and here is that other one I mentioned.
I think the golden/mustardy yellow is my new favorite color.
His hat is pinned in but I’m thinking I probably ought to sew it.
I’m liking his profile.
This is #100 doll in my 2011 flickr photostream. It is weird though- I’ve done several projects this year that I can’t be public about so the numbers don’t feel terribly meaningful. Ah well, it is still an exciting number!
I know. I just can’t help it with the lame jokes.
It is getting cold around here. I thought he needed a scarf.
I wasn’t satisfied with the edge between the sweater and the dog body parts. I had already put the ribbing at the neck, but that didn’t work with the scale at the wrist and the bottom edge. I added a couched edge, stitching down a layer of yarn- about 8 lengths of wool. I am happy with that finish. You can’t really notice it in the photo and but it softens, finishes and covers the seam- all good.
Next, dog #2-
His ears are made of a wool/angora blend. So soft. I did a blanket stitch around the bottom of his sweater.
Why do these dogs make me think of beatniks?
And, Miss Dog #3
I have one more finished but it is too dark to photograph today. I’ll show you tomorrow. My natural inclination would be to spend another week or so on these doggies- making thin ones, fat ones, all kinds of colors and textures, accessorizing with beatnik paraphernalia, all the fun stuff. But, that can’t happen right now unless I want to show up at the markets I’m doing in just a few short weeks with only dogs. Which wouldn’t be too terrible, except next year, when I end up with no dogs, people will wonder, eh? So, onward to try to have a decently rounded out inventory. The push of the holiday season!
I put an update on my posting of Oct. 29 and I will repeat it here-
***UPDATE 11/18/2011-Â I am happy to report that with the help of a friend we were able to connect with someone at Scotch and Soda who helped us come to a settlement that I am happy with. I am grateful that this was able to be resolved quickly and cleanly. Thank you for all your support.***
Let me reiterate- I am so grateful for all your support- well, and especially my husband. Go Ben!
I have a little more faith in the world today and also in people doing the right thing- with a little encouragement. I have A LOT more faith in the power of the voice and many eyes of the Internet! This situation has given me much to think about and I plan (and maybe it will happen) to blog about my thoughts on copying, inspiration, what I learned, the useful advise I got, etc. For now I will leave the original post up but will start editing it tomorrow. I would like the comments to become a list of useful advise, information and links for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.
And something pretty- a fun treat I bought yesterday at Gather Here.
A Dog!
It is so hard to photograph a dark object and still have the details show. The mouth is embroidered in black though it hardly shows in this photo.
the back-
Here is a side view so you can see his nose profile.
Some notes on designing: Making a new doll, even one that isn’t all that different from what has come before, doesn’t happen quickly, easily or by magic. It is methodical and it is work. I was in the midst of working on a pile of other things when I had an idea- a dog, sort of a dachshund, with a striped sweater. I drew out some thoughts and went back to work, finishing up what needed to be finished. That is how the ideas come- while I’m working on something else. As I work on that other project, maybe looking at it at a funny angle or some random mistake, will give me an idea to try something off in another direction.
Then comes the hard part. I started playing with my pattern and making prototypes in-between the other things I’m working on. If I’d said to myself, I’ll work on this when I finish all these other things, I’d probably lose interest and maybe or maybe not ever get back to it. Instead, I fit in little bits of time to work on my dog. Here is a photo of my desk with 4 prototypes and a bunch of the paper pattern pieces.
The first iteration was that flat gray tweed and just about everything was wrong with it. hmm, Good to know! I unstuffed it and threw it in the bin. Then pulled it out again for this photo. The 2 white ones came next. They are made out of an old wool blanket- my scrap paper of wool. The one on the right came first. Among other things, the ears are too small and the head is too wide. On the left came next (#3). Ears better, thinking about the nose, hmm, not so sure I like his body. #4 is the all brown one. He is a lot slimmer and his hips/legs are redesigned. I made a few test noses before deciding on the one I like best. Now I am ready for #5, the dog with his sweater that I’m showing at the top. It has been about a week in the designing. Ta Da! Magic ;)
And I will continue to tweak for a while. That is the fun of it all!
I’m working on some things that I can’t show and that is a bummer. But, look who came to visit me yesterday!
Salley! I was even able to uncover a chair for her to sit on. hmm, yes, the studio is a pretty big mess these days. I got to see her cover art for the January Horn Book magazine. There is no describing how amazing that piece is in real life. No matter how wonderful the photo turns out to be, it is not the same. I feel so lucky to have seen it!
And, here are some thrift goodies, all disassembled, washed and ready to go.
I believe it is a law of thrifting that if you are looking for something specific, you will never find it. Even if it is something perfectly ordinary- like the time I needed a plain white sweater. I could not find a single one in 5 different thrift stores. I am indeed looking for something specific- a gray wool fair isle sweater. I didn’t find one but found some other goodies. I’m not complaining. I now have a good excuse to do some more searching this weekend.
Lastly, I hope to have an update in the next few days about the Scotch and Soda copying/stealing situation. I appreciate all the support you have given me so far. Thank you.
We were up in Maine for the weekend. Having a son going to school in Portland has improved our life. It is a wonderful town with natural beauties and amazing food. And, only 2 hours north from home!
This group of dogs was waiting patiently next to the Scratch Baking Company, #1 bakery in Portland- and that is saying something!
And lastly, a perfect lighthouse- good inspiration for my next tiny world.
The skirt is open in the back for her tail.
I love rick-rack. Everyone needs some.
And isn’t that Liberty fabric of her skirt beautiful! She has a cashmere sweater and a little felt purse , sewn with variegated thread.
I think her smaller mouth makes her look a bit shy.
The couple.
He is definitely going to NYC.
I was waiting for an appointment and a young-ish man walked through the lobby. He was wearing an argyle vest. I thought, I have that same vest in my stash. I came home, unearthed it and made it fox size.
Here is the one that needed his eyes adjusted. He looks much better to me now. It is the littlest things that can make the difference.
I really like his beard.
Yes, that is snow in the background.
The backdrop for the other Santa looks like this now-
This really has been the year of crazy weather in New England.
We put up the bird feeders on Saturday, before the storm hit. I taped a branch to the shepherd’s crook type holder we use. I got the idea from my neighbor friend Mim. It has been a huge success with the birds and me!
this is what I want to be blogging about.
Santa on vacation.
I am getting ready to send some work off to gallery hanahou for their 5th (!) Luv-able & Hug-able Show.
I can’t seem to tell myself, I need 5 dolls, now go make them. I usually need to make 10 (or whatever) dolls and then choose 5. This is one that is in the running for a trip to NYC.
We’ve been having crazy weather, not very suitable for photography. On one nice day I brought out all that were finished. My photo studio-
There are 2 Santas in the pile. I decided that one needed some rework after I looked at the photos. He looked a bit maniacal. Maybe if the snow melts and things dry out a bit I will be able to take more photos today.
And about that other issue. Thank you for all your feedback. I am feeling horrible about it- on so many levels. The first being that I don’t have time for this cr*p. I don’t want to be spending my energy and focus on something so negative. And yet I feel I have to. At this point I am bracing myself every time a new comment comes in. I don’t want to argue with anyone about why I feel the way I am feeling. I don’t want to soothe hurt feelings of people who make my problem into their problem. I will not post comments from people who have never before engaged with me or my blog, arguing their thoughts in an aggressive style. Honestly, my comment thread is not the place to engage in the copying versus inspiration argument. I will let you know if there is any news moving forward. Hopefully it will be all dolls again for a while.