He is very circus-y.
Very classic toile for this big fellow.
Vintage cotton rickrack, bias tape, and button. Using vintage sewing notions makes me so happy.
And here he is in my studio which is in pretty good shape these days!
In my bin of mostly-finished man dolls, I have a few classics.
Here is a closer look at his toile.
An antique button-
And hanging out in the garden.
I’d started this fellow before my show and finally got him done on the weekend. Then I forgot to take his photos. Yes, it has been a bit chaotic around here.
I love these classical tattoos. They always look good.
We have some twins here!
I had a bit of excitement here- on Saturday afternoon, after I did my last blog post, my aged (2015 MacBook) and beloved computer bit the dust in a rather exciting fashion involving a pixelated screen, a scritching noise that was getting louder, the computer getting very hot, very quickly. I pulled out the charging cable, turned off the computer, but that was the end of that. So sad, I really liked that machine! Anyway, I was off to buy a new computer first thing yesterday. Thank goodness I was mostly all backed up! And now, here I am, typing on my new friend.
This fellow is larger than my typical merman- I was playing with the pattern and not thinking about how changing his tail would affect the size. Anyway, I think he will look amazing in my booth this weekend.
I found these perfect buttons online: I had to buy some.
A big man with a top knot.
There he is- George Washington with all kinds of other (I am sure) symbolic imagery that I have no idea how to interpret. And I found this awesome button in my collection. Perfect.
He is a big man with yellow pants and more classic toile.
Lots of animals, greenery, and a lady on the front,
and a man with a donkey on the back.
I like this new hair fabric I found! And that button came from a tin box that my neighbor gave me.
He is a few little pink spots that come from the dyeing process. Oh well, it’s a true sign of handmade, right?
This fine fellow could blend right in in the forest.
Can you see that his beard and hair are made out of a leafy fabric?
This is the last guy for now. I plan to get these last ones into my etsy shop over this weekend.
I’ve got a few more fellows on my work table. I am finishing ones that I’d (mostly) stuffed and then put back into the bin. It is always easier to get to work on something that already has a good start.
I think he has kind of a pensive face.
This is such an amazing toile. It was a good sized sample that I found in a vintage store. I am so sorry that I have now used it all up.
Yes, he is a very big fellow. This is a link to another big man merman that I made a while back. You may notice that this new merman has a longer tail. When I cut out the tail pieces, I adjusted the proportions of the tail to match the slimmer guys, not really thinking about how his torso is longer. So he’s ended up about 2 inches longer than any of the other mermen. Oh well!
Also, he is made of linen which is a little stretchier when stuffed so that helped him grow.
I have listed 2 of the other mermen into my etsy shop today but I’m going to hold off on this one. I need to figure out if I’ve got a box that he would fit into for shipping!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Time to love on some handsome fellows :-)
I got a little packet of antique/vintage star buttons at my favorite place for such things- Vintage and Antique Textiles in Central Massachusetts. Here is the first one I found a use for.
