Meet Cordelia Dovestone.....

I went to work this morning and completed the maid of all work for Balthazar's cottage. She is temporarily going to be living in the Mystery House since it is uninhabited at present. I don't think that it would be proper for her to be picking up after the builder at Clockwork Cottage.

Today a friend sent me some photos of a place that is close to their home in Saddleworth, England. It is called Dovestones and I immediately decided that was a place that I could live happily. The country is mountainous and beautiful. I already have a house picked out. And wonder of wonders, Val says she thinks it's empty. I can dream, can't I?

Anyway, I stole the name for the maid. I already had Cordelia in mind and Dovestone seems to go with it. I dropped the S.

Cordelia is an Irish name so I went with red hair. That really didn't have anything to do with it. I just now went and looked up Cordelia to see if it would work for a straight laced English lass. It's close enough. Maybe she had an Irish grandmother.

Unfortunately, I can't give you any patterns. I didn't have any. I did the whole thing "by guess and by gosh". That's usually the way I do clothes. I have been doing it for dollhouse people for so long that I just start with an idea in mind and start cutting.

You will notice that Cordelia is holding the pieces of her bloomers over herself for modesty's sake. The poor girl only had hair and shoes when this photo was taken.

Some people wait until last to put the hair on a person. I can't do it that way. It has to be a whole person so that it can tell me what it wants. Cordi insisted on high button black leather shoes. She wanted something sturdy for work. Practical girl.

She would only allow a photo of the petticoat if I put something over the front of her. She is still a bit shy.

I always have to put underwear on the female people. That comes from working in a miniature shop years ago. People would come in and pick up a doll and the first thing that they invariably did was look under the skirt. I refuse to let the ladies that I make be embarrassed. Why do people never try to see what's under the men's clothes? Seems to me that it is a double standard of sorts.

The underwear, bloomers and petticoat came from a couple of handkerchiefs that I had in my stash. They're a little fancy for a maid of all work, what with the lace, but she decided that she wanted to be dressed in her Sunday clothes for now. She only had to cook breakfast and do up the dishes on her day off and then she has the rest of the day to herself. Get rid of the apron, put on a hat and she is ready to go out.



Personally, I think that she looks a bit too nice. That's the reason that I am keeping her at the Mystery House for now.

Not too many maids have a foot of lace on the bottom of their petticoats as well as their aprons.

The striped material is another stash item. I bought a 1/2 yard many years ago at an expensive quilt shop. That was all I could afford at the time. I have very little left. Now I wish I had bought more. I am making it last.

All of the trim on the dress is entre-deux from the top of the lace attachment on the handkerchief. So basically, all I used was one piece of material and mostly one handkerchief.


I am reading a Steampunk book right now that mentions a maid's apron bow sticking out like a bustle, so I made the bow large. That is really pretty accurate. The maids weren't allowed bustles so the ties on their aprons were exaggerated.

Now, about that suggestion on the comments for Tessie to dig a tunnel......No way!!! I don't want holes in my table! It seems to me that you are just egging her on now! Cut that out!


See you tomorrow.