Tattoo lady #3

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This third one- she has freckles-

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I over-dye all the toile to make the skin tones and then dye some plain fabric and hope they match. I am not very good at it, but I have a great time. This fabric ended up with tiny red dots and they give her a freckly look.

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I love her shape. Playing with the variety of lady shapes has been great fun.

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I made a skirt, or maybe you’d call it a tutu, for my Tattoo lady #2-

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And, I gave her fingers.

This is how I sign my dolls, in case you wanted to know-

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It is a little tag made of shrink plastic.

Here are the three ladies, relaxing at the dumpster next door-

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I like this photo because you can see my new lady’s little busom.

the last few days

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Fall! The last things blooming in my garden- chrysanthemums and dahlias. I love how all the blossoms on the mums are facing in one direction.

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Walk in the neighborhood. It is surprising what you see when the leaves start to go.

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And my class on Saturday- so much fun! There were 5 of us all together.

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This is the Haunted house!

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And here is the table with all the felt and wool-

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The market on Sunday was canceled- we were having a nor’easter here in Boston- wind, rain, cold… I was not sorry to miss standing under a tent from 7am to after 4pm. And then it snowed! It was the right call. Still, I’m left feeling a little deflated- all the anticipation and hope that comes as I prepare for a show. The next show I am scheduled to do is the South End Holiday Fair– Dec. 12 and 13.

discombobuated

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My head is all over the place these days. I am still working on settling into my studio- although I am at the point that when I think of something to change it tends to be an improvement instead of just a reshuffle. I have partially finished projects everywhere.

I am loving the morning light in the studio. Here is some test work for kitty pattern- using different fabrics, reconsidering how I do things, thinking about clothes-

kitties

I’ve got these four Purl girls done and waiting to be dressed-

You see the one with the decorations on her? My little friends from next door came over and decorated a whole lot of my unfinished dolls for me! Scraps and pins.

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More decorated unfinished dolls-

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This one only got a little bit of color. And next to the baby, an unfinished tiny world.

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Here is the pile of fabric that will eventually get dyed for some more tattooed people-

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Yep- these ones. I am working on a tall lady design to go with the more round version.

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And, more wool balls for the workshop next weekend. I need to have some small ones. Last time, several people brought very small cups and I didn’t really have exactly the right thing.

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I actually got the wool balls done today- hurray! One thing off the list!

making a list

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One of the people who will be taking my tiny world workshop is traveling from out of town. She asked me for recommendations for “can’t miss” crafting related places- for shopping and for inspiration- in the New England area. I have some places that I’ve been to and like, but I thought I would do a general shout out and then organize and make a page with all of your suggestions too. If you know of fun, inspiring, off-beat, esoteric or whatever places in NE, add them to the comments. Thanks!

I did a quick look through my postings that were in the resources category and came up with these-

Vintage and Antique Textiles in Sturbridge, MA. Unfortunately the Wright Factory Outlet has closed.

The Fiber Studio in Henniker, NH

The Dorr Mill Store in Newport, NH (Yikes, they are having a Columbus Day Weekend Sale!)

Camp Wool in Wells, Maine

Whispering Hill Farm in South Woodstock, CT

and here is a list with some suggestions. (I haven’t been to most of these places)

I’ll be getting out the dye pot

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A tattooed lady-

tattoolady

face

torso

tlady

I’m playing with some ideas and that means time to dye more toile. I have enough scraps to do some experiments and tests, but… Sometimes playing with the little bits means wasting a huge amount of time figuring out how to make the idea work with what I’ve got instead of figuring out the best design. Luckily, I’ve been collecting  toile, so the first challenge of any tattoo person project is checked off. I’m working on these ideas while trying to write the kitty pattern. We shall see if this keeps me sane or makes me crazy!

October plans

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BH2-1

I will be at the South End Open Market on October 18 with my pals of Boston Handmade.

On Oct. 17, I am doing a Tiny World class- yes, there is still space available- info here.

I am working on a new pattern-

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Kitties! I am working on a pattern for this kitty that will include clothes to make it either a girl or boy kitty. I find this pattern writing thing to be very difficult, in case you are hearing some screams coming from my window.

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Here are some of the original kitties I made.

getting serious about October

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We had a great time on our quick trip to Portland for family weekend at MECA. Friday was a perfect fall day. We drove up the coast and did some beach watching and walking.

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They have great rocks in Maine.

We stopped in Wells at Camp Wool. Thank you to the kind person who clued me in about this place via my comments. Unfortunately, no website yet.

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There was lots of beautiful wool, although I am glad I had been to Dorr first. There was lots of beautiful colors and textures here, but not the basic skin colors that I went up to Dorr Mill Store for.

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Yes, I managed to find some goodies to spend some money on. The lady here told me about another store- Wool and Goods in Rollinsford, NH. Another expedition! I am going to put a list together (in the next few days) of places to buy wool fabrics in New England. If you know of places, let me know and I will add them.

Portland is a great town- amazingly good food and resaturant scene- even made it into the NYT! I look forward to spending more time there in the next 4 years.

Tomorrow- what is ahead this month.