At last I have actually made a new pattern!  I have so many unfinished patterns on my computer, but I have followed through with this one - perhaps because it's so uncomplicated, and the more I made of them, the  better they got, so I didn't have to think too hard about the process!

So here it is - the Baby Buntings!

The good thing about these babies is that they are five inches tall and fit in the palm of your hand!  They don't take long to make and no-one can resist them! 

They'd make a great gift for a new mum, put wings on them and they are baby angels, make a wee bed and blanket and they are a toy for a tot, a comfort for an elderly person or just for yourself!  They are a pleasure to make and you can almost hear them gurgling!  Make boys and girls, twins or one offs.

What do you think?  

I'm off to Timaru today - having a day off from work to help my friend Mary Horn set up her painting Exhibition.  I'm quite excitied about it.  I can learn a lot from this exercise, as I want tp have an exhibition myself one day - it's on my list!  Who else has got a list?  Mary's Blog is down the dside of my page here, so check out her paintings!

I just had to make this little bookworm too!  Terrible photo, but the dog.......you know?  The tassle on the camera was too much for her and the temptation of the bookworm had her squirming on the floor beside me while I was holding her down and taking a photo at the same time!  Then I had to take her for a walk so this is what I've got!  At least I feel like I've made something this weekend!

I've been making babies!  I call them 'Baby Buntings' of course! Sometimes I just have to make something small when big things seem too hard.  I was drawn by some fluffy fabric I had, so had to experiment.  It was successful so I went and bought more! 

These little cuties don't take long to make and would be nice as a a gift for a mum of a newborn!  I happened to have two little baskets and made them very comfortable, so they have been cooing and sleeping all afternoon!  Even my dog Pips liked them, but I had to whisk them away from her in a hurry!

I am making a pattern for them.  Their little faces are slightly sculpted to make them interesting.
  

These are collages of Jeanne - the Innkeepers Wife made by some of my students and others who have used my pattern.  Aren't they amazingly all different!  You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

I've put the bodies in because it shows the results you get from using different fabrics.  Some with two way stretch, some with ine way stretch and some with very little stretch.  It's good to have such an example to compare what results you want ot have. I have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement with all the dollmakers who have contacted me and shown me their creative works of art!  Thank you all!

For those who haven't yet tried my class, I hope you will consider doing so! 

It gives me great pleasure to present Jeanne Kalcevic's interpretation of my pattern Jeanne - the Innkeepers Wife!  Jeanne worked hard on this doll and persevered by makeing several heads to get it to a satisfying likeness.  she said she really enjoyed making it and now is waiting for me to make her counterpart - The Innkeeper!  Jeanne was the instigator for me making this pattern at all, so I dedicated the pattern to her for keeping me motivated!  I am so lucky to have such an online friend!  Thanks a million Jeanne! 



Sprite for May 2011

Inspired by the fabric - given by a friend, and made for another friend who will finish her with beading.  This is a fun doll to make - Patti Culea pattern of course.  The hair was a scrunchie!  Lends itself well to something a little wild!



Belle & Rita



Snail Races

In a far away time in the Dingly Dell,

Lived a magical fairy by the name of Belle.

With sparkling eyes and hair all afire,

winning a race was her fervent desire!

Her favourite mount was a snail named Rita,

the fastest in fairyland, no snail could beat her!

When race day came round, wee Belle was ready,

saddled up nicely, snail polished and steady!

The starter yelled GO! They set off for the race,

and Rita soon slithered at her fastest snail’s pace!

The time flew by, it seemed like hours,

As they slimed over rocks and slid past flowers.

Belle gurgled and laughed the whole day long,

And the Dingley Dell rang out with bird song!

The flowers in joy, gave their pollen and scent

as the bees bumbled throughout this happy event!

At the end of the day the fairies all cheered

as Belle and Rita, the home stretch they neared!

They passed the tall Iris beside the flat stone

and Belle giggled out loud as they snailed towards home!

Just another two inches, Blue Ribbon in sight,
Belle urged her mount Rita to show all her might....
They crossed it, they won it, the fairies went crazy,
they accepted the prize standing on a white daisy!

Belle bowed to the crowd and the cheering went up,
They won the Blue Ribbon and a dewed butter cup!
As dusk settles down the party will start
And Rita will munch on a whole lettuce heart!
Shan & Tree 2011

This is a fairy doll pattern by Sherry Goshon that I actually made in 2008.  Just found a doll challenge by her and didn't read it properly. Composed the poem, then read it was for 2007!  So I'm a wee bit out of date!  Not to worry, it was a fun way to spend a rainy afternoon!

Olive is making great progress with her doll.  There is more, but we have to preserve modesty just now!  Olive can get on with making her clothes now, so hopefully in the next few weeks.........  Meantime Jean's breaking from tradition and working on more than one doll at a time!  That's progress!  So nothing much to show this week, though I have been working on other things in the background.

