Doll

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!

I am a bit at loose ends creatively and my love of audiobooks and podcasts is something I’ve been wanting to write about for a while.

First though, a photo-

I had a little job to do that involved revisiting the Purl Girl pattern and making 3, similar to the ones on the original post. They’ve been sent off and we’ll see where they go. It made me wonder if I should revisit and expand this pattern- you know, a whole wardrobe, different hair-dos and some accessories. What do you think?

I work best when the talk-y part of my brain is engaged with narrative. I talked about it here. I used to listen to NPR talk shows, many many years ago, but at some point discovered audio books at my library.  The selection of audiobooks was limited and they were all on the same shelf so I was discovering all kinds of topics that I’d never have picked up in book form. Then, some time around 2007, I discovered podcasts. There seemed to be a bloom of them in the art/craft field. I loved listening to the interviews of other artists, doing essentially the same thing as me. I can remember feeling (and maybe even saying out loud to my IPod!)- that is just like me, that is how I do it too, that is what I think too! Then, sometime a year or two ago, the shows just dried up. I can’t complain- people were making them because they enjoyed it and then they moved on to other things. Or they needed to make some money. I miss the interviews so much. Last summer I actually went back to the beginning of CraftyPod and re-listened to all the shows. It was like visiting old friends and it made me wonder what many of those people are doing now.

CraftyPod is trying out paid subscriptions for her new shows. Diane is still working out the kinks in the system but let me say, I am thrilled that the podcasts are back. I jumped at the chance to subscribe and I hope lots of other people will too- for purely selfish reasons. I want my Podcasts!!! There are lots of fantastic interviews still available for free. It is like a history of the internet craft movement. And yes, she interviewed me way back in 2007!

There are other podcasts I listen to and enjoy, most somehow affiliated with public radio. Here is my list of favorites, all of which are available through ITunes-

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn- this used to be Sound of Young America, which I loved. He has changed the name and the format slightly and I’m not 100% convinced that I’m liking it. This is an interview artists show- the fun thing for me is that most of the artists are people I have never heard of- comedians, musicians, film directors. Jesse Thorn does very intelligent interviews and it is fantastic hearing smart people talk about their creative work.

Cast On- this is a knitting show. I don’t knit anymore. I know, weird. But I like listening to Brenda’s take on things, life in Wales and the music she chooses.

Craft Sanity- this is one of the podcasts that used to be very active with lots of great interviews but has slowed down to a trickle. If you haven’t heard them, there is many hours of great listening here.

Radio Lab- I have learned some amazing things from this show- the kind of information that I spend months thinking about. Things that change the way I view the world. I love it when I see there is a new show.

Science Friday- what can I say. I love it. And the videos on the website are always amazing!

Story Corps- short bits of people lives.

The Memory Palace- these are short and not posted very often but are gems when they appear.

This American Life- of course.

Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me- um, yeah and I follow them on Twitter too.

Are there more that you’d recommend? I’d love to hear about some new ones!

I still spend most of my studio time listening to audiobooks. I am lucky to have access to a very large library network and can get all kinds of great books. I just finished Bill Bryson’s At Home (13 cds!) which I really enjoyed. I am way too cheap to buy from a place like Audible.com. I just don’t get the whole idea that you spend $15 and you have nothing you can pass along to someone else. Also, at the rate I go through the books, I’d be broke in no time. So thank goodness for the library!

I love this dress-

I know I would have wanted one like it when I was little.

This fox is definitely not dressed for camouflage. I love the bright colors in this plaid. I tried to pick up some of them in the sweater and her purse.

This is the last fox for now. I will continue to work on my goal of finishing up the mountain of partially finished dolls in my studio. I’m not sure what it’ll be next…

I am so pleased with myself. I was able to use the jacket pattern I made for the fox in madras with just a few tweaks, and make a jacket for this fellow. And it worked perfectly- Hurray for spending the time to figure out how to do it right!

I believe he is studying entomology.

I did it! I wrangled the dratted bleeding madras into a jacket for this dapper fellow.  If you follow me on twitter, you might have seen that I had a bit of a plaid jacket meltdown. First it was the plaid- it always seems, when I am cutting out the project, that working with plaid is going to make everything much easier- after all, a grid is part of the design. But in reality, all the littlest mistakes are glaringly obvious.

