school girl

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this girl has just about the opposite look of the last one although they might be friends once they get to college.

She has a lot of pieces. A brown wool skirt, a wool coat, scarf and hat, and a school bag with a buckle and button closures.

Her skirt comes off too.

The coat-

I had a hard time figuring out how to finish the coat. It would have been easy to spend a week on it or make it so bulky that it wouldn’t fit on our girl. I ended up finishing the edge seams with wool felt. It worked pretty well. I made the coat close with thread loops- I am sure that isn’t the right name for them but I am coming up blank and getting no help from google.

Here is a side view- thought you might be interested. I don’t usually photograph this angle but thought she looked very determined.

And here is a back view.

and one last picture- in the garden-

goth girl

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Yes! I finished one!

Below is the first face, shown in the wip post. I redid it and like it much better, although I will still be experimenting with applique shadows. The new eyes have a small border of a darker purple felt.

Her boots have embroidered buckles and felt straps-

Photographing her was a challenge.  Dark colors are often difficult, and the weather didn’t help- here is a windy action shot- Tim-ber!

specializing in wips

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wips- work in progress. or maybe ufos- unfinished objects. Anyway, they are piling up.

These 2… I am trying out a potential dress piece on one- orange cashmere. The other, going nowhere yet.

Now this one- she was going really well. Then I started in on the coat and got bogged down. She is looking just right, just what I had in mind, but there are technical issues. How to finish the coat properly…

And this one- she was suppose to be the partner of my mermaid dress girl. Guess I’ve gotten side-tracked. I am pretty sure I know what I’m going to do with her hair though…

This morning I started in on this one. Here she is at lunch time.

And then again, right before dinner time. She is my goth girl. Playing around with felt shadows.

I’m moving forward, but nothing finished yet. This is how I work- several dolls inching forward at the same time. And then, a whole group gets finished around the same time and people ask me how I do it!

update on nothing in particular

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things I meant to do…

2/13 was my 5 year blog birthday- amazing. I meant to do a blog facelift- didn’t happen. I meant to do a give-away- didn’t happen. Hopefully both WILL happen in the next few weeks.

And I meant to wish everybody a very happy Valentines Day.

I seem to be doing more socializing then usual and going to too many meetings. It is hard for me to get into my work when there is so much other stuff going on. I have a pile of dolls started and have gotten bogged down, trying to get one finished. Hopefully I’ll have something to show very soon.

Today I had a meet-up with Tracey and Melissa. We had lunch and then went on a little photo walk. Fun! This fence always makes me think of Melissa- rust, swirls- and I felt like I had to show it to her. Just one of those crazy blog meet-ups when you know all kinds of odd tidbits about a person. Anyway, we all had fun taking some photos.

tape love

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I spent some time in New York looking for decorative tape.  I like to use it to jazz up my boxes when I ship out an order. I had no luck. Actually, it was worse then that- everyone acted like I was asking for something totally nuts! I tried the Japanese bookstore, Pearl River an oriental import store in Soho, Pearl Paint (art supply store), a paper store… well actually several.So, I came home, googled decorative tape and hit the jackpot at Archie McPhee– Hallelujah! Lucky me! I got tiki tape, sausage tape, cowboys, black cats, pirate tape, wacky rubber duckies and sushi tape. Probably a lifetime supply.

From my walk yesterday- winter bricks.

a different take on a mermaid

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This girl is inspired by mermaids but is not a mermaid. There are loads of photos because I love how she came together!

When I was planning a mermaid inspired girl, I thought of doing it with just the colors. Of course it would have been subtle… and who wants subtle? I’ve been obsessing about Heather Ross‘ mermaid fabric (Mendocino)– knowing that I had to find a way to use it in something. So, put it all together and here she is!

She has an angora blend sweater with a little ruffle around the bottom edge. The sweater closes with an orange button.

Underneath she has a pinafore made from 2 of the Mendocino fabrics- seahorses and mermaids.

The back with it’s button closure-

And here is her cashmere underskirt. It also has a ruffled lettuce edge. And an elastic waist with a button closure.

The back view-

And sitting-

mermaids ahead

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I’ve had mermaids on my mind for a while now and finally have had time to get to work on them.

One done-

Her bangs are dyed wool locks- I thought they looked very fish/ seaweed/ ocean look.

A little starfish in her head-

Hair back- sweater ribbing-

She has a ruffle fin on her bottom-

More photos on flickr.

Some mermaids that I love- Danita’s, Mariana Massarani’s (she inspired my first set of mermaids), and Amy’s to name a few.

nyc report 4- wrap-up

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and the rest of the story.

We spent a lot of time walking around and on buses. The unlimited transit path is the best.

Great storefront!

I went to the Folk Art Museum and saw a show of paintings by Ammi Phillips. Excellent. I always like to visit the gift shop at MOMA– lots of excellent design. And it is right across the street from the Folk Art Museum so why resist?

The embroidery show was well worth the trip uptown. It was all a little overwhelming- the kind of show that I’d rather visit several times because there is so much to absorb.

Here are some pictures of Central Park- it is always a surprise to me- how there can be this space in the middle of Manhattan.

We spent lots of time on a bus, looking out windows, enjoying neighborhoods.

Isn’t it amazing that NY really looks like this?

And we got home on Saturday night. It was a great trip and already I can’t wait to return.  I have been back up in my studio, so I hope I will have some new doll work to show by the end of the week. Goal of the week? Keep warm!