2.5.14

My day for the Door Stop Hop! Glad you could stop by.
Larger one is 13.5" tall, medium one is 10" tall, small one is 7.0" tall.
My doorstop is drawn from inspiration in part from fabric I had on hand, and an article in the 2013 Autumn Quilter's World showing Babushka Pillows made by Jenny Rekeweg.

I used the basic outline of the pillows, but I needed to have objects that could stand so I extended the design to allow circular panels on the bottom.  Mostly filled with fiberfill, I used aquarium gravel (new, of course!) stuffed into old knee-highs to weight the bottoms.

They do NOT tip over easily. All together, these little ladies and the dolls in their pockets weigh 4.8 pounds!

These do not nest but authentic Matryoshka will.

Babushka means a triangular scarf worn over the head and tied under the chin  in the manner of a grandmother. In fact, the BABA part of babushka means  married woman or old woman. Some people call this style of doll a Babushka doll, but the real name is Matryoshka. Maybe you recognize the Latin "mater" as the base of the word, or maybe you are reminded of the Hindi word Matri which also means mother.
   


The first Russian Matryoshka was produced in 1890 by woodcarver Vasily Zvyozdochkin and painter-designer Sergey Maliutin  who were probably influenced by wooden dolls from Japan. My research mentions Daruma dolls or Fukuruma, but I think the style looks like Kokeshi, too.There are contradicting ideas about the origin, but it is notable that the Japanese Daruma depicts an Indian Bodidharma (wise man) who moved to China in the 5th century. By my count, that is a double connection to India.
Pocket dolls just right for a dollhouse!
Basically, that means the Matryoshka is as universal as grandmothers.




Thank you, Madame Samm and Carla for letting me play, too.




EDITED TO ADD
Madame Samm stopped by THREE times to try to leave a comment. I believe I have FINALLY, figured out how to disable all the comment moderation checks AND saved the changes. My apologies if you tried to leave a comment and it was uncooperative. Here are Madame Samm's nice words:
FIRST
I am so glad I kept browsing down to find your post today…I was a bit stuck on the fish lol
YOUR BABuskas are adorable…. love the wee ones in the pocket…so clever…if you see this note…maybe bring it to the top…I bet many will comment and will see that you are HERE today lol

oh and your comment moderation , could you think about turning it off for just today….again..more comments…I could not see the words at all..let me know and I will return...

and SECOND
Bless your heart Michelle...you fixed it,,,,thank you...
I will try to get back and leave a comment after i get out of this meeting..

and THIRD
 Comment moderation is still on....so please add my comment for me thx

You Matter

Mdm Samm



I guess she really does mean "You Matter", because even though she was in a meeting, she tried to help me out.


VISIT THE OTHERS!
Don't Let the Door Stop You Hop Schedule for February 5



More Stars in Comanche
Buzzing and Bumbling
Sew and Sow Farm 

Carretel E Agulha
The Quilting Queen
Pig Tales and Quilts

46 comments:

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

Very clever nesting doorstops.

The Thimblemouse of Country Crossroads said...

Fabulous!!!! Such beautiful faces!

jan said...

Oh these are just too cute! I love them and the wee ones in the pocket!
Thanks for sharing.
xo jan

Judy B said...

What cute door stoppers! Thank you for sharing.

Carla said...

So creative. Not only are the dolls beautiful, but the extra touch of the little dolls in their pockets gives such a wonderful touch. Thanks for sharing a little history, too.
Thank you for hopping, you added such beauty to the day.

Jane's Quilting said...

They are so cute. What a great idea you hsf..even little ones in the pockets.

Baa. xxx said...

Your dolls are very cute - so lovely the three of them together - especially with the extra's in their pockets - we love them!

Sunshine Girl said...

They are lovely - love the dolls in the pockets

DebraKay Neiman said...

Your Matryoshka dolls are so wonderful...love the pocket dolls too. crystalbluern at onlineok dot com

littlelixie said...

I love those dolls! Great idea.

Calicojoan said...

Oh do I love those. I have a set of Russian nesting dolls and these little treasures remind me of them! What a great way to keep that door in place! Fabulous job!

Missy Shay said...

What a great idea, they are very cute!

Marit Johanne said...

Beautiful doorstoppers ! And thank you for the story about Babushka and Matryoshka, very interesting.

Linda said...

I love your little doorstop dolls! Thank you for the history, too. What a great idea!

Mara said...

