Category Archives: General

Flower lady is #50!

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This is my fiftieth doll of 2008- A goal has been reached!

When I totalled up all my sales from 2007, I figured out that I had sold 50 dolls. My goal for 2008 became- make at least 50 dolls and I’ve made it! From now on, everything I make will feel like the next level. Here are all the dolls from this year, so far.

This past Saturday, I went on an expedition up to Concord, NH for the Concord Arts Market. It was so much fun! My friend Katy organized it. Jessica and Lucie– buddies from Boston Handmade– were showing their work. I was on the jury to choose the vendors and it was so much fun to see the work in person. And, I finally got to meet Susan from Artstream! It was a great day!

more tiny world pincushions

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I got a few done for the market. And more not quite done- housing futures…

A snowy hilltop.

That tiny snowman was fun to make. And here is the back-

I call this one Big Flowers- inspired by my amazing sunflower crop this year.

and the back-

This one, with a white house, sold.

I will be doing an Etsy update tomorrow (Tuesday 9/23) around 3 EST. I will list the 2 pincushions and 2 girl dolls. Also, some more magnet sets. Sorry, no tattoo men right now.

market report

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mine, not all that bad news over on those other kinds of blogs.

The weather was perfect, I met some wonderful people, loads of positive feedback from visitors and other venders, and I sold some stuff.

Here is my booth on Saturday morning when I was at the end of the row and my booth was open on 2 sides-

The second day I tried out a slightly different set-up when I was in mid-row and only open in front-

I guess it doesn’t look that different but little changes and tweaking are part of the fun. I LOVE my banner! I think it made the whole booth look better. Another big excitement- I got it all figured out to take credit cards. WooHoo! The Big Time!

I gave away enough of my Moo cards that I just placed another order. That’s a good sign. I always dread the tizzy I get into when prepping for an event like this, but once I’m there, I am reminded how great it can be. I will be back in the South End on Sunday, October 12.

girl in red dress

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some dolls fight me all the way. This is one of them.

She’s had several different outfits. And, different legs. The thing is, I really liked her head- the face, hair, expression… I just had such a hard time getting the rest of her to work for me. Something wouldn’t look right so I’d go work on another doll. This one was what got all the rest of them finished!

In the end, I’ve made her something fairly simple and that works the best. Isn’t it always the way!

This is the last of the girls for now. I am spending this week getting ready for the Market this coming weekend. I am trying to finish all the half finished projects in my studio right now. I need to get my banner ready to hang and tag everything. All that little stuff takes so much time. I won’t be showing anymore finished pieces until next week.

party girl

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This little one is looking fancy!

I love her dress and how a silk ribbon and a bow make for perfect party shoes.

back view- little wool ball buns, silk ribbon gathers and sash-

It is a funny thing about taking photos. It makes me see things in a different way. I dyed the cashmere “skin” fabric and have been sewing with it to make this doll. When I looked at the photos, I noticed the texture. Honestly, it is not so noticeable when I look at the doll next to me. In some of the photos, it looked like teddy bear fur- yikes! I could relate to Claire’s post about taking photos.

2 girls together.

And on last one of her-

I would have to say the colors are not great in these photos- I would say that the dress is grape jelly, the skin color is light brown M&M. The reds are almost raspberry. Yummy!

I am finding these drawings very inspiring.  I love flickr. There is so much amazing artwork!

another girl

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Tropical Storm Hanna came through- we got lots of rain and my sunflowers sort of tipped-

Not so bad, and by Sunday we were having a beautiful day. I went down to the South End Open Market to see friends and do booth research. I will be showing there during the South End Open Studios weekend on Sept. 20 and 21. On  Columbus Day weekend, October 12, I will be part of a Boston Handmade event at the market. I’ve been very busy doing all the little (and mostly annoying) things that need to get done before a show. Today’s big excitement (doesn’t take much) is that I will now be able to take credit cards- I’ve got my very own card imprinter- otherwise known as a knucklebuster.

Last night I spent the evening watching the first four episodes of the first season of Project Runway while I packaged up my magnet sets. That was a great way to get a boring job done. I have to line up all the jobs I can do while watching and then I’ll be able to finish the season- ahhh, inspiration!

Anyway, in between the other stuff, I have been trying to finish up some more dolls. Today I got one done. My brain must be totally fried because I can’t think clearly enough to come up with a name. Maybe later.

The good photo light is gone pretty early these days- mostly due to the angle of the shadows and how they hit my house and yard. I waited late enough to do these photos that I was working in shadows. I did find one place where the sun was still shining- I like the shadow of her hair.

this and that…

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I’ve been having a very social week- unusual for me. It is connected to the new school year although no one in my house is affected by that- first time in more years then I can remember. It is just one of those new month/year things- I need to connect with people I haven’t seen in a while.

I went over to see a friend to talk about studio design… I am probably going to be moving my studio so I am working on the fantasy planning stage- ie looking at other peoples’ spaces, online and in person. She has a lot of my art from the old pottery days. It was fun to see it hanging at her house-

She also had this amazing bit of advertising ephemera. It is a TIME magazine ad from November 1955 for Simplicity patterns. Can you imagine a sewing pattern company advertising in such a mainstream magazine now? Anyway- great Steinberg drawing, so funny text. If you can’t read it, you can check it out here on Flickr- click all sizes.

Last night I went up to Portsmouth, NH with Abby, for the opening of the Teeny Tiny Art Show at the Three Graces Gallery. Wow! Portsmouth is a happening place on the first Friday opening night. Here are Abby’s beautiful birds-

We also got to see Elsa‘s amazing paper cuts. I don’t think there is any way I could get an idea of the delicacy of these pieces without seeing them in person. I’m in awe.

Today, we are waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna to visit. It is very humid.

little witch #2

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I hope you aren’t getting tired of these little girls because I am still having fun with them. Here is another little witch… or maybe a Jane Eyre sort of girl.

She has a black undersuit, so her arms are black. Her dress is purple cashmere with a silk ribbon closure. It is hard to get the photos right when the colors are so dark.

I am excited about her hair-

I used the felt beads (I dyed them all black) again. 5 small ones for bangs, 5 big ones in the back.

Here is her scarf, off. I was very nervous about doing the hand-stitched button holes when I was dressing Marigold. I seem to have gotten over it and am having fun with them now!

The dress is made from the arms of a cashmere sweater, cut at about elbow length- 2 arms, cut open, pinned together, sewed up the sides to where the cuff starts.  Then sewing in at the top of the cuffs, about 1 inch on each side for shoulder seams. The cuffs are the bodice. Close zigzag at bottom edge for the ruffle. Add ribbon to gather.