This is a better photo of Ruby!  I'm happier with her hair now.

I've been modifying my Jessie & Jack pattern to make the sculpting sequence more easy to follow.  When I first made it, I thought people who bought it would be experienced in sculpting - how naive I  was!  Now I know that anyone who is attracted to a pattern will buy it on looks alone!  Luckily, someone asked me for help and I really looked at it and found I could do it better, so now I have!  This little face is the result and I have made several sculpting secuence drawings to enable even a novice to make it - easier I hope!  My big trouble is - I never follow the same sequence twice!  I guess I just intuitively do it. This little face doesn't know what it will end up being yet!  LOL!

Saloon Girl!



  Well balanced back view!



Here is my second Saloon Girl, modelled on Bette Midler!  She's a real dame, bolche and larger than life!  An old tart with just a little glitz and glam! 

 This is actually Jill Mass's Dancing Doris with a few little modifications!  I love how her  dolls can be exagerated and so quirky! This one stands balanced on three points, though I don;t know how she'd do in an earthquake!  She shows to best advantage if she's lower down, with her head thrust up so high - showing off! 

Here they all are for want of storage space!



Cute lacy knickers!



You won't recognise this next time you see her!  Well for a start she'll have clothes on! 

She looks a lot different now with her face drawn in.  Olive has great plans for the rest of her.  I love this doll pattern by Jill Maas.  I think she has such great potential!  So quirky!

This is my latest doll 'Saucy Sue' , showing off her garter!  She's looking forward to travelling to Benson - near Tombstone, to entertain shoppers in a new shop due to open soon!  She'll have two other friends to join her - whenI get some free time! She's a fun doll to make with a very narrow waist and an embellishers dream!

Hands can be quite lovely!  They look a little odd here, but when they are posed on the doll I'm making  they'll look great!.  I find that dollmaking is about about illusion, suggestion.  If you put in too much detail the overall effect can get lost.

This is what Jackie made!  You'd never guess she's a teacher! Isn't it a creative piece of work with interesting cloth!

Meet Maximillian the Masterful!  He's a new doll I've just completed for the Steam Punk Exhibition in October. 

I will  add a few more gadgets and get better pics of him, but he's turned out ok I think.  Maximillian is the concept of my Grandson Ben who is doing the digital version for his design course, but got interrupted in the Christchurch earthquake. 

He's an upright lad!He will have a female counterpart when I am done!

I'm so proud!  Olive sculpted for the first time on her own  with some direction and found she really enjoyed doing it!  She had been to nervous to try on her own just following written instructions, but once she got the hang of it - she's away!  It's so exciting!

Here at last is Jeans' Red Hat Lady "Olivia".

Aint she sweet!

Love that hat!

Olivias' Red shoes are in her bag - with the champagne!

Here Olive & Jean ponder about how to proceed with this Red Hat Lady!  Jean has made great progress with her.

Perched on the tool tote!  Nearly finished now!  Can't wait to see how she turns out in the end!

Chocolate definitly helps you think!  Meantime Olive is making Aggie the Maid (Jill Maas of course) like you've never seen Aggie before!  She has such cool ideas!  Love that body shape!

"There's a crack in everything - that's how the light gets in"!
-Leonard Cohen

Just to prove I am actually working on things here in the depths of my studio, I have an Innkeeper 'up and coming' and a Steam Punk man that looks a little like Mad Max at present!  They're coming along nicely but they do make an awful mess while they're being created!  The weak looking bent arm will have a mechanical contrivance on it in the end - a prosthesis!  At this stage they're al least standing alone!  I'm quite pleased with them so far.  Mad Max now has hair on and he looks "DANGEROUS" ladies!  I modeled him on someone called Nathan Drake.  Of course when he is made he'll have a 'Steam Punk' name.  I'm making him for the Steam Punk Exhibition towards the end of the year.  My Grandson Ben gave me the idea as he's doing a digital equivilent for his digital art course.  I've got strict directions on his clothing!  In this picture I've just sculpted his face, but I have actually finished his face and hair now and just made his pants.  You will be surprised to see him finished!  He may yet become a pattern if anyone is interested!

This is a classy Red Hat Lady in the making!  Jean has plans for her!  Her dress is a fabulous design by Jean and the doll is a mixture of patterns she's put together to make this fun doll.  I had other photo's, but they didn't turn out! Next time!

On another note, I'm happy to say that someone from my first online class has completed her Innkeepers Wife!  I'm so delighted and she's made a great job of it! 

It's been a bit quiet on the blog.  The Canterbury Earthquake is disruptive still with family on our minds.  Two of our daughters and children had to come home for respite.  They felt like refugees from a war zone and quite understood what it was like to be displaced persons!  So great to have them here, though they have now returned to face the clean-up and the rebuild! 