Fantastic, I like the word Matryoshka better, BaBa in Greek means father. I have several of these dolls, love your fabric ones.

Purl Buttons said...

Madame Samm stopped by THREE times to try to leave a comment. I believe I have FINALLY, figured out how to disable all the comment moderation checks AND saved the changes. My apologies if you tried to leave a comment and it was uncooperative. Here are Madame Samm's nice words:

FIRST
"I am so glad I kept browsing down to find your post today…I was a bit stuck on the fish lol…
YOUR BABuskas are adorable…. love the wee ones in the pocket…so clever…if you see this note…maybe bring it to the top…I bet many will comment and will see that you are HERE today lol"

oh and your comment moderation , could you think about turning it off for just today….again..more comments…I could not see the words at all..let me know and I will return...

and SECOND
"Bless your heart Michelle...you fixed it,,,,thank you...

I will try to get back and leave a comment after i get out of this meeting.."
and THIRD
"Comment moderation is still on....so please add my comment for me thx"

You Matter
Mdm Samm

What a lesson this first hop has been.

Lou said...

Awesome job!

Carol Swift said...

They are just beautiful and I loved your explanation about their origin. The little dolls in their pockets are adorable! I'm so glad you hopped with us!

Joyce Carter said...

These dolls are way too cute. (I love the story of their origin.) You did a wonderful job making them. How did you make their faces? They really look wonderful. I love the little aprons, too. Thank you for sharing today.

KatieQ said...

I love your doorstop, especially the little ones in the pocket.

vicki said...

Love them! Thanks for sharing. vickise at gmail dot com

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

Love your matryoshka doll doorstops…the little ones in the pockets are so cute!! Thanks for sharing :)

Sherry VF said...

I love Babushka dolls! (I've also heard them called Matrushka dolls.) They look especially nice when in a group like you've done, so, you can imagine that they can be nested. svonfumetti at yahoo dot com

Lana said...

WOW wow!!! You did a LOT of hard work, but those are soooooo worth it! Very nice indeed!

Anonymous said...

Oh this group of three are so cute, especially the tiny ones in their pockets! Thank you for sharing!!

Tami
tamiquilts(at)att(dot)net

Lydsfire said...

These girls make me smile! Lovely idea!

Anonymous said...

So creative! Nice work!

Marcy said...

These are sew cute. I saw them in Quilter's World but yours beat them.

Cindy P. said...

Three times wonderful. 😃😀☺️

Mary Pat Callihan said...

The dolls are lovely, especially the tiny ones in every large ones pocket! such attention to detail is wonderful as well as all the research you have done. It makes the dolls even more special understanding all of the history.

Debby said...

Love those dolls. I have some real nesting dolls from Russia and would enjoy having some fabric ones. They are truly lovely and thanks for sharing some background info.

maggie said...

I love the Babuska dolls. Isn't that fabric wonderful? I recall having little wooden dolls like that when I was a girl. Still love them

Well done.
cheers
maggie

maggiemine42@gmail.com

Teatime Creations said...

Your dolls are sew cute. Lovely detail. Looks like tatting on their aprons . Nice.

sandra said...

Your dolls are beautiful and I love their faces . Thank you for sharing.

Janarama said...

Your doll doorstoppers are absolutely beautiful. You did a fabulous job!

Margaret said...

How very cute. Love your work. Thanks for sharing

Brandy said...

The dolls are pretty awesome, I knew right away what you were making! I love how you were making your fish, is it large enough to be a decorative pillow? Thank you for sharing!
~Brandy

MoeWest said...

Your Matryoshka dolls are very well done! I love the little ones in the pockets too!

Emily C said...

Very cute. I always loved the Matroyshka dolls.

Vickie said...

I was thinking they are Polish dolls....I almost made one for my doorstop ! These are very cute and I love that they have baby dolls in their pockets !

gpc said...

Those are adorable -- absolutely LOVE them!

Marian said...

Those dolls are fabulous, great job!!

Amy said...

They are all just adorable. Their little faces really are so cute and their aprons add the perfect touch.

Leah said...

These dolls are lovely! Great way to showcase the fabric.

LJ said...

When I was a kid, there was a fad for awhile - we all wore babushka scarves and nope, we were not grandmothers. :) I was impressed with your dolls especially as I noticed the tatted aprons right away. I wondered if you made them specially or were they hankies. Thanks for all the great info.

Carrie P. said...

oh, my goodness! your door stops are the cutest ever!