Doll

I’m working on more sweater babies-

and I’m loving my new camera!

and now for Grandma 4- She is made of linen.

I love the stamps on this box!

I ordered more gourds- I’m doing another gourd head doll workshop at the end of the month.

I buy them from Mojave Gourd Farm.

Why is it that my Big Ladies look like Grandmas and Church ladies but the Big Men look like Superheroes, musicians and football players…

I’ve been thinking for a long time that I want to put up a free pattern on my blog. Then, I get overwhelmed at the idea. So, I’ve decided to try doing it in baby steps. First I will post about the tools I use. Let’s see how far I get with this- ha!

The first tool is my camera- I just got a new one, a Canon A610. So far I am very happy with it. I had a Nikon 5400 before and was never able to get it to take photos the way I wanted- I thought I was inept until I read all the reviews on Amazon and realized a lot of other people had the same focus issues that I did- phew. This new camera makes this project seem a lot more doable.

This is my light box- my newest favorite tool-

it is one of the many things I picked up from my parents house in the big clear out. It is an old x-ray viewing unit. I use it to make patterns which always seem to involve a lot of tracing. And here is what I am often tracing onto- freezer paper-

This is an old roll that I also got from the parents house, but it is available in supermarkets in the US. I have heard it is called deli paper in other parts of the world. It is paper on one side and plastic on the other.

What I love about freezer paper-
-It sticks to your fabric by ironing it on- Any fabric from bulky felted sweaters to slippery light silky stuff.
-You don’t have to worry about seam allowances.
-You can reuse the same piece several times- I usually ruin the paper before it gets to the point where it won’t stick to the fabric anymore.
-It is cheap so it’s not precious.

Freezer paper saves a lot of frustration from patterns slipping around. I always use it for my wool dolls. The photo of the hands show another tool I use a lot- the darning foot for my sewing machine. When I make the hands for my wool dolls, I do a free-motion embroidered outline on the machine. Then cut close to the stitching, around the edge.

That’s all for today- any questions?

This is Grandma 2 or maybe she should be Big Lady.

side view-

and her face-

Those are some of the buttons I was washing yesterday. I think I will have to make her a purse…

I am so lucky- Wynonna arrived today from California. When I opened the box and unwrapped her, she looked like she was ready to give me a hug! Thanks Sweetnellie, I really love her! She made my day!

I have been working, but no energy for posting… I’ve got some stuff going forward so I’ll be able to put up some new stuff in a day or 2. I was sorting through buttons and decided these ones needed cleaning. Here they are all scrubbed- so pretty now.