Here is how he looked as I was working on his face. And now he is finished-
I gave him more prominent ears-
His “belt buckle” is an antique shell button.
So Handsome!
whoa!
If you believe that I have control over how these faces turn out, you’d be wrong. I use a water-erasable marker to mark out where the features go and draw in a rough sketch. If I had any real control, all the faces would be the same. But, as you might notice, they don’t because I don’t. I start stitching and whoever it turns out that they are, appears!
And I think this one is particularly appealing!
I spent some time in the garden over the weekend. I worked on the compost pile- which is great news because it means my back is MUCH better- Hurray! My favorite gardening toy is my compost thermometer (I’ve probably mentioned that before) and you can see here that my pile was close to 130 degrees F this morning. That’s my idea of excitement!
red beard
April fish
Fish 1
and fish 2
2 fish for April.
pug redux
this is where we started-
And this is where we are now!
In between, I tried a giant bow, and I tried some embroidery to highlight the mouth. It looks like some scribbling.
I moved the bow to the side-
How about a flower?
Maybe with some leaves?
That was definitely too much ruffles for one pug. How about a simpler flower-
Nope, back to bows-
Finally I decided that one small bow was just right. Also I restitched the mouth, over the black, with a warm gray so you can see the facial features (not in this photo but notice in photo #2). Much better- now I am satisfied.
And here she is, enjoying a beautiful day!
Arf!!
a 2 color dog-
In my head, this dog looks like a classic childrens’ book illustration of a dog from my childhood.
So many possibilities with dogs, so much variation!
not quite a corgi
I was trying for a corgi but he is not stocky enough- especially the head. I think he is so cute though that I will just assume he is a corgi/??? mix breed.
I love his corgi non-tail.
Thanks so much for all your input on the dogs. I’m still working on the pug. I decided that Liz’s comment about the dachshund’s “arms” was correct (they were too long) and so I’ve shortened them here-
Yes, Better! More dogs and tweeking ahead!
tweek 2
and now a dachshund.
He is a challenge to photograph!
He’s got a soft cashmere nose and ears. And a wired tail.
Okay, I tried a bow on her- what do we think? I’m not entirely sold.
And this was yesterday afternoon, pre-bow. Mango was supervising the photo shoot.
And the tails!
trying out the new dog pattern tweeks
Here is the first of the pattern tweeks. I cut the pattern down the center (lengthwise) and added about one inch in the middle. Then new nose, new tail, shorter arms and slightly different ears.
Voila! A pug!
I put a pipe cleaner into the tail so I could make it curl.
I am still wondering about the mouth. The black stitching doesn’t show up in the photos- I’ve lightened it up here.
It is all pretty dark in real life too. I might have to think about highlighting it. I’m still thinking. Also, she might just need a giant bow on her head…
so much going on
First- HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER!
Now, to business- I continue to be in the mood for cutting out so I am piling up the zip-lock bags.
This basket holds 12 bags of fox. I pulled out my bin of orange wool and basically cut up anything that was big enough. Then, when I was done and had moved on the the next thing, I found one more sweater. It’s in the fox basket, waiting for me to get back to these.
And dogs. I never got to fully play with the pattern when I first drew it up. Now I’ve done some modifications (different varieties) and am in the midst of cutting out a bunch. That meant pulling out all the stripes-
And all the wool that seemed like “dog”.
I also cut out some more Lumberjacks and also some new design wool men- I will keep it a surprise. You know, in case it turns out to be a big flop. I am having a great time, pulling out all the bins and enjoying all the fabrics. Of course my studio looks like a bomb went off but I will get it all back in place soon enough.
I got my box of samples back from that book project I contributed to. I’d sent these off a year ago! I’m happy to have them home again.
Let me see. What else do I have to report? I will be in Brooklyn for the Renegade Craft Fair on June 23 and 24. It is in a new venue- Williamsburg Waterfront. I am so excited to be participating again this year!
I applied to be in the San Francisco Renegade show in July. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Flying across country to do a show is a bit scary but I’d love to try!
I’ve been kept away from my studio for more time than I’d like by too much computer-based business but it always needs to be done. The Land of Nod work was keeping me busy last week and is moving forward. So much going on!
Last thing- I have decided that I’d like to try hiring someone to help with my sewing. I’m thinking that I’d start with just 1/2 day per week and see how it goes. If you are local to me and are interested, shoot me an email- mimik@pobox.com. I’ll be putting signs up at some local fabric stores. Not sure how else to find the right person. The latest Craftypod interview with Lorna’s Laces gave me the last little push that I needed (I’d been thinking about it all week!) to explore hiring someone.