Artist of the Month

I am featured Artist of the Month at Olde Mill Eclective at the Bethania Mill Shops. Yay me! If you're in Bethania, NC, stop by and see my setup. It will be up until the end of October. There are other lovely shops in the mill and Muddy Creek Cafe is right next door. Yummy food and local beers. There's parking in the back, and if that's crowded, there's parking at the Bethania Visitor's Center across the street.

Olde Mill Eclective

in the 

Bethania Mill Shops

5455 Bethania Rd

Winston-Salem, NC 27100

336.813.3774

We are also on Facebook. www.facebook.com/oldemilleclective

Be sure to support your local businesses, shops, and artists this holiday season. Thanks!

Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Convention

I hadn't been to a doll convention in years but this year I participated in the Quinlan Doll & Teddy Bear Convention, Show & Sale in Essington, Pennsylvania. It was wonderful. If you are interested in dolls or bears or both, this is the place you should be next year. The talent was astounding. I did have a table of my dolls set up and have ideas swirling in my head for next year. It will be bigger and better. I saw an old friend there, met new friends, got lots of business information, networked, and had a lot of fun.

Here I am with the kids.

A view of my whole table. It turned out better than I'd hoped.

This is a needle felted bear by artist Stevi T of Alpaca Encounters. www.stevit.etsy.com

And this is her pirate Steampunk rat.

There were many panel discussions and this one was on How to Find, Create and Encourage New Collectors. The panel included Agnes Intellicato, Christine, Donna Nielsen, Debbie Weimert, Cindy McGuire, and Amy Thornton.

Christine Shively-Benjamin also gave a talk for someone who couldn't make it. It was called, Dolls in the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian.

Me and Christine. We've been friends for a very long time.

Lillian Alberti, Diane Troutman, and me.

Some of the wonderful people I met at one of the yummy meals.

Mark Dennis. Love his work. He won two awards the last night.

Here's Christine again. She's a lovely lady and avid collector. I'm going to have to do this in two parts.

Brunson Elementary School

Last week I went to speak to 5th graders at Brunson Elementary School. I showed many dolls and spoke about my creative process. They loved it. My dolls and me. I had a lot of fun and have been invited back.

I started with some cloth dolls I had made, went into polymer, and then needle felting. I'm working on a small project for them to do.

More in Progress

I've decided to try and get a lot of doll bodies done this month and dress them all next month. Stuffing and attaching limbs can be a bit tedious, dressing them is fun. I'm going to try it. Here are more bodies in the works.

I like my little voodoo doll pins so much that I decided to enlarge the pattern to make a larger doll. I don't have a copier in my apartment so I measured the original pattern. The distance between the top of the head to the waist, the top of hips to toes and made a new, bigger pattern.

This is what I came up with after using some of my yummy stripe fabric for their legs. I'll stuff them tomorrow. I did find a problem after altering the body pattern as I was cutting them out and had to readjust the leg pattern. If it works out after stuffing, I'll just adjust the leg part. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to redo the body.

This is my fourth Ghostie Girl. As of right now she doesn't have a name. She will have bats. Not in her belfry but all over. They are pets. I'm on the lookout for a small wicker birdcage. The craft stores have their fall stuff out now and guess where I'll be. Also will be on the lookout for coupons.

Another Wandi Goth doll. I finally stuffed her head and attached it and limbs. That other long arm with the pointed finger belongs to the above Ghostie Girl.

Wandi Mermaids

Hello dearies. I've gone from the beach into the sea. Finally, I cut out and sewed some mermaids. No longer will I be doing more than four of these Wandi dolls at a time. This group will be the first to be excessively beaded. I don't know if I like the tail or not at the moment, but we'll see how I feel about it after they're stuffed.

This is wonderful upholstery trim that I use for hair. Love the stuff and I get it when and where I can find it. I know exactly how many heads I can dress with one yard. The bits that fall off are collected for my mom and her projects.

I like purple a lot these days, along with the stripes. I'm still working on a design for the dolls that will wear those beautiful stripes.

The blue is pretty cool too. Very sea like.

Some of these fabrics you've seen before. They will be goth voodoo doll pins. That is a mouthful, but that's what they're going to be. They'll be cut out this week. Probably nine of them. I like combinations of three.

A New Month!