Not that I haven't been busy, but mostly fiddling with dolls and ideas.  I can feel a creative surge coming on!  I'm advertising my group and also making plans for the next Steam Punk Exhibition.  My grandson Ben is doing a computer design for a course he's doing, so I thought I might make it up to see how it will look.  This one will be a challenge for me!  I've also got Thenardier the Innkeeper on the go, as well as a Gnome pattern - amongst other more secret things.  If I didn't have to go to work............ 

I am enjoying taking the Online Class with CDA.  It's great to get questions and it gives me ideas of what might not be included in my pattern that would be useful.  People can go at their own pace and we can show each other pictures of progress to check hopw things are going.  Quite interactive!

My First Online Class is on now!



I'm very excited to announce the Cloth Doll Artistry is hosting my first Online Class, Jeanne - the Innkeepers Wife!  This is great because I had trouble myself finding something that would extend my skills, so now I can offer it to anyone who wants to go a bit further with face sculpting and expression.  I actually didn;t know what I knew till I did it myself, which is ironical!  Now, others have the opportunity to try it out themselves and see what they are capable of too.  



Jeanne- The Innkeepers Wife!

Meantime, back to my old favourite Jill Maas patterns, and this is my interpretation of High Octave Hester again, renamed - "Great Aunt Harley!  I started by just making the bodice, and it all evolved from there - like they do! 

I think I spent more time making the fan than the rest of the doll! LOL! I'm not the worlds best embellisher I have to say, but sometimes I like to do something a bit finnicky!

Great Aunt Harley!

"Make the best of the least - and the most of the worst"!

Thought I'd change Jill Maas pattern a bit and do some embellishing - seeing I hardly ever do!  Sometimes you just need to play and see what happens!

My version of Jill Maas pattern High Octave Hester.  I modelled her on my favourite opera singer "Monserrat Caballe", who sang with Freddie Murcury - Barcelona!  Just love her voice, and she presents as such a cheerful character who  loves what she does so well.  Spent the time making her while listening to Monserrat singing on utube!  Very inspiring to make dolls to music!



Pattern Wisdom

A pattern is someone’s expressed idea and although it is able to be replicated, it does not need to be an end in itself, but is able to be expressed and expanded on by someone else.   

To expect to replicate a pattern exactly is not always realistic and certainly does not mean failure.  It simply means something new and different will have been made with the stamp of someone else.

I often make something I am not satisfied with and put it away.  Later on I might have another idea I can use it for - the basis of a doll that is different. 

 A perfect example is the Steam Punk Doll I made for the Steam Punk Exhibition.  It started life as a body form for a pincushion.  For a few years it was headless.  Then I found a head I had disgarded beacuse I wanted to try some fur fabric on it to see how it would look.  I attached it to the pincushion.  I liked it and it continued as a pincushion for another year - very handy too!  I tried it with different hats and it became a manniquin for dresses and hats. 

Then Steam Punk came along.  I had already made the Top Hat, so embellished it with Victoriana.  I pinned all sorts of elements to the body to play with the ideas associated with Steam Punk, i.e. nothing plastic. 

Then decided it need more tradition attached to it, so found a piece of varnished wood from an old staircase to use as a base, wrapped leather and velvet around it to attach it to the body.  I photocopied an ornate keyhole, resized it, cut it out and glued it over black velvet.  I painted it with several coats of Mod Podge which stiffened it and gave the appearance of real metal.

I used an actual cotton padded shoulderpad cut in half, lined with wire and fur for the shoulder piece and stuck pins up-right in it.  Added arms with shirt sleeeves attached and it was done. 

It was not particularly pretty, but it caught attention and the original unsatisfactory body and head was well disguised  by the overall effectiveness of the look. The naming of it and the story that went with it added to it's attraction. 

Never give up!  It's all worth it in the end - and if it's not worth it, it's not the end!

Happy New Year!

Ah it's good to be back with my friends at Oamaru Cloth Doll Crafters! Got a good ring to it?  OCDC!   We were missing a few members, but this is what everyone bought for show and tell!  I'm delighted at the creativity and great work of these dollmakers!

Aren't they wonderful!  They've been very busy.  Jean has made The Muffin Man for a local Coffee shop.  He comes with a surprise when he's turned around!

Jean would be soooo embarrased if I presented the whole back view, suffice to say - he has all his bits and pieces!  He should be a good talking point at the Coffee Shop!  He is actually very well made and Jean always makes a very good job of what she undertakes to do. 

This delightful young thing(called Jezza-Belle I think) has just got great legs and her beautiful shoes are painted on - but you'd never know! 

 

She's sporting lucious sparkling eyelashes to flash too, so it's murder on the dance floor!  Adrianne is really getting in the swing of dollmaking now and is refining the details.  It's so exciting!

My first project for 2011 - A nosey Gnome who hasn't got a Gnome to go to!  It a laughing Gnome - belongs to the Gnome Association of course! From Gnome-man's land!  Ha!