will want to be on the lookout!" he added.

"I have a feeling there will be somebeary's 

wanting to come home after all this!"

 

And I hope you will recall, Dear Readers,

 that Slitherwing had hoped to find Tiny Bear and Petunia

 waiting by the Forest when he returned. 

He was more than disappointed when he got back

 and they were gone.

 And instead he was met by another Dragon standing under the Trees!

"What have you done with my Little Friends...?"

 said Slitherwing threateningly.

 

"I am Sylvester Nightwing," said the Dragon. 

"I am Guardian of This Enchanted Forest.

 Only the Truly Innocent may enter here unscathed.

 You are certainly not Innocent and you will not like

 what happens if you enter the Forest" he added matter-of-factly.

"We'll see about that...!" hissed Slitherwing angrily... 

but he turned and flew away.

 

Sylvester Nightwing stayed at the edge of The Forest... 

he knew more would come.

 

He did not have long to wait.

Suddenly there were two young girls standing before him!

 

"I am Sylvester Nightwing" he said calmly.

"I am Guardian of this Enchanted Forest" he added.

"Only the Truly Innocent can enter unscathed."

"We are looking for our friends

 Tiny Bear and Petunia" said Little Dreamer Beth.

"I am to enter to bring them out.

 Amy is to stand here and guide me back" she added.

"You may enter" said Sylvester.

"I, too, will stand here to guide you back."

 

They watched as Little Dreamer Beth entered the Deep Dark Forest.

 

She had traveled a ways into the Dark when suddenly 

an Enchanting cottage appeared right ahead of her

 where none had been before!

 

She went a little closer.

There appeared to be a little cup of tea sitting on a toadstool at the door...

 and a furry bunny sitting beside it.

"Hello..." said Little Dreamer Beth.

 "I'm looking for my friends Tiny Bear and Petunia.

 Have you seen them?" she asked politely.

 

No sooner had she said their names, 

than they were suddenly standing in front of her!

 

 "Oh, Hello!" said Tiny Bear.

 "Have you come to find us?" he added carefully.

"I have. " said Little Dreamer Beth dreamily.

"The Wizard says you must follow me back to the edge of the Forest.

 It is not safe to stay here" she added. 

 

Little Dreamer Beth turned, as if in a trance

 and started walking back the way she came.

 Tiny Bear and Petunia followed close behind her.

 

They had not taken many steps 

when the Cottage just disappeared behind them!

They keep walking til they reach the edge of the Forest 

where Little Dreamer Amy is waiting.

 

She reminds Little Dreamer Beth to use the Forgetting Potion

 on Tiny Bear and Petunia.

 

Just then Tiny Bear looks up and sees the Dragon.

"Uh Oh!" says Tiny Bear, and then 

"Oh Help!" he adds for good measure!

"I am Sylvester Nightwing, 

Guardian of the Enchanted Forest" says the dragon calmly.

"You are free to go now" he added helpfully.

 

Just then Blue, The Blue Fairy Bear appeared beside the Little Dreamers.

"Did I hear somebeary calling for help?" she asked.

 

"Oh, Hello!" said Tiny Bear. 

"I think it was me who called" he said apologetically.

 

Just then Mr. Plum Bear jumped down from Sir Orion's shoulders.

"Hello Tiny Bear, " he said, "I am so happy we found you!" he added.

 "We can go home now!" he said excitedly. 

"But I wanted to go the The Castle...!" said Petunia

 "We were going to The Castle!" she reminded him.

 "So we were.... " said Tiny Bear.

"We can go to The Castle ..." says Little Dreamer Amy.

"I will carry your Bears... and Beth can carry Petunia..." she added

And just like that two Magic Wishing stars

 appeared in their hands!

 

And before they knew what happened...

The Enchanted Forest Disappeared....

 

And they found themselves standing in The Castle Great Hall

 and all around them a Party was in full swing!

It seemed as though no-one had even noticed

 their sudden arrival but Annabelle... 

and she was too young to be very surprised!

 

Well, Dear Readers, I hope you enjoyed 

this Tale of Dark and Danger

 All the Way to its End!

And I Hope you will stay 

for The All Hallows Eve Party...

It is sure to last Deep into the Dark Night

 and be filled with Dancing to the Wild music 

of The Deadly Nightshades....

 And who knows.... 

perhaps even a few Daring encounters

 with Enchantment and Danger still to come, 

for on All Hallows Eve

 the Dark is Deep....

even in your Dreams!