Yep, a new one.  Another chance to do something cool, great, sincere, funny, goofy, you name it.  Catch up is the theme for the month.  Right now I'm a little goofy because we've dodged the snow rocket.  But I've got to get going.  Working on finishing dolls to make their way to the Outer Banks and possibly a new shop.

These are the first two of my Seaside Wandi Dolls.  They will have sailor type dresses on and hats.  Yeah, sure.  Okay, I do believe I will pull these guys together in a day and a half.  I ransacked what fabric I have left and would you believe I don't have any white?  White!  Fabric!  A basic color.  I so need to go shopping for everything.  Anyway, I have other Seaside gals in mind.

My chorus line consists of Spring Wandi Dolls ( the two on the left and the far right) and two Valentine Wandi Dolls.  I wasn't going to do anything Valentine like but I had the fabric, so what-the-heck.  The doll with the black legs is going to be a Spring Goth Wandi.  I'm looking for new hair.  What I had been using doesn't want to be found anymore.  It has become my big quest.

I really don't need any new projects but that's what us creative types do, have a couple hundred projects going at the same time.  I do believe I'm in good company.  I've learned how to quilt, only to do applique, which I just love doing.  This is the first block in one of those block-of-the-month quilts.  I know, I know, my mind has been kidnapped by aliens from some distant nebula.  I still can't remember how I got roped into doing this project.  My instructor is very good.  I've changed some of the colors from the original and my teachers project.  That's just me.  I'll see if I can get that pic up too.  I do have my bias strips made for the stems.  The quilt is called Hop To It.  There is a bunny involved.

I will post my list for February within the next couple of days.  At the end, we can see how close I get to marking everything off.  Creative Mojo Man and the Wendy's are falling over laughing.

I'm on Etsy!

I finally did it and it was a challenge.  I'm finally on Etsy.  You can click on the Etsy link on my blog and go directly to my shop.  Now I'm still trying to figure it all out and it is a work in progress, so bear with me.  Right now my head hurts.  But I did it.  After much anguish and gnashing of teeth, and gnawing down finger nails.  I have Cassa and Lexa posted.  Next will be Goth Girl Wynn.

I did it.

New Fabric

Okay, so I wanted to start on some spring dollies because I'm tired of the winter weather.  I looked through my stash and I don't have anything.  Nothing.  Zilch.  I had to go to the grocery store and stopped by the fabric store nearby.  Or rather, I went to that grocery store, knowing that the fabric store was nearby.  Right.  I don't know if they haven't gotten their spring stuff in yet, but this is what I fell in love with.

Kind of springy.  The black and purple one is for some Goth Girls.  Didn't really see anything bright and spring or summer like.  Oh well, applique workshop is coming up and will stalk the fat quarter section while there.

First dollies of 2011

I decided to relax over the weekend.  I had wanted to get right to work but asked myself when would I have a nice long weekend to celebrate a holiday again?  I mean, the next time off is Memorial Day.  So, I took a break.  I was invited by neighbors across the street to ring in the New Year.  It was very sweet of them, I went and had a ball.  The food was awesome.
    A relish dip of some sort with eggplant, onions, tomatoes; a roasted red pepper cheese; another herb cheese spread; mushrooms stuffed with chopped mushrooms and spinach; salad; bread, and rosemary herb bread; veggie and meat lasagna; spaghetti and huge meatballs; cookies, brownies, and tiramisu.  Of course, the vino and champagne when the clock struck midnight.  Good thing I lived across the street.

I didn't want to start off the new year by mentally berating myself for not doing anything.  I mean it's only day three.  So I cut myself some slack.  After watching movies for three days and seeing some extremely handsome men, I finished my first dolls of the year.

The Wandi Girls.  From left to right, Lexa, Wynn, and Cassa.

I just love this pattern and I have new clothing designs for them coming up.

 Wynn the Goth Girl.

 Cassa a Wandi Witch.

 Lexa, also a Wandi Witch and Cassa's BFF.

Is she sassy or what?

Cassa is a bit more demure.

Lexa is ready to have fun.  Or cast a spell on a termite.  They will be the first on my new Etsy shop.  That info will be posted very soon.  Cheers!

Jack Patch

This is a quick sketch of Jack Patch (working title). It features my twin Goth Girls, unnamed at this time but drawings and stories will be of their adventures through Halloween land. I have a lot of catching up to do with myself and my followers. Creative batteries have been recharged and I'm ready. So many ideas. I hope my head doesn't explode.