Doll

I’m so proud of myself for finishing up this last sweet girl before the end of February. Of course I did have one extra day- thank you Leap Year! No more girls waiting to be finished. Um, except for the tattooed girls which I will get to soon, I am promising them.

I pulled out all the silk ribbon and also some cotton lace.

A big silk bow on the back of the dress and one on her head too.

I pulled out all my fancy buttons to pick just the right one for her throat. It took me an hour. And that was after I’d sewed on  a silk bow and then nixed it.

The dress fabric is part of the original stash of wools I got from my Mom’s attic.

She has silk ribbon laces- very fancy!

we haven’t really had much winter this year but February is most certainly winter, even though I saw my first crocus out front last week.

I love complementary color combinations!

Lying in the sun- making use of a neighbor’s construction project for a background.

First an apology to anyone who subscribes to the blog by email. I wrote this post last night and when I went to publish it, it disappeared. I have no idea why. That should not happen and there is no explanation. The title went out to the feeds and the email though. Now I will try again.

I love these goth girls. I think that I would have been a goth girl if there was such a thing in 1970.

I had an easier time with this coat- maybe I am getting better?

I’m very happy with the bodice- cashmere, wool felt and floss. I cut the bodice from the sweater ribbing and sewed it onto the skirt which is made from the main body of the sweater.

Some of these girls have been waiting a very long time to get finished up. It is making me very happy to bring them to life.

I wouldn’t mind a cashmere dress like that- soooo soft!

It is nice to have somewhere to use those special little one-of buttons.

She was suppose to be part of the forest girl series but never made it into the group.

I’m getting tired/bored of taking photos of the dolls in my yard. Today I wandered a bit farther and photographed her in the local graveyard.

Nicole wrote up a super nice blurb about me here. Thanks Nicole! I am so happy to be part of the show.

I finally finished her on Friday when it was too late to photograph and somehow managed to not get the photos until today. Here she is!

Once again I struggled with the coat. I thought I had it all figured out with the fox jackets, but it is different for these girls. The problem area ends up being the fit around the neck.

But, after several redos, I got things the way I wanted them.

She is all set for New England Spring. The colors are Spring-inspired but she needs to be totally wrapped in wool.

Yes, I did sew all those little dots onto the skirt. That is my idea of fun!

Do you know what day it is today? My 8 year Blog Birthday! Wow- who could have imagined what an amazingly wonderful experience it has been for me. Thank you everyone who reads, contributes, buys my work- you are the best!

And, one more thing. Check out this amazing artwork by Sam Smith. And thanks so much Cusp for sending me the link!

I told you it was going to be all over the place this month! So now here are 2 fish-

At The Vincennes University Transfer Art Department in Vincennes, Indiana.

I will have 5 dolls in this show if you happen to be near and you want to see them in person. Here are the details in case everything is a bit too small-

All Dolled Up

Nichol Brinkman, Paola Colombo, Jessi Halliday Mesalic, Mimi Kirchner, Jess Quinn, Jennifer Strunge

Thursday, February 9 – Thursday, March 1, 2012.

Artists’ Reception: Tuesday, February 21, 11am – 12pm. Reception will be held in the Shircliff Gallery.

Artist’s Lecture: Tuesday, February 21, 2pm – 3pm – held in the Shircliff Auditorium, Rm. E101 in the Shircliff Humanities Building.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday 8am – 9pm, Friday 8am – 5 pm, Sunday 12pm – 3pm

Nichol Brinkman, Curator’s Statement:
As with most interests in life, if you dig deep enough, you will find there is an entire sub-culture full of fellow enthusiasts.  Through the All Dolled Up show, Vincennes University has given me an opportunity reach out to a select group of my heroes from that softie-making community.  I have chosen these artists to showcase their work based on their sense of whimsy, imagination, design sensibilities and refined craftsmanship.  I have been amazed and inspired by each of these artists, and I am thrilled to be able to exhibit along with them.  I hope this show captures a child-like sense of wonder and awe in everyone who views it.

There is something special to me in these girl dolls. They can be the hardest and the most satisfying.

Her skirt is made out of dark red corduroy. It comes from a Laura Ashly dress that was my favorite all through the 80′s. There are so many pictures of me holding a baby, wearing the dress. Then it snagged on something sharp and ripped. I put it away, thinking I’d somehow figure out how to repair it. Now it is time to give it a new life.

I am diving into the pile of unfinished projects. This lady has been watching over my desk for several months. Unfortunately she wasn’t seeing much since she had no eyes or any other face parts.

I tried something new with her hair and I’m happy with the result-

I sewed a separate piece in a sort of crescent moon shape and then sewed it onto the back of her head.

Body details-

I am hoping to focus on all the UFOs (unfinished objects) this month. That means it will be a month of a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Sounds like fun! Who knows what I will discover and where I’ll end up.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions for more listening. So much goodness! Also, I am going to spend some time thinking about and working on expanding the patterns for my little girl doll. This is a good time of year for me to do that. I’ve already started a list of things I’d like to make for her. Thanks for the encouragement!