Fun in the sun for the Red Nose Dollies

Hello! My name's Val and I am completely thrilled to be one of the people helping the Red Nose Day Dolls. I am an obsessive crafter and I write about what I make at my blog, dottycookie; I spend almost all my free time sewing, knitting, beading, quilting and get quite twitchy if I don't have a project or two on the go. So when Emma asked on a sunny Sunday afternoon whether I would be able to make something for the Red Nose Day Dolls, I thought for about half a second before saying "Yes! Of course!"

But what to make? There are so many clever and lovely people sewing and knitting and quilting and beading for the dolls. What could I do? Well, one of my absolute, all time favourite pursuits is weaving. Could I make something small enough for the dolls? Oh yes, indeed ...

Just like us, every little doll wants to make the most of the sunny weather and have a picnic. And for a perfect picnic you need a basket just the right size to hold all your goodies. If the basket has flowers on it, so much the better. 

And perhaps a pretty picnic tablecloth would make the party that little bit more festive. I always enjoy my sandwiches more in the sunshine, don't you?

Now, one of the dollies is a very fine young man called Mac, and while I'm sure he would happily eat picnic food, I suspected crochet flowers and lemonade might not hold his attention too long. But what could a fine strong lad use? A fishing creel, perhaps? 

Along with the creel comes a small school of sparkly eyed fish, in case Mac doesn't have any luck catching his own. They don't seem to mind being kept in a basket. Yesterday was gorgeously sunny, but on a cold day like today they might positively relish the shelter!

All he needs now is a fine day and a dry spot on the riverbank.

It has been an absolute pleasure creating these baskets. They've occupied my thoughts over the last couple of weeks and I hope the dolls (and their new owners) enjoy them. It's a huge honour to be included in a project which has already brought so much pleasure will hopefully raise valuable funds.

I have written up a free pattern for the little fishies if you'd like to make your own. Do keep reading here, maybe follow the dollies on Twitter or Like them on Facebook, and keep your eyes peeled for auction details!