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!
I’m working away but nothing to post. Also, I’ve got some topics I’d like to write about but that will take a lot of time and I’m not in the mood. So, this is a pop-in post!
I’m taking apart some old shorts- isn’t this label amazing?!
These were from my parents. I thought I remembered my mom wearing them in the 60’s but the label makes me wonder if I am remembering wrong.
And, speaking of memories. My brother scanned a ton of old photos after my Dad died last summer. When I look at these, all I could think is- real life in the 50’s and 60’s was a lot different than tv or the movies.
Yep, pajamas on the line. My sister and I wore them later with the feet cut off. (mid-50’s)
Galoshes and snow pants. And a kite? I have no idea! (late 50’s)
Cotton bathing suits and not knit cotton either! (late 50’s)
And, VERY matchy-matchy! Not to mention, petticoats. (late 50’s)
Playsuits and pixie haircuts.(early 60’s)
Happy, productive and creative weekend everybody!
It’s that time of year. The studio needs to be cleaned and the Stuff needs reorganizing. I try to figure out what I am actually using and make it easily accessible. I also try to go through all the fabric regularly, getting rid of things I will probably never use. I call this turning the compost. It’s only kind of a joke. I now have three bags of fabric that I’ll be taking to my crafty meet-up next week. Give-away time!
Here are some in progress photos because it’ll be a while before everything settles into place again.
It all started with a large bookcase that needed to be moved out of another room. I always need more shelves so I took out the measuring tape to see if I could fit it into my studio. The reshuffle began! I moved the bureau towards the window (of course there was already something there- out into the hall that stuff went). The bookcase that was already in my room was emptied and moved across to it’s new place by the closet.
It is now filled with books, tea cups and cotton fabrics, mostly toiles and other tattooed people components.
The new (to my room), bigger bookshelf fits perfectly. I’m filling it back up with the books that were in the other bookcase plus other things of course.
Then I decided that I needed a new way to store all my other cotton fabrics. I have been using them a lot more this year and the bins under the table system was just not working. One trip to Ikea later and you can see my new drawers. Here is a better photo-
This is great! I can see all the fabric easily and there are enough baskets to put all kinds of goodies that have been in piles or in bins that I trip over every time I walked through the room.
The plastic drawer bins and the small wooden bookcase on top of the fabric drawers used to be where the bureau is now. Are you confused yet?
I have had this little set of metal drawers sitting on the floor for about 1 1/2 years and I now finally have a place for it. I filled it up with beads, charms, sewing notions I’ve collected for robots and papers for making tiny books.
There are lots of little problems that I haven’t quite figured out yet. An example is my thread rack- I like it where it is but I know it will slide right off at the worst possible moment so I need to figure out how to attach it to something. And then actually do it.
And some real life desk pictures. I started working on some tiny worlds. Then I moved on to something else. Yep, I just piled them up, as much out of the way as I could push them without bothering to put them away. Because I’ll get back to them any minute, right? Okay then.
And that poor tattooed lady. I have a ridiculous number of unfinished dolls in my studio right now. I should try to focus on finishing them up. Somehow it is sad to see them all waiting for me. If I just worked on finishing things I would probably be busy though February at least! It’s good though too- it is an easy way to start in again because a lot of the decisions are already made. So, time to get back to work!
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.
I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to post my thoughts on the year and my family suggested a top 10 list- great idea!
So, here are 10 happenings that defined my year- these aren’t all good things, btw. They are in a sort of chronological order.
-Crafty Biz Meet-up Group- this monthly meet-up continues to be one of the great things in my life and we have now been going for 2 years! This is an open group with no requirements. Anyone who gets excited talking about market reports, credit card companies, electronics for small business and all that other micro-biz stuff is welcome. We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 10am in Arlington, MA (usually). Contact me if you’d like to join us.
–Words With Friends– yes, I’m addicted.
-After Renegade Brooklyn, I got contacted by a very cool store that you have most certainly heard of that starts with A and ends with e about making some pieces (a whole lot in my terms) for their website. It soon became clear to me that this would not be a good match and I had to back out. Sometimes you have to say no. And sometimes that helps give a clearer idea of what is the right thing to do.
–My Dad died. That threw me more than I expected.
–I got an IPad. I like it more than I expected.
–Renegade in Chicago– was totally amazing! Paula Poundstone, Red-Eye, Mary Engelbright, yeah, Amazing!
-The Shelburne Museum in Vermont- I went twice!
–Land of Nod– signed a licensing contract. Hopefully I will have products in their catalog next fall!
-Had my work ripped off. It was very upsetting but then everything worked out and it renewed my faith that there are good and helpful people in the world. Thank you everyone who supported me. It did make a difference.
–Luvable & Hugable show– not only was I thrilled to be asked to be in their 5th anniversary show, I actually made it to New York to see it!
I read over my list of hopes from a year ago and can honestly say, yes, more of that. Always, I should make more patterns, use up what I have, explore new designs, teach some classes. This year I hope to go to the West Coast Renegade Show in San Francisco and maybe LA. I want to finish up the many partially started dolls that are all over my studio. They have been waiting a long time for my attention! And maybe answer those emails that have been waiting for the last month or so ( sorry if I owe you a reply). Keep myself open to new things because I never know what is around the corner. On the other hand, don’t let myself get overwhelmed- there was a little too much of that this year.
The pictures are from the 4 wonderful days when all the kids were home and we were all relaxing. Eleanor made us the oil lamp from a clementine peel at the top of the page. Below is a typical scene when we are all together-
One of the computers was missing for the group photo though. Some homemade wrapping paper was made-
My studio is getting it’s yearly post-Christmas clean-up and makeover. I’m excited about the reshuffle. I’ll post some photos when the dust settles.
On to the new! A HUGE Thank You to everyone who visits my blog, reads my words, leaves me encouraging comment, and buys my artwork. I feel blessed to be part of the online craft community. It has made my world a better place. I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous 2012!
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!
Merry Christmas if that is what you celebrate! When we cleared out my parents house some number of years ago, I found a portfolio with Christmas stationary, clippings from magazines and other graphic art, dated 1938. Here are some scans from the collection-
Have a wonderful day!
I’ve spent some money on things I couldn’t resist. I will list them in the order I bought them.
I got an IPad in August and I love it. I’ve been using it for running charge cards when I go to markets and so it feels like a legitimate business tool. About a month ago I bought a DODO case and I totally recommend it. The IPad feels protected and the case feels good in my hand. It is an artisan-made product which I have to admit makes me love it even more. Check it out if you are in the market for any tablet case- I think they’ve got them all.
I read this review on Pikaland. I thought, I have GOT to get that! I did. It is amazing! Check it out, Wrap.
My favorite-
Crystal posted some mushroom ornaments on her blog right before the SOWA Holiday Market. I rushed over to her booth before the show opened to check out what she brought. Unfortunately some other vender had gotten in there before me and the ones I wanted were taken. Crystal make me some more when she was back home again. These will not be going back to attic after Christmas. They will be hanging in my studio all year round.
I found this adorable little fellow at Gallery Hanahou. He is made by Anna Hrachovec of Mochimochi Land. I think he will be spending his time hanging out on top of one of the above mushrooms.
And lastly, this owl ornament (I think he is papier mache and approx. 4″ tall). I found him at John Derian.
When I was at John Derian, there were lots of items by Coral & Tusk. I had never seen the work before and was tempted and intrigued. Then, as I was catching up on my blogs on Monday, somebody linked to them! I loved this fox. He has a pocket with a camera!