This baby is the same color palette as this garden lady. I love, love, LOVE these colors together!
Okay, sorry about that. Back to the topic at hand.
Did you know that Firefox can make all the colors in your photos look terrible? I could not figure out what was wrong- my photos looked fine on Iphoto and totally washed out when I put them on my blog or flickr. When I whined loudly enough about it, my sweetie figured out the the problem- check it out.
This doll is of the night garden-
Use your imagination though- no photographing with dark backgrounds… The dark colors are hard enough to show!
I think her upper torso tree, leaf applique looks like a shawl or stole.
Back view- because I am always curious about the back of everything-
2 ladies-
On the steps where the colors are often better-
Now I have finished the lady dolls that had been in limbo since last November- so forlorn. Onto the next thing!
The sketch-
The doll-
Do you know what a penny rug is? That is what I was thinking about- piles of cut-out wool pieces, stitched together and onto a backing. I know this is nothing like a penny rug- it is just what was on my mind!
Looks like the rain is going to end tomorrow. Yes!
Usually when I finish a doll, I am finished. I don’t go back. But now I’ve done it twice in a week. hmm.
This doll is now this doll-
It was a problem with the glasses and eyes. I was never satisfied with them. And several people didn’t get that she was wearing glasses- clearly not working. I’d been looking at her and thinking change for a while. Finally, last Friday, she got new glasses and new eyes too.
I brought her down from the studio to photograph. As I was looking at her through the camera, I saw a tiny hole in the dress- I couldn’t believe it! How could I have missed it? That is what happens with recycled clothing- there is probably a reason they ended up in the thrift shop. Anyway, back to the studio and now she has dots. I love dots.
And this doll- the fairy baby. I was looking at her at the market and this was really bothering me-
The pinks and the yellow orange combo was not working for me- at all. I picked it out today and changed it to this-
And I added a few little lines into the blue butterfly. Small changes but I am happier with it.
I went back to my original post of the fairy baby and just changed the photos and added a note- seems sort of a blog no-no. But I couldn’t decide… it was a recent post and that makes it seem less sinful. Any opinions on this?
*note- today 6/16/09, I redid some of the details on this doll and changed the photos.
This baby says flower fairy to me. She is so soft- the green background is woven cashmere. The flowers in the crown are made of all soft knits- cashmere and angora blends.
Here is the 4 babies together.
note- this is the old version of the baby- I changed the bottom flowers and added details into the blue butterfly.
the hat is suppose to be moon-ish.
Several people mentioned that my hand gave them an indication of the size. I forget that there are new people here who haven’t seen scale photos like this one. These swaddled babies are a little bit smaller then life-size- mostly about 12 inches long.
Now, back to babies-
The garden is incredible right now and sooo inspiring…
I have a very lush patch of thyme in the garden- it has taken years to get like that. I love how the dolls look, nestled in the green bed. And then there is the smell when I am stepping in it to take the photos.
Are you thinking, now wait a minute! I thought you were working on swaddled babies?! Well, yes I am. And I also had/have 3 ladies, waiting in doll limbo since before Christmas. When I started in on the babies, I pulled them onto the desk too. And now look who showed up!
Don’t worry though, tomorrow- another swaddled baby to show.
When I change direction and am trying to get in the groove- from girl dolls which are about the clothes, to baby dolls which are about applique and surface decoration- I find it useful to step back and start with a design I have explored before. That gets me thinking and going in the new direction but hopefully not getting overwhelmed or lost.
I love the night babies so I start there. Here are some earlier ones-
This doll was amazingly hard to photograph. If I wanted to show the details on the body, the face got washed out. Face right? Body ended up too dark. So I mixed them up to give a good idea.
sometimes it can be a challenge to think of how to title these posts- hence the clothing references.
Here is my newest girl- She has lots of discarded clothing pieces on my desk- she was picky, picky, picky!
I love the red and red stripe. And I am sad because I have used it all- now there is only enough for decorative bits here and there.
In the garden, with the allium-
and 2 friends, or maybe sisters?, together.
I still have a pile of girl dolls, ready to dress, thanks to all the help I’ve been getting from my intern, Kelly. So much potential! I am going to change direction though and try to make some babies and maybe some big ladies so that I have more of a range at the market on the 14th.
And speaking (writing) about Kelly, she has opened an Etsy shop- check it out here!