Tilly

I so need a new camera and a new camera card. I do apologize for these pictures. She looks better in person. I tell you, I get to a certain point of making a doll and Bad Wendy starts talking mess. But Good Wendy says to keep going and when the face is on a doll, they really come to life. That's when I fall in love and it's difficult to part with them. But she's now at the Delta Arts Center, waiting for her closeup.

Tilly is a stump doll. They are great to make if you don't want to worry about legs and feet. They can be dressed simply or elaborately. I'm going with the inspiration of a doll made by a slave for her.

Dolls

Here are Mollie, Callie, and William. They are made in the primitive doll vein and are for my exhibit that opens on Sunday.

Their hair is torn black cotton fabric. Mollie's is knotted at the ends, Callie's strips have been braided and then knotted at the ends.

Callie.

I like this pattern but will adjust it a little to make more dolls. The body is a little on the long side. I love the legs and feet though.

Mollie.

William is a tiny guy but very cute. There are little lapels on his tattered vest and a rope holds his pants up. This pattern would make a nice voodoo doll.

Stump Dolls

I like stump dolls. You don't have to worry about legs and bloomers. These two are in progress and will be completed today.

They will go on stands.

Works in Progress

Here are some pictures of clothes for my dollies. I haven't made actual clothes that are put on dolls in a long time. It's made me stretch a little and get out of a certain comfort zone. The clothes still can't be taken off but I've made actual garments to be placed on the dolls. That has been a little fun to do.

These dresses and bloomers have been spritzed with Distress It. It makes things look aged. I think I like using it but will need more practice.

The red piece is a little vest that will get buttons and the blue piece is a pair of short pants that will get a rope belt. Stay tuned.

2 Very Large Dolls

I rarely make large dolls. One, because I live in an apartment and don't have a lot of space; two, because it takes so much stuffing. I didn't mean to make these two so big but it happened. and they seem to be happy. I may tweak the pattern a bit but I already have more ideas for them in the near future. I probably won't be making a gazillion of them but a few more in in queue.

As you can see, they have very long legs only partially stuffed so that the legs can dangle or be posed into a cross legged position. They have big feet. I wonder what that's telling me? The flap that was made makes a nice bottom. I have a pouch of pellets there and then I stuffed very well. I want to make some Mardi Gras ones or a zombie or two.

I really like button eyes and they have fabric noses and embroidered mouths and eyebrows. They may get rosy cheeks and I'm still waiting for that distress stuff. They will have fabric strips for hair. Gotta work to get that on today, along with their dresses. Well, I've got to get going. A few errands await and then back to the grindstone.

Have a happy day.

Happy February

It's here. Didn't we just celebrate Thanksgiving? February 1. Today. I feel my life has been put on speed dial. Oh well. I either go with the wave or sink. I think I'll try surfing. Still working on keeping emotions in check. I tell you, when you get sick, it just makes you feel so bad. Not just physically but mentally. You try not to feel like a baby and just suck it up. But when the body hurts and you know you have so much to do, the mind hurts. And when the mind hurts to the point of affecting your creative being, your soul hurts. When you're all better, the doubts return of whether or not you're any good.

No matter how far behind you are, you get up, dust yourself off, and get back on the creative saddle. I tried horseback riding once. It was fun. Getting off the beast was another story. But still a fun experience and I would probably try it again. So, here we go. This is what I started last night. I'm not really into making big dolls but these may turn out to be fun.

The little flap you see is going to form a bottom so they can sit better. Once filled with some pellets and stuffed to within an inch of their lives. Ha! I love it. They will be primitive doll types. Loosely based on some dolls I've seen made by slaves. They will have button eyes, a fabric nose, and embroidered mouth. I'm waiting for my Distress It to come in the mail and see what I can do with it on these dolls and one more that's in the works.

I like the shape of the legs. I may make some goth ones later and have the legs made out of a patterned fabric. We shall see.

End of January 2012

Can you believe it? It's the end of January. I yawned and it flew by. I feel like I'm very late, like the White Rabbit in Wonderland. I don't know what happened. Maybe I do. It all started with being sick that first week of the New Year and things continued in a downward spiral. Once again, I was treading water and not very pleased about it. It all came to a head last week and I've come to some conclusions.

• I am very resilient. No matter what gets thrown at me, how many times I get knocked down, or how many times I fall into chasms, holes, or over cliffs, I get up and keep moving.
• I am stubborn and will not take no for any answer, especially if it has to do with my creative life. I may be down but I most certainly am not out.
• I am a very cool gal. I like me. I am in control of my feelings and happiness. That's my job. Or at least one of them. My other jobs are to create fun and unusual things and to write fun, unusual, scary, happy, fantastical things.
• The year has just begun and I have a plan. Actually, several.
• I am back on track.

I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to this month. I've added fuel to my creative fire though. February, here I come.

I did manage to get a few things done. Two art cards and another Hop To It block.

 Flowers and Fences.

Rainy Garden.
Both postcards are done in acrylic on watercolor paper. More are planned.

Hop To It Block 7

Finally getting back to my block of the month applique quilt. Yes I'm behind but starting to catch up. I will have this quilt top done this year. All the leaves have been appliqued down.

The flowers have been appliqued. Supposedly it's easier to do such a detailed piece in stages. Get the flower stitched together before putting it in place on the block. Maybe. I will be gluing these down tomorrow before adding more flowers and leaves this week.

Works on Progress

I'm working. I'm working. I just had to show you.

The jar contains the antique buttons I got for Christmas. I love them.

 Here are more prim dollies.  Most will be dressed for Easter and some will be goth like.

This trio are a new pattern. One will be for the Delta show and the other two will be voodoo/zombies. I think you can tell which will be which. I will make their clothes but I will be ordering a distressing concoction from a quilting site online. I can't wait to get that stuff. It's awesome.