May I present...Natty.

So-named after the sassy daughter of Captain Long John Silver in the novel, "Silver: return to Treasure Island."  While I still love GPA's original "Norma June" design, this little half doll just seemed too sassy to be a pilgrim!  So after I finished her underskirt, I started thinking about changing the basket of flowers on the model's apron to something more....adventurous.  I had originally purchased a compass rose charm to use in her chatelaine, but I decided to stitch one instead.  The basics of the pattern are from a 1980's design booklet by Studio M called "The World of the Ancient Mariner," and I used my own colors.  In addition to the Valdani "Blackened Teal" and Dinky Dyes "Merlot," I also used WDW "Aqua" and The Dye Is Cast "Gold Rush," plus a dark brown for the backstitching.  I absolutely love her!

For those who are curious about the assembly - I found it pretty simple.  The base is a styrofoam cone.  I didn't like the scratchy feel of the styrofoam and the way the linen caught on it, so I wrapped the cone with some cotton quilt batting.  You probably wouldn't have to do that...  I also back-stitched the vertical seam and assembled the skirt much the way you would a biscornu.  For me, that was the easiest way to guarantee the stitching at the bottom lined up properly, and the skirt "cone" stayed the same diameter all the way up!  The apron and the little pocket are all hemmed with Fray-Check, which was a bit fiddly but simple enough in the end.  Natty's "chatelaine" is a tiny copy of  "Treasure Island" and a wee map in a bottle, hung from a piece of a broken necklace that serendipitously had some coordinating beads already attached.

There you have it!  I always finish projects like this and wish I had taken more "in-progress" pictures...