and a bunny

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I had a hard time staying on task while I worked on the kitty pattern. One distraction was that voice telling me- Hey! If you just change one thing, you could go in some completely different direction! Hey! Wouldn’t that be much more fun! Hey! LISTEN TO ME!

Usually I quiet that voice by listening to audiobooks- which somehow manage to busy up that brain chatter and I can focus on what I am doing. But, I couldn’t work on the pattern and listen to audiobooks…

I had to make a drawing or even a pattern and tell myself- I will get to that when the pattern is finished. Well, the kitty pattern is with some testers and now I can consider that pile of ideas. Yesterday I sewed up this bunny. I love him. He seems to be a no clothes bunny. No clothes I tried made him look better then no clothes at all- if that makes any sense.

bunny

bunny2

The tail has a white underside- and the sweater I cut it from was 50% rabbit hair- how could I resist!

tail

bunnyface

sofa

I am trying to finish up some random unfinished dolls that have been waiting for a while. It’s that time of year. It will mean that I’ll be posting an odd mix of things for a little bit.

last kitty- 6

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Kitty #6 is the last one for now. These were the kitty dolls I made while working on the pattern. These finished dolls are not all exactly like the pattern- particularly with their clothes.

sun

I love how this photo makes the kitty look like he’s glowing!

kitty6

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face

grass

kitty 4

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kitty4

He is made of a heavy coat wool- not so easy to work with. But, oh, isn’t he cute?!

k4back

17

step

What a pair! I will post more photos of her, but the ones I took on a light background were no good so I need to reshoot.

2kitties

kitty 3

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kitty3

She is made of linen. She is the smallest of all the kitties I made from the pattern- 13 1/2 inches.

back

Her dress will not be in this pattern, but maybe some other pattern in the future.

face

grass

kitties and more kitties

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I am almost done with the pattern. I am trying to get decent photos, tweaking the wording, page order, general look of the thing. I guess it is time to show some of these cuties since that seems to be the way I declare them finished . I showed the first model way back at the beginning of October– wow, it is kind of shocking how long it takes me to do this.

kitty2

This is the sweetest, softest one. She is made from a cabled wool/angora blend sweater. The cables sort of disappeared when I felted the sweater.

I get hung up on the dumbest things. Should I name the kitty or just name the pattern “Kitty”? If I give a boy and girl kitty name, will that set a precedent for future pattern naming? Flower names, tree names, food, historic, my personal favorite names, names hopelessly out of fashion? It is overwhelming!  Opinions wanted please- is it better to give the doll a name or leave it plainly descriptive?

Some group shots-

porch

fabrics used- 1. heavy coat wool  2.wool/angora knit  3.boiled wool knit  4.wool/angora knit  5. linen  6.wool/angora knit.

sofa

Bye bye!

bye

lady with wave hair

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face

waveheadlady

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Here is a peril of working with reclaimed materials- sometimes, after the artwork is very far along, I find a problem. Since this doll is unlikely to get rough handling (I assume), I didn’t think it was toss worthy and so I made a little mend.

fix

wall

The next lady is on my desk. The computer is too and that is not a typical sight in my studio. I try to keep the computer out because it is so distracting. But, I am working away on my kitty pattern, getting very close finishing. So, there it is.

next

Salley sneak peak

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There is a dearth of finished projects around here, although I have made a great leap forward with my Kitty pattern. I spent yesterday working on the computer with a friend helping me out.  Another few days of that and I might have something to show for it!

Salley sent me some photos from her upcoming book and I asked her if I could post them. Here are the details- It is called POCKETFUL OF POSIES: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. Publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Available, Sept. 2010.

Pocketfulofposies6

I love the beautiful leaf designs- they are often in my head when I work on a tiny world.

Pocketfulofposies5

I LOVE this one! The baby, the tree, the walnut shell! Swoon!

Pocketfulofposies4

Pocketfulofposies3

Here is the cover- although Salley tells me that the actual cover photo will be much better.

Pocketfulofposies2

And, here is the drawing for the cover. So interesting to see the idea and how it comes together.

Pocketfulofposies1

Thanks for the preview Salley! Here are some other photos of her work.