Doll

Finished- one tweedy tiki-

and the side-view-

The signature-

Here is one of the distractions that I was thinking about when I wrote the “revving” post. The tug got strong enough that I spent yesterday and part of this morning playing around with dyes. I have a collection of dye packets that I started accumulating in the mid-seventies when I was in college. They are mostly Cushing Acid Dyes. I have a paper with a photo of what the colors are suppose to look like. I also have my preconceived idea of what olive green or burgundy should look like. I have found neither to be even slightly helpful in guessing how a certain dye packet would look on my wool fabric. I decided it was time to test them all out and make my own reference.

This is what I did-

I collected all my white/off-white/cream wool fabric bits and set aside all the smaller pieces- odd shapes and smaller then 12″ x 12″- to use for my dye samples. I also cut up one white sweater with a 40% angora/60% wool content. I put 1/4 teaspoon (or less) of dye powder into a pyrex dish. (I have 2 pyrex dishes and a microwave that I just use for dyeing.) Dissolved the powder.  Added water, added wet fabric- at least 3 pieces of assorted textures, into the microwave for 10 minutes on high. Then I added a tablespoon of salt, stirred, and added a few more pieces of fabric, smushed into the dye. I let that sit for at least another 20 minutes, rinsed, threw it into the washer and dryer and then made my sample cards. I did 16 tests.

Here is an example card-

Dyeing this way makes it almost certain that the colors will be uneven- fine with me. The first fabric into the dyebath comes out darkest. The later fabrics can be not only lighter, but very different colors… The fabric texture and weave can really affect the look of the color- for instance the angora always looks lighter and hazy because the fluffy rabbit fur doesn’t absorb the dye like the wool.

Now I have these great piles of interesting and some very odd colors. Lucky me!
I was trying to see if I had something that would get me my favorite acid green, so the few bits left in my stash wouldn’t be so precious. I’m not there yet, but I’ve ruled out a lot of things and I have some ideas for additional experiments. I love doing this- it makes me feel like a mad scientist!

WooHoo! Finally, I can let you know about the coolest thing- Sister Diane from CraftyPod called me a few weeks ago for an interview. We talked and laughed for over an hour. It was so much fun! And well, afterwards, a bit nerve-racking. I spent the next few days rethinking everything I said and sometimes wishing I could add (or subtract!) to the conversation. I have been having low grade anxiety ever since, worrying I’d sounding like a complete idiot, but I have to hand it to the magic of Diane- she took all my babbling, run-on ramblings, ums and pauses and put them together in a way that I am ecstatic about! I think audio editing for podcasting must be a lot like quilting- Diane has all these little bits and snippets and goodies and she puts them together into an interesting and better-than-the-original, finished product. Amazing.

Some afterthoughts- On the doll vs softie thing- I think in the end it comes down to this- what I am doing grows out of a tradition of dolls, what softie makers are doing grows out of a tradition of stuffed animals. It took me all day of mulling to come up with that!

On the topic of getting into dollmaking- here are some links for dollmaking kits, patterns and supplies.

My favorite book/author on the subject- Susanna Oroyan’s Anatomy of a Doll All her books are excellent.

Gail Wilson- her dolls are based on antique dolls. You get everything you need and extensive directions. Her website has so much more then dolls though- there is furniture, fabric, dollhouses… a whole wonderful Gail Wilson world. Be careful ‘cuz you might get permanently sucked in!

Susan Fosnot- she has patterns, kits, and teaches workshops.
There are lots of places that sell kits for Waldorf/ Steiner type dolls. One place that I’ve bought from is Magic Cabin.

Judi Ward- I am a big fan of her patterns. They are easy to follow, easy to make your own and she has a most extensive variety of designs. I have learned a lot from making her patterns.

Here is a list of some Dollmaking suppliers that I have ordered from and been happy with. They have all the things you’ll need- tools, patterns, materials, on-line classes, stash enhancers! Doll Artist’s Workshop, Joggles, Dollmaker’s Journey.

I did some antique and vintage doll patterns when I first started. There are loads available on Ebay.

Now, if you still haven’t had enough of listening to me talk, I did another interview a year ago with Carley. Here are links to that- part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

And since we always need a picture, my desk today-

making up a title is always a challenge.

I have decided that I should start stuffing most of my dolls with wool- the whole earth friendly, biodegradable thing.   It really isn’t a price issue- polyester-$3 a pound, wool- 5.25 a pound.  So I ordered up 5 pounds.  I bought this wool batt from West Earl Woolen Mill.  They don’t have a web site so you have to actually call them on the telephone- eek, so old-fashioned!  (717-859-2241)  I say, I’d like to order some wool for doll stuffing- they know just what I want.  And I got a free calendar!