I managed to get all the plaid matched up but my first jacket ended up being a total failure. Here is a confession- most of the time I have no clue what I am doing. I start in and assume I will be able to figure it out. When I’d gotten to the point of having spent many hours trying to get it right, I realized that I needed to step back, take a deep breath, whine a little and do some other project for an evening. Next day I pulled out a human-size jacket, all my basic sewing books and a few books that have doll-size patterns for jackets. I spent the morning trying to get it all figured out and drawing up a new pattern.

In the afternoon, I started over. This time it worked out better.

This fellow looks very familiar to me. I am sure I have met his human counterpart on several occasions.

Here is a sneak peak at the vest lining.

My 1960′s fashion fox couple-

These 2 will be heading out to Indiana for a show at Vincennes University. The show is being organized and curated by Nichol Brinkman of Pink Cheeks Studios.

She is dressed for Spring even though the calendar and the weather are not there yet.

Her dress is one of my favorite Liberty cotton prints.

I was just going to put a bow at her ear but then changed my mind and gave her a pill box hat.

Finally, I can start my flickr set of dolls 2012!

My first finished project of the year- a special order made with a cup that the buyer sent me.

It is good to have a project with a deadline right after the Holidays. It forces me back into the studio.

Now I’ll add a little real life here. I said yes to this project right in the middle of the Holiday season- not something I’d usually do. That time of year should be spent running back and forth from the post office, mailing out all the finished artwork for someone’s special gift. Except that didn’t happen this year. The markets I did in December were fun but the sales didn’t add up to other years. And my Etsy shop was very slow and has been all fall. That has me wondering and rethinking what I’m doing here- hinted at in this post. This old life/art path is not smooth or straight, right? It is that time of year to look back and then forward- why am I doing this, what do I need to get out of it creatively and financially, what do I need to do so that going to the studio every morning is the best part of the day. Yes, it is January again, the time of year to figure this stuff out.

This has been a very busy year for me. I said yes to several projects that have stretched me in new ways. As the year is coming to an end, I am contemplating the paths I want to keep following and the ones that probably aren’t working for me. The year, now that I am looking back, seemed a little less creative. I feel as if I let outside forces direct me instead of following my own creative compass. I need to get back on track with that.

This is my round-up of projects I posted on flickr.

21 Tiny Worlds and I taught one workshop last spring. My big challenge with these is finding good tea cups.

16 foxes.

13 owls plus I made the pattern last February. And 3 babies and 1 bird lady.

14 Tattooed ladies and 3 girls.

And 27 handsome men- 4 lumberjacks, 2 Staffordshire inspired fellows and 21 tattooed men.

And all the rest- 7 kitties, 19 fish, 3 tikis and 4 dogs.

That adds up to 110 dolls plus the 21 Tiny Worlds.

And there are the things I made or worked on that didn’t get posted. Last February and March I worked on some patterns that will be included in a book that is coming out in June 2012. It is not a secret anymore because it is now available for pre-order on Amazon. You can see at least one of the dolls because he is on the cover!

I will be back tomorrow (maybe) for some more reflections and hopes!

Come out to the SOWA Holiday Market and see me this Saturday- yes, that is tomorrow!

One more girl fox.

I’m having fun with the picture taking! They look like friends, right?

When I took off the coat to photograph the dress, oops! Guess she isn’t quite as finished as I thought!

I love picking out just the right fabric for the clothes that the dolls’ wear. This forest fabric seems like just the kind of design a sweet shy fox girl would wear.

Sometimes when I am working on a piece, I start to imagine a character. It usually happens when I am trying to figure out what they should be wearing. I didn’t want to make another professor-type fox, so who was this fellow going to be? I thought of a fox who goes on a walking tour of the English countryside. He has his sketchbook in his bag for when he sits down for a rest.

Here he is with all his stuff-

How do you like his V-neck sweater? I love it- it came from an old sweater of mine! My personal sweaters can be difficult to use because I really wear them out before I am ready to part with them and often there isn’t much usable fabric left.

I made him a red handkerchief for his pocket.

His jacket on and buttoned up. And his olive green cashmere scarf and wool felt satchel.