random fabulous blogginess

From The Frankie Files, this great patent drawing of a doll pattern and another of a sewn cat.

Marianna is doing some amazing dolls- here and here. All her artwork knocks my socks off, so when I saw that she had turned her talent to dolls- WoW!

Rosa posted a link to Ryoko Ishii’s site. Wonderful painted dolls. I need to go back and spend an hour looking at everything.

I can’t remember where I found this link about painting your shoes, but this may be in my future.

stuff and nostalgia

This was my wallpaper from when I was a little kid-

wallpaper

this is an image I remember very clearly. This fox always looked like a keyhole to me. It must have been right at eye-level when I lay in bed.

fox

this kitty is my favorite now-

cat

I needed to bring this old tea crate home and will keep it for a while at least- it says Tanganyika on it!

tea crate

this sticker is on the other side-

sticker

I found this box of buttons. There were lots more when I opened the box but many just crumbled away when I touched them. Too many years in the attic. I remember playing with the sombreros when I was small.

buttons

and here is an actual sombrero that my Dad brought to one of my brothers in the early 60’s-

mex hat

I found lots of my Mom’s UFO’s (unfinished objects)… let that be a lesson to me!

ufo

I found a box of miscellaneous vintage table textiles. There were the usual unmatched napkins and assorted doilies. There were a few odd things though, like these embroidered “bottom of your wine glass” cozies or whatever they are!

roosters

and a cross-stitch dish towel (?) map of Taiwan-

map

some silly fellows that I couldn’t bear to leave behind-

silly stuff

and Eleanor, here is that suitcase I was telling you about- isn’t it great! The box says it is a shoe and hat suitcase.

suitcase

back for a minute

The couples are hanging out in the dining room these days.

dolls

I am helping my family clean out my parents house; the one I grew up in. They have lived there for almost 50 years. So much stuff. So much personal history. I am driving 2 1/2 hours each way, with car fulls of stuff.

Fabric and sewing stuff, a collection of silk ties…

bed pile

tons of vintage clothing… there are 26 hat boxes here. Each box has several hats in it and although they are all labeled, the label almost never matches what is in it! I am meeting with a vintage clothing dealer on Monday.

hats

I got lots of things that I like… I’ll post pictures. Here is the first-

shoe

I will be back and forth for the next few weeks and so there won’t be much doll-making.

atc and new bag

annafloor

I have been so behind on so many things. I got these 2 wonderful atc’s a few weeks ago, before the trip to North Carolina (windy world). These traveled from Holland and are the work of Anne-Floor. There are lots of photos of her work at her flickr account.

My project this week has been this messenger-type bag-

bag

I have been thinking about trying to make one all summer. I wanted something smaller then what I am currently dragging around, but I wanted it big enough to hold my sketch book. It still needs a buckle or something to finish the strap but otherwise is done. I copied the design from an old bag I already had (I made it slightly smaller)- a danish school bag it was called. Once I find the right closure, I will have to test it out and see how I like it.

I will be leaving again today. Heading down to Connecticut until late Wednesday.

cute couples

couple 1

Here is the chosen couple that will be going to North Carolina with me tomorrow. I had a hard time chosing which pair to give to my neice- I am really pleased with all of them.

Here are the other two couples-

couple 2

couple 3

I will post more pictures when I get back. As usual, I am in a complete tizzy before leaving. I am not an relaxed traveler.

yes, I am working

and trying my hardest to deal with the horror of Hurricane Katrina. I have found the images and stories I’ve been hearing so disturbing that I’ve had to struggle to clear my head and try to lose myself in my work. That’s why I haven’t posted.

The brides and grooms are almost done. I just have to fix some mistakes, do some finishing work and add some color with details (brides).

brides

grooms

I really like how the guys look- I guess it’s true that all men look good in a suit!

lace and brides

some of the fabrics I’m using for the brides-

The pintucks at the bottom of the pantaloons are from an antique shirt (bodice) front. I only had one side of a front of the bodice- makes you wonder! The lace is added seperately.

pantaloons

The over-dresses are made of lace pieces- this one was the bottom of a petticoat, I think-

lace 1

This one is pieced together from some fancy cuffs- I also have a collar that matches, but I didn’t need that much-

and this last bit was something out of an old friends dsess-up trunk. I have no idea what it was originally-