I’ve got 2 finished. Short days and rainy weather makes photographing them a challenge. Also, they look lumpy in places in the photograph that look fine in real life- the realities and hardships of being a model!
I took a different approach to the hair this time- I’m thinking about pompadours.
and chins- I’m having fun with those, too.
The babies are finished and yesterday I started some new tattooed men. They are a little different from the first four- more about that below. I’ve reworked the pattern, dyed several batches of fabric,  cut and stitched together six guys.
That is probably the easy part. Now, 2 of them have their stitched fingers and are mostly stuffed. Lots more fine detail work to go.
Here is what I was thinking about today as I worked on these dolls. I got a lot of positive feedback about my tattooed guys. I thrive on positive feedback. Yeah, internet! Sometimes though, the positive feedback can make me afraid to make changes or take the next step. Once I admit that, I can move forward. The issue was, who were these guys that I was making? I struggled with the lower torsos on the first four. Also, I couldn’t get their shoes right- it was driving me nuts! Well, this batch is circus tattooed men. Now everything is working for me- the body design, the shoes, the colors, and I’ve got lots more ideas for hair and faces. Tattoo man 2.0 Yes!
First of all- Happy Halloween everyone!
This is the last baby for a while. I used mostly heathery wools and it made me think of mist.
side and back-
And here are all the babies, together in the sun. I bought that antique doll baby carriage at a charity sale a few years ago. I must admit I love playing with it, as in posing my dolls in it and such… It lives in my entryway and I put my finished dolls in it after I photograph them- an unusual storage system, I guess.
I’m thinking passion flower, but that probably wouldn’t be such a good name for a baby doll.
This is the doll I made with the face I took off the fall forest baby.
side views-
and the back view.
The leaves are cashmere and so so so soft. It is impossible not to stroke them.
One more baby to go. Almost done, but we were having a little disagreement on the applique and what constitutes done. So, I’m still adding…
Well, it’s over… we had our first frost last night. I’m glad I got the photo of the nasturtiums last week.
This baby has been a hard one- why do I keep thinking of it as the colicky baby. It is the baby I started with but kept having to put aside. The base fabric is a rather loosely knit sweater. It didn’t felt when I washed it, but I still wanted to use it- I like the texture and the color. It was very hard to work with. The wool fabric just didn’t hold it’s shape and I felt like I was wrestling it to get the right shape. In retrospect, I should have used an inner-lining as a stabilizer. And, actually that was just one of the problems. Originally, this baby had a brown face. When I was close to finishing, I stepped back and realized there was not enough contrast. The brown face disappeared into the pile of leaves- so… face-ectomy (that’s a little gruesome pandering to the whole Halloween week heehee). And I won’t go into the problems of getting the face right. But, now it is done-
I loved embroidering the leaves. Every time I went for a walk, I would bring some leaves home for inspiration. Now I have a pile on my desk.
Bunny on the bottom-
I took the extra face and made a new body for it, so it has worked out for the best. I have 2 more babies to finish before moving on.
Yesterday, I thought this doll was done. Then, it woke me up in the middle of the night and told me no, I need something more…Â This morning I added some stitching around the face and clouds. Better.
I have always loved nasturtiums. I can hardly believe they are still looking so good in the garden.
side and back-
and a little aside- I know that was probably about the lamest tutorial ever yesterday, but I am really liking my new needle strip!
I have needle issues. I am picky about what I use- some I like to use for wool embroidery, different ones when I am using cotton floss. I always seems to be dropping or misplacing them and then can’t find them again. I get so distracted if I have to go looking for more needles or threading and unthreading them constantly. In the middle of working on one of the babies this morning, I’d had it. I needed a better system.
My idea was to have a strip pincushion. I could stick all the right type of needles into it at the beginning of a project. I could pre-thread several so I wouldn’t be starting and stopping the flow. I’d have a place to store my needles that were threaded with a color I was finished with, until next time I needed it.
A while ago, I bought a piece of 100% wool felt at Joanns fabric, but it is really too soft and I hadn’t figured out how to use it for anything. I cut a strip, 18″ long and 2 inches wide. I cut that into pieces 6 inches x 1 inch and piled them up.
I stitched them together with a fairly heavy pearl cotton- very tightly. I wanted it to be dense. And here we go-
phew! Success!  It is about 3/4 of an inch thick. You could make this out of any scrap wool and I think scrap pieces of felted sweaters would be perfect. This way of storing the needles has an added benefit- the needles won’t get lost into it like they often do in standard pin cushions. Now back to work!
This baby is finished now, but it is wet and rainy outside today, so I will take more photos tomorrow.
I am getting a little behind in my posting… I work on several things at a time, so sometimes more then one gets finished in a short period. I’ve been working on 4 swaddled babies. One has got me frustrated so it has been put aside. I finished this water baby last night.
side and back views-
These goldfish are cut from some wool that I dyed a while back- I love finding just the right place to use something I’ve dyed.
This water design seems very different from what I’ve been doing with these babies up until now- it is a less realistic look; not the wrapped up in a baby blanket look that I’ve done before. I spent some time last night pondering if I was okay with it… well, I am! The group of babies I am working on now are going in this direction.
I will be in Chicago during the week of Thanksgiving. I’d love any recommendations for great places to go and see- especially galleries, thrift shops, restaurants… I will be staying in Andersonville area. And, of course, if anyone wants to meet up… email me at mimik(at)pobox(dot)com.
This is what I did last time I was in Chicago, in August 2006.
WooHoo! Finally, I can let you know about the coolest thing- Sister Diane from CraftyPod called me a few weeks ago for an interview. We talked and laughed for over an hour. It was so much fun! And well, afterwards, a bit nerve-racking. I spent the next few days rethinking everything I said and sometimes wishing I could add (or subtract!) to the conversation. I have been having low grade anxiety ever since, worrying I’d sounding like a complete idiot, but I have to hand it to the magic of Diane- she took all my babbling, run-on ramblings, ums and pauses and put them together in a way that I am ecstatic about! I think audio editing for podcasting must be a lot like quilting- Diane has all these little bits and snippets and goodies and she puts them together into an interesting and better-than-the-original, finished product. Amazing.
Some afterthoughts- On the doll vs softie thing- I think in the end it comes down to this- what I am doing grows out of a tradition of dolls, what softie makers are doing grows out of a tradition of stuffed animals. It took me all day of mulling to come up with that!
On the topic of getting into dollmaking- here are some links for dollmaking kits, patterns and supplies.
My favorite book/author on the subject- Susanna Oroyan’s Anatomy of a Doll All her books are excellent.
Gail Wilson– her dolls are based on antique dolls. You get everything you need and extensive directions. Her website has so much more then dolls though- there is furniture, fabric, dollhouses… a whole wonderful Gail Wilson world. Be careful ‘cuz you might get permanently sucked in!
Susan Fosnot– she has patterns, kits, and teaches workshops.
There are lots of places that sell kits for Waldorf/ Steiner type dolls. One place that I’ve bought from is Magic Cabin.
Judi Ward– I am a big fan of her patterns. They are easy to follow, easy to make your own and she has a most extensive variety of designs. I have learned a lot from making her patterns.
Here is a list of some Dollmaking suppliers that I have ordered from and been happy with. They have all the things you’ll need- tools, patterns, materials, on-line classes, stash enhancers! Doll Artist’s Workshop, Joggles, Dollmaker’s Journey.
I did some antique and vintage doll patterns when I first started. There are loads available on Ebay.
Now, if you still haven’t had enough of listening to me talk, I did another interview a year ago with Carley. Here are links to that- part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
And since we always need a picture, my desk today-
