The Best Laid Plans...

Yes, indeed. The best laid plans don't always get you laid the way you planned. Love that quote. Can't remember the lady's name who said it. But that seems to be the way life goes. Anyhoo...

October, my favorite month is well underway. My creativity is inching along. Last week was spent going back and forth to my mom's. She fell again, and I went with her to her doctor. A few X-rays later and nothing is broken. Thanks goodness. I made a big pot of veggie soup for her so she wouldn't have to stand a cook. Went and picked up some breakfast things for her to eat when she gets up. Yep, she wasn't eating in the morning while she took her medication. Which made her dizzy and why she fell. Ugh! Two doctors got on her case. Thank you doctors. Did six loads of her laundry and we continued to clear out stuff in the house. Two more trash bags.

Today I'm feeling pretty good. Got my exercise in and even went for a walk. A little farther than the previous walk. It was a beautiful morning, a small wind, brisk temps, the sun shining, just great. I will have to pull out my gloves for the next walk. I got in and did a small drawing for National Octopus Day. October 8th, get it?

I also was able to finally, finally finish a doll. My first Frida Kahlo doll. I couldn't believe it. It's been so long since I completed a project.

And I started some larger hexies to mend my favorite pair of pants that I've had for 20 years. I love those pants and they don't make them like that anymore. I was going to just patch them but I don't like store bought patches, they don't always stay put. Then I saw on Facebook where they were talking about mending items of clothing. So that's what I will do. Mend my pants and stitch on lots of hexies to make my pants fancy. Maybe I'll get another couple of years wear out of them.

I'll be making some green ones today. The pants are a khaki green color. That's my update. Yes, still a little behind but I'm feeling so much better and I'm going to just ride with it.

Hey!

I know it's been a bit but the first three weeks of the first month of the New Year have been a bit sucky. And I wasn't kind to myself. Yep, still working on that. I do know what happened but don't want to go over it now that I've dealt with it. The past rearing it's ugly head once more. I think that will always happen so I shall continue to move on. I think more morning pep talks are needed. I did get a wonderful writing pep talk from a lovely friend in North Carolina. I told her of a problem I was having with one of my stories and she got me to seeing things in a different way. And I've been getting encouragement from a couple of doll makers who work in air dry clay. I'm going to finish something in that new medium, for me, this month. It won't be perfect but I'll have something to show.

I did manage to get down into the dungeon this morning and finally get some sewing of the body parts done. For several days, it's been freezing down there and one time I was wrapped up so much I looked like Ralphie's brother on his way to school. I believe that put a damper on many things and well... the slope got steeper and the slide ensued. I finally got Raggedy Ann done. Oh my gosh! It has been crossed off the list. I also have been sketching and forgot to take a pic and I will do that tonight. But she is done and I can give her back to her owner.

Feeling better about things, so let's hope I can keep it going. Sometimes I feel like a teenager with all this creative angst. Stay warm.

Day 6 - Creative Challenge

I'm behind posting a day. The mad retail rush is happening before Christmas so posting will be weird. But I am working on things everyday. I got Raggedy Ann's dress done yesterday. I will get her apron done today.

Day 4 - Creative Challenge

I'm sticking to the schedule that I've started. So this is day 4. I did make a pattern for Raggedy Ann's dress last night but didn't get it posted. Here is the pattern and I did sew a mockup of the dress after work today. I don't have the original pattern but remembered how the pattern went and made up my own. The dress is cut in one piece. I remember when I did the first pattern in grade school, that gave me the blues. But I figured it out. The two long pieces are the front which is on the fold and the back which is cut in about 1/8" in from the fold. The sleeves look long but they will get a hem and elastic around the wrists and the length of the dress looks good. I will cut out the pattern in the nice fabric tomorrow.

I got the first Boudior doll cut out, sewn, and turned. She may be a bit too skinny but I won't know until I stuff her tomorrow.

And I finally turned my Cauldron Critter ornaments. After having searched for months for fabric similar to the original I'd bought years ago. They are also ready to be stuffed. Lots of stuffing tomorrow.

I still have time to edit part of a short story before bed. And I've got some reading to do. I'm trying to see how much I can get done when I work a good part of the day at the regular job. Right now I'm pooped but will keep going and get a few more things off my list. I have tomorrow off and the thing is that I hope I don't just take it off and actually stuff things. And get Raggedy Ann done. That's all for today.

Working

Raggedy Ann has new hair and bloomers. I want to get her dress done this week so I can give her back to my niece.

I had a commission to do several doll dresses for another artist. He makes wonderful vintage Halloween items including dolls like the one below. Here is the mockup of the dress.

All of her joints move. Even her head. His name is Patrick James Gill.

