Doll

A little girl lives next door to me and her big blue eyes and dark hair were the inspiration here. This doll looks a bit older then Grace, who is almost 5.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I took some of the dolls to my local park to have some fun photographing them. It wasn’t completely successful- lots of photos with the doll stand showing in a strange way or odd light… but I learned a lot for next time. And there were some that I liked-

And then there was the wildlife!

I will be showing my work at the following places in the next few months-

Sunday, June 14- Boston Handmade will do a group appearance at the South End Open Market.

Saturday, July 11 (raindate Sunday, 7/12)- Boston Handmade Somerville Marketplace in Union Square.

Saturday, July 25- Boston Handmade at the Concord (NH) Arts Market

Sunday, Oct. 18- Boston Handmade at the South End Open Market.

I’ve pulled out the Heather Ross “Mendecino” fabric again- love those mermaids!

I had breakfast with Lilla this morning. It is such fun to spend an hour or two with someone who speaks the same language- you know, art and the internet and all. No explaining. We blabbed about our families, then moved on to show-and-tell. First me-

Then Lilla- she had all kinds of goodies from the artists she represents-

A wonderful way to start the day!

I’ve got plans for my long weekend. No, I will not be relaxing in a beach chair. I will be planting my tomatoes, making containers this way again. I might experiment with some wool sweaters- the cotton started to disintegrate very quickly although that didn’t actually cause any problems. I will be planting the following varieties- one plant of each- noted for my records.

-Carbon

-Bush Goliath

-La Roma

-Nepal

-Taxi

-Washington Cherry

And, I am hoping to make some major progress on my studio/former bedroom project. As of today, all the walls and baseboards are primed. The windows are close to being ready to prime… as you’ve probably noticed, I get overly obsessed with details and it makes getting a project like this finished practically impossible.

Lastly, in the best of all possible worlds, I will make myself some summer clothes. A skirt, shirt, jumper? We’ll see. I’ve got the fabric… that is the easy part!

firstly, woohoo! Small Magazine! I’m here with some fantastic company!

And now, Red Riding Hood 3. This is the last one.

I’m not sure why, but my camera loves grass. If I take a photo with grass in it, all the other colors are perfect!

She has a little bit of over-dyed knitted lace for a collar.  And some sweet embroidery at her waist.

Here she is with her hood up-

When I look at her face, I think- no wolf is going to get the better of her!

I’ve had some people suggest that I make a wolf- probably not going to happen… but I did think about it. And do some sketches.

Cashmere cape and dress. Embroidered bodice. 21 1/2 inches tall.

Be a little bit afraid-

She has a cashmere hooded cape, a wool dress with vintage ribbon trim and a cream wool felt collar.

Her basket is wool felt. The dress is made from the sleeves of a sweater.

The basket attaches to the wrist with a hook and eye.

There are a few different photos at Flickr.

I’ve got 2 more Red Riding Hoods to do. They are cut out, stuffed and ready for their handwork.

Have I mentioned that I have an intern working for me now? She is helping me cut and stuff. And, knowing that she is going to be with me for an afternoon gets me organized. We are working on girls. And I went a bit nuts… I just got so excited about all the ideas in my head and the colors in my shelves- I now have 15 dolls in progress- Yikes! And there is still a few more in my head… but I am ignoring them until I get some of these done.

Right now, they are in many stages- from all sewed together, with face and hair (just need to do the dress and all those little extras) to cut out in a pile.

After they are cut out, I put the pieces for each doll into an individual ziplock bag. I also put any other fabric I am planning on using for that doll into the bag. As I sew the parts and stuff them, they stay together in their bags until the doll is all together and ready to be dressed. At that point, I like to look at them sitting around the studio. In the photo below, you can see one doll that is mostly finished and then all the plastic bags.

Hopefully I will have some finished girls to show you soon.

I have started two new groups over on Flickr- one for tiny worlds and one for Purl girls. Come and join in the fun, get inspired or just enjoy the photos. I would love to see what people make from the patterns! The groups are pretty sparse right now, but hopefully there will be loads of photos soon!