My favorite color combination, once again- red and green.
She has a removable bow and a spiderweb shawl.
I love this face!
I put a hook on the basket and stitches a loop on her hand. I did the same for this one. Now they can carry their baskets properly.
One more fox to finish and then onto the next thing.
It is not feeling at all summery around here yet. It has been cold and rainy this week. The one plus to that is the dogwoods are staying so beautiful! I think dogwood is one of my favorite flowers and they seemed especially nice this year- our reward for all that snow last winter.
But this little fox is dressed for summer. Her dress is made from the Heather Ross Far, Far Away fabric of cotton double gauze. It is such a sweet fabric and is just the right weight for this scale.
Her little felt flower is sewed on a pin so it can come off or move to another place on her outfit.
This is a profile- I knew you wanted to see.
I tried to make this be more of an attache case than a messenger bag. Top stitching the tiny felt parts was a challenge. I discovered that if I iron them onto freezer paper, the top stitching goes smoothly- no felt getting sucked into the feed dogs. After the stitching, I picked off the paper.
Here is the inside look. The coat closes with a snap and has a decorative button on the outside. The bowtie is sewed onto a little safety pin so it can come off too.
I love how she turned out, but honestly, that dress was a REAL challenge!
Her dress is green wool with some ribbon I’ve been saving forever. And some cotton rick rack.
She has a wool shawl made from an Eileen Fisher sweater, found at the thrift store a long while ago. It is an amazing woven pattern knit and it didn’t shrink at all so it has been waiting a long time to find it’s place.
She has a very fuzzy (wool/angora blend) nose.
I felt she needed a basket, even though she doesn’t have hands to hold it. It will stay if I slip it onto her arm, but at a funny angle. You can see it in the first photo.
Her apron is made from a vintage (or maybe antique) handkerchief. I originally made the ties out of the top of the hankie but the fabric is weak and when I tried to tie the bow, it shred- so sad! I replaced them with a newer, stronger piece of white cotton lawn.
I like dolls whose clothes can be taken off. These clothes could theoretically come off but it takes a bit of doll acrobatics. So I left everything in place for the photos.
I’m back to working on the foxes. Here is a boy in a wonderful striped sweater.
He’s got a super-soft cashmere scarf.
And a school bag with a brass buckle.
this little one is ready for a New England Spring day- where it isn’t actually warm but we are all pretending!
She has a ribbed wool shawl to keep warm- spring breezes can give a chill. And a dress made from some more beautiful Cloud9 fabric.
Tail room-
Cashmere sweater with embroidered loop closures. Her felt bag for treasures. The shawl has a beautiful brass floral button- guess I should have taken a photo where you could see it…hmmm.
And all her stuff-
The back of the dress closes with one button.
There were so many great links to explore on my blog tour this morning-
from Camilla– Matt Stuart
from True-Up– Helen Dardik new fabric, here and here. Wow! I love it!
and fantastic stumpwork at Needleprint. Wish I could be in Bath for that Doll Fair too.
Remember this lady? She was one of my favorite dolls of last year. Around Christmas time, I cut out all the pieces for this new lady, stuffed her, pinned on the birds and started doing the applique. Then, I put her aside. And there she lay for these last months. Finally, last weekend, with a vow to finish up some of the many partially finished dolls that I seem to be stockpiling, I got back to work on her.
The funny thing is that I would never have chosen these colors to work with at this time of year. She is most certainly a winter palette.
And this is what is on the work table now-
Hmm, which ones are boys and which ones are girls?
First doll of 2011!
People often ask me where I get my inspiration. This little girl is dressed in colors inspired by this wonderful illustration by Matte Stephens.
I love the rust red and mustard color combination.
some details-
Her dress is made of a sweet piece of Liberty fabric.
She is made from an over-dyed bit of beige cashmere. Originally a piece of clothing from my mom’s past.
the vest has snaps and his bag has a button-
I hope to have this adorable fellow in my etsy shop later today. But, the distractions are crowding in. Christmas is looming and I am finally thinking about it. Made the first batch of cookies last night and bought a couple of gifts. That equals not much time for the studio, but I am hoping to put in a little time every day and avoid the crash that always comes after Christmas. As always, a new theory.
the light was lovely this morning although the air was nippy.
I like her nose, with a smidge of white.
I have always liked doll clothes to come off- so that is the way I usually make them.
Also, go and see Salley’s show if you are in the Boston area. It is awe-inspiring! I am so glad I went to see it again. There is so much beautiful detail that you can never take it all in.