Today was our doll club holiday lunch. We do a swap every year, and this year I suggested that we might do pincushions. That was what prompted my article on make-dos for the club newsletter. Here is mine in progress-
I piled up some of my wool scraps in the bottom. Here it the finished object-
I was VERY inspired by Kristen’s pins– my version!
Another wool and angora blend kitty. This boy kitty has a lined vest made from one of my favorite old sweaters. That made it really hard to cut into!
He’s got a knit tie- it’s from a thrifted sweater that didn’t/wouldn’t shrink in the wash… but a great color. Here is a the lining on the vest- a secret surprise.
Again I used snaps under the buttons.
and here is his messenger bag
I woke up to this the other morning- so pretty although obviously I’ve been too busy to clean up the garden…
If you look at my Flickr photos you will have seen the kitties I’ve been working on. Here are the first 3-
this is little kitty girl #6-
She is approximately 15 inches tall. When I decided to do the kitties, I tweaked the pattern so that they are all slightly different. I was planning to try to make a new and improved pattern, but in the end I thought they were all cute and had their own personality. Her body is made from wool and angora blend sweaters. Her sweater is made from a recycled fulled wool sweater with vintage ribbon (Thanks Pat H.!) and sweet little flower buttons-
I decided not to do the button holes and sewed on snaps under the buttons instead.
Thanks so much for all the kind words, encouragement and advise about my computer troubles. I’m so sorry about the whining- I was sort of embarrassed by all the nice comments… here I thought I was muttering and griping and complaining to myself in the corner and people were actually listening (reading)- that will teach me! I hope that I am back on track again. Onward!
Wow! I got another picture to upload! After I made the swaddled babies and the sweater babies, I had to make this little girl… she was insisting on getting made.
I consider her a first draft. There are lots of little tweaks that need to be done, but at least I got out the general idea. I made her during Thanksgiving week-end which was not a good time for concentrating on anything. I can go back to work on her after things settle down- after the sales and probably after the holidays. I’m beginning to get a few other ideas to work on when that “when things have settled down” time comes.
a reminder (and a test to see if I can figure out how to post a link)- I will be selling my work at the Holly Fair next weekend. If you read this and you come, it would make my day if you told me!
this is an uploading test…
Caution- whining ahead… I’ve got a new computer. So why am I miserable? Getting a new computer seems to come with misery- I have it because my old computer failed. I lost tons of stuff. I feel totally inept because I don’t understand how this stuff happens. If I think I understand it, I am usually wrong… proven so because everything gets messed up again. I always lose the stuff I want and end up with all kinds of garbage that I should have thrown away months ago. Right now I am receiving email but can’t send any– (fixed- yeah! still catching up though) just in case you were waiting for a reply on something. New versions of everything are working in my computer so I am confused by everything I open. My blog- how do I upload photos anyway? Try pushing every button. I have gone from feeling totally comfortable with the blog to totally confused. I can’t figure out anything. My blog/news reader- lost all my subscriptions. I wonder how long it will be before I notice some that are missing.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Everybody is crabby. Hope to get back on track soon. I am posting some photos onto Flickr where my user name is mimik, since the link is gone from here.
so my computer had a major meltdown and it is under the care of the computer doctors… unfortunately the computer doctor has other things to do besides work on my computer. So, the blog is in flux (that is why my banner has disappeared), no pictures can be uploaded, I have very limited access to my email and I am not getting my fix of computer screen hours. Oh well, I’m probably supposed to be working on dolls anyhow. I will have lots of pictures to post when I am finally back online. But, I am going through withdrawal!!!!
I think I need to make a resolution for 2007 to do more linking… well let’s try starting today.
Some sites I’ve been enjoying-
I love pincushions and these ones are wonderful. And I’ve got a lot of that ribbing.
That guy in the striped pants? Very inspiring… something will be showing up here soon, sparked by that…
wow! Diddy-Wa-Diddy
I am so happy that Planet Hilda has been posting again- looking at her blog is like a tropical vacation for my eyes! And I see that she has her work at a gallery in New York. That ought to be inspiration for a trip down.
and here are some of my most recent favorites on Flickr. Sorry I can’t get the mosaic to show but at least I have the links…
1. Christmas nears…, 2. *, 3. WIP: NOUVELLE VAGUE HORSES, 4. a box of birds, 5. LOS BURRITOS 1: LUPITA, 6. Untitled, 7. 1st Week In November, 8. indignation, 9. Living my death in eternal rejoicing., 10. back side of thread drawing, 11. priscilla mcgarry, 12. Ruby
Okay, now that’s enough. Let’s not over-do it…
The baby dolls were the biggest seller when I did the sale, so now I am making more for the next sale… production. I haven’t done production in a long time and I can’t say I’m loving it. I am feeling stressed and anxious, over tired and like I have way too much to do. Actually a lot of that is holiday related- I think this comes on me every year. So many demands, so many disruptions. But, in the end, I tend to find deadlines inspiring and I am happy with how these babies came out. I played around a bit with the proportions and the pattern. The face is bigger and the body a slightly different shape. It always amazes me how much difference even a slight change in the pattern can make in the end shape. Also, how different the doll can look, depending on the fabric- this is mostly about the stretch and the stuffing.
This first little one is made from an old wool blanket-
I love this vintage ribbon-
This one was a vest from LL Bean in a former life-
I am finally getting to use all the great ribbons I’ve been collecting for so long-
I love this brown ribbon. Both the green fabric and the ribbon were from my mom’s stuff-
And lastly, this little red baby-
I combined several ribbons here-
There is another photo here on Flickr. All of them, together, in the basket.