I also did four smaller ones and I forgot to take pics but they are similar to the ones above. I got something done y'all! Another thing crossed off my list.

New Face and Hair

I'm still working on being more consistent with things. Still. Not giving up though. I got Raggedy Ann and new face and hair.

Below is a trick to do loopy hair I learn a gazillion years ago when I first started dollmaking. I couldn't find my original but I taped together two pieces of cardboard and cut out the center up to about two inches from the other end. I wrapped the yarn around it and stitched down the middle. I'm able to pull the board towards me and the stitched loops backwards in order to wrap more yarn and continue stitching.

The new hair is on the top. Looped and ready to be stitched on her head. I didn't have the same kind of yarn so I used what I had in my stash. More pics coming.

Projects

Here's my latest pincushion from my applique class. I may give it to the mom unit for her birthday or Christmas. You just can't have enough pincushions. She'll love it. I'm still working on my Hop To It blocks. I don't have many more to go and the class will be starting a new design this month. Yikes!

This piece is going onto a wall hanging. I made the wall hanging years ago and the owner wanted parts of it changed. The home for it is a cabin so I drew a bear, fir tree, and moose and appliqued them onto the red fabric. The piece will be stitched onto the proper spot on the wall hanging. I'll take a pic of that when it's done, which should be today. Stay tuned.

First List of 2012

All right. I said that I would publish my lists for the year. I'll have to do them in stages. I thought I'd start with my quilt and applique list. Seeing that I don't do resolutions, I now have expectations for the year. I try not to start new projects before finishing old ones but us creative types know that doesn't always work. There's always something more exciting to try, and the work in progress gets put on the back burner or in the drawer or cupboard.

I've been working on several applique quilts for the past several years. Yes, I'm shaking my head. I don't know the reason for not finishing them. Maybe because I get bored or it could be that finishing them will take a bit more of the cash than I have at the moment. But I expect to at least have the tops done and when I can afford to get them quilted, I will.

Quilt Tops to be finished:
Southern Album
Hop To It
Birdies
Trip Around the World

Other quilts and wall hangings:
-Double Irish Chain- I'd like to get this top done this year
-Wild Blue Berries- it needs to be put together, I got all the hard applique out of the way, along with over 100 blue berries and I just have to do the easy part
-Bunny wall hanging- needs to have the primitive hand quilting done
-Pumpkin Heads- a design I started before last Halloween, would like to have it done for this Halloween for when I decorate my apt
-Blue and Yellow quilt- I started it because I liked the fabric, then ran out of the fabric but my mom had more of the fabric, and well... got to work on that top
-Cabin wall hanging- it's a repair for a friend

New Quilts: one for a friend for her 40th birthday. I do have the fabric and now I have to cut it out. That's the goal, get it cut out.

That's just the quilts. I haven't touched dolls, or my writing, or anything else I'd like to do. At least attempt to do. I know, it's crazy and I don't know why I think I have all the time in the world. Maybe that's why I do it. I have all year and it's only week three of the new year. One bit at a time, one day at a time. Baby steps get me closer to getting these beauties done. It's all about the journey. The process and having fun along the way. At least, that's what I keep reading. We'll see what happens.

Topsy Turvy Doll

One day, working at the job in a gallery, a woman stopped in to look around. We started talking and I told her I made dolls. She asked if I repaired them and I said that I used to. She told me she had her grandmother's doll and it's head was coming off. That there was a tear in it and her two year old granddaughter got a hold of it and well, you know what happened. I told her to bring it in and let me take a look at it and I wasn't going to guarantee anything. A week later, she brought the poor thing in. It was a beautiful doll, well loved. This woman was in her 50s and the doll belonged to her grandmother. Lots of loving going on.

This is the other end of the doll. You can see the discoloration and dirt in the dress.

This is the poor baby. Little granddaughter did quite a number on an already weakened head. I told the lady that I would do what I could but she wouldn't be able to go onto Antique Roadshow with it. She said she knew that and it was okay. She said that it's only worth something to her and she just wanted the head back on.

Her she is with her head back on. I had to make a surgical collar for her. As you can see more deterioration on her cheek. She was very fragile and I had a little darning to do. It's held up well for as old as it is. I marveled at the detail of the hand sewing that was done to put this little beauty together in the first place. The ladder stitching was impeccable. I haven't made one of these in a long time and now I want to dash off a few.  

Isn't she just the cutest thing? I love her embroidered face. I'm glad I got her head back on but she's going to have to have a proper place on a high shelf, away from little fingers. She can't stand much more harsh treatment. I almost cried as I was trying to get her back together because of the condition the fabric is in. But I sucked it up. The lady just wanted her head on.

And now it is.