Okay now everybody, this is what I want someone to invent/manufacture so I can buy it- recycled scrap wool stuffing.  Just figure out a way to take scrap wool and chop or shred it up for us to use- come on now, people!

I’ve been working on some more tikis.  They have been my carry around project for a while now, so they are going rather slowly.  Here are 2 brown ones.  I’ve also got a red one going.

And today, I’ve been working on ATCs- artist trading cards.  I will be doing a swap with my etsy group- Boston Handmade.  I haven’t made any in more then a year.  It is great fun to get back into it.  I am remembering why I liked them.  They are like little doodles.

ATC- Work in progress.  I’m loving how they look all together here on my ironing board.

I had a great expedition up to the Fiber Studio. It was a beautiful day for a drive and so after scooting up on the highways, we meandered back to Boston on back roads. I bought wool roving and batting to do wet felting. There was such an amazing assortment of colors and types of sheep and all kinds of other variables that I don’t know how to figure into the equation… so I chose solely based on color. Well, actually I bought a bag of assorted colors (the smaller balls) and then filled in with what wasn’t in that. I like playing with felt for doll hair and embellishments. I was inspired by these juggling ball also, so who knows where I’ll go with it.

Now I’m back to work starting with postcards. Here is what I’ve done in the past 2 days- 7 postcards, ironed onto the backing but I still have to satin stitch around the edge and then cut them apart. I’m working on a “Seasons” theme.

In real face to face life, I am with a lot of non-bloggers. People who don’t understand what a blog is, why or how someone would do it. Sharon of In a Minute Ago, has been thinking about it and explaining it clearly since she started blogging 2 1/2 years ago. Her most recent post on the subject is here and she talks about the community building aspect of blogging (among other things). If you are curious about the whole why and how, just read everything she’s posted under blogging- and the comments. It is all very interesting reading.

If any of this inspires you to read more blogs, check out this post about managing your blog reading.

And then, if you decide to jump in and start one, there is a great article on Whip Up about starting a craft blog. If you are not feeling like it is working out the way you had expected, read this other Whip Up article full of excellent craft blog advise.

Good luck!

today I’ve been working on catching up with all the email correspondence- I’ve been terrible!

Also, I’ve meant to give some great feedback for Dollmaker’s Journey for fantastic service. I needed some special fabric for a class I’m taking- I ordered on a Saturday and had it on the Monday- wow!

Here is a not doll project I did yesterday- new placemats.

Yeah, I’m finally using some of the fabrics I’ve bought recently! I love cotton prints, but they don’t really fit in much with the dolls I’m doing these days. The back (or maybe they are reversible) is linen from IKEA a few years ago. Here is the great insight of yesterday- I struggled through sewing 2 of the mats with a million pins and still getting puckers and tucks… all of a sudden I remembered my walking foot- that amazing tool that came with my sewing machine but I had never yet tried- well, guess what- it really works! The 6 that I did after that came out much better!

Here they are on the table, along with some of my old art i.e. my pottery that got broken and turned into a mosaic hot dish holder.

And a picture of the kitchen window on a spring evening-

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.

this one (above) is about 6″ x 7″ and this one (below) is bigger- about 10″ x 14″. I’m working on putting the border on the Queen Bee.

Little Birds has an excellent posting about taking good photos for your blog. I need to reread it regularly.

Here at Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison are some incredible photos.

I met up with some doll friends yesterday in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. We had a great day going to some of the textile stores there. We went to Wrights Factory outlet, then to a shop that specializes in antique and vintage textiles. Unfortunately I don’t seem to know the name of the store! It was really great though! These photos are from that store-

dolls in a crib-

lots of buttons-

a wonderful picture- looks like a photo but up close it looked like a drawing- hmmm? I think she looks like an Izannah Walker doll-

We finished out our day at some quilting fabric shops. I managed to find lots of fabric I couldn’t resist.

The inspiration for the expedition was that the terrific doll maker, Susan Fosnot, was in town to do a workshop at the Wenham Museum. She is from the midwest where she has trouble finding the vintage textiles that she likes to use for her dolls. She stayed overnight with me. Here are some of her dolls that she showed me-

We spent some time up in my studio pulling stuff out of bins and drawers. I gave her some fabric, but unfortunately, though I have tons of stuff I’d love to pass on, we both like the same stuff! I need to find people who need big buttons, 60’s fabrics and all the other stuff that I have that’s wonderful but I’ll never use. Speaking of which- I’ve put some more stuff on ebay. Vintage sewing patterns from the 50’s and 60’s. I have more, some from the 40’s, but I got sick of posting them, so I’ll do it another day.

Okay- drum roll please! Big excitement! I now have an online store! Link over there on the right ->
I will be adding more stuff to it regularly and hope to include some doll related supplies that I don’t need.

Thanks Ben!