Before I packed up my studio last winter, I sewed up a number of things/dolls so that I could easily get back to work… well, I wouldn’t say easily, but it has been doable and I am thanking my past self. Mostly I can work on the men dolls, never a bad thing!
I gave him a fancy antique button.
Oh those gorgeous tattoos!
Beautiful hair :-)
I wish the pops of metallic ink on the tail fabric would show up better in the photos. The tentacles have silver dots and those are gold details too.
The ladies!
Look at me! I’m making some new things! It is still going slowly and will continue like that for a while because we will be closing on a new home soon and then there is all of that to deal with.
This is a Fire Merman- what?? you say?! I’ve read about places in the ocean called hydrothermal vents. They are underwater volcanically active areas and all kind of strange creature live near them. This fine fellow fits right in.
I wanted to make his hair look like flames.
He has an antique glass button, black with some gold “waves”.
A close-up of the back of his hair-
And hanging out in the backyard…
There is something so special about these 2 handled cups. They look just a little bit fancier than and other cups.
Lastly, a very bright fairy house and garden in a cup with delicate gold filigree designs.
All Listed now! I am going to try to get all these Tiny Worlds into my Etsy shop early this week. I will edit this post when I get that done.
I’ve had a very busy birthday week- now that I’m in Chicago, I can celebrate with my kids which is awesome. I went and saw Barbie with my daughter. It was a delight.
The latest Tiny Worlds-
According to the name of this china pattern, this is a wood anemone. When I google that, I saw mostly white flowers but who am I to question the bottom of a teacup!
And another Blue Willow cup. I love these classic patterns!
These are some more beautiful gifted tea cups. The big flowers are peonies I think.
I was the lucky recipient of some beautiful tea cups in the lead-up to the move. I was wavering if I should accept them since I was packing up my whole life but I’m so glad I took them. Now I can think about my friends as I make each Tiny World.
This one looks so summery!
And this one is such a formal pattern. These two cup designs are practically opposites.
It’s been a long time coming! Even though everything is moving slowly, it feels great to get something finished!
2 Blue and white cups and saucers.
I am so out of the habit of doing the social media! I really have been SO distracted. A (whole!) month ago, I went to the h+h Americas show because it was in the Chicago area and I knew a few people who would be at the show. And, I wanted to get out of the house and think about crafty things. It is a business to business show and since I’m a maker, I qualify. I got to see some interesting new products and it got me thinking about equipment and supplies for when I set up my new studio.
I didn’t take enough photos but I got samples and catalogs so this is going to be a lot of links.
I stopped at the Quilter’s Rule booth and saw their all-white Mega cutting mats. I have looked for a white cutting mat for years but the closest I’ve gotten was clear(-ish) or light grey. I want a white mat so the fabric colors stay true. This company has them in all sizes including gigantic (60″ x 120″), not that I’d need that! Anyway, definitely on my new studio wish list.
This Clover tool got me excited- it is called a Pattern Cutting Guide.
It is for changing or adding a seam allowance to a pattern. My patterns don’t come with seam allowances and if someone wanted to add one, this would be just the thing. I can think of lots of times this would come in handy in my work.
I met the designer of Little House Cottons and was charmed by her fabrics. I will have to find a retail outlet in the Chicago area that sells her fabrics. Speaking of which, if anyone knows of good fabric stores in Chicago, I’d love to hear about them.
There were some fantastic displays and this one made me laugh- it is knitted!
I am getting a tiny bit of work done but it is going VERY slowly. I don’t think I will be back to work in a new studio until the new year. Fingers crossed.
Maybe I should call them settling in projects. That’s what they feel like.
I bought these 4 gnomes many years ago (maybe 25?) in Paris and they came home with me in my carry-on. They lived in our front window, watching the world go by. I noticed how faded they were when I packed them up for the move. Once all our boxes arrived, I unpacked them and found my paints and brushes and got to work. Pictured above: 1 red hat.
It was harder that I was expecting- I am out of practice mixing paint colors!
Hats, shoes, skin tones painted. Of course I forgot to paint the ear on the one fellow that has them so had to go back later and try to match. As I said, out of practice with the color mixing.
All Done!
And now they are back in a new window.
