Joanne is putting together an elf.  Not bad considering she is new to dollmaking, and also that pattern had no instructions with it!  She is quite talented in the way of sewing!  I'm dying to know what it will look like in the end!

Well here's the heads!  Would you believe they are the same doll head?  It's all in the sculpting and colouring!

Julie has many dolls on the go.  Some are UFO's that she is wanting to tackle - as well as doing the monthly mini workshop we do!

Olive is enjoying Jean's antics of avoiding the camera!  She is making a baby Troll and getting her head around how it all goes together!  nhext week she's going to Lacemaking!  She's very talented too!

Jean has been recuperating from a motorbile accident, so coming to OCDC keeps her connected - and she's a tremendous help to me, which is most important!  Here's Raelene showing us the beautiful book she made at scrapbooking!  I love it!  Raelene is multitalented too!  I'm so grateful to be surrounded by these women who share their skills and talents with me! 

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Another little doll about to get it's head!  Jodie has been learning how to needlesculpt the head on one of my patterns I called Jessie.  She's calling it Gabby because her little girl has the same colour hair!  Jodie is working on three Trolls as well - Easter presents for her children!

I'm making a new 'Krista' doll as i sold my last one and I need another one for the workshop I am giving in April.  I thought I'd do a Retro style dress for her as the original doll didn't have a dress pattern.

The dress pattern took longer to design and make than the whole doll!  The main thing is I had great fun making it from panels of plain and spot quilting fabric.  She also has a half petticoat with cotton lace of course, and lacy knickers.  Painted shoes and an appropriate wig to finish her off and  -'Voila'!

Think the ladies will enjoy making this one?

SFM Cloth Dolls With Attitude!#links

http://www.utes-trolls.com/index.htm
SFM Cloth Dolls With Attitude!#links

A very happy little Troll!

 Troll for Tree

Baby Troll

A day alone today!  Yay!  The last week I have made three baby Trolls, and when I got one finished, my granddaughter grabbed that one and then my sister Tree the next, so I’ve just about finished my third!  I wanted to complete one for my doll class to see if they wanted to make one for Easter.  They turn out different each time I make one!  So cute!  These are Ute's Trolls of course, and don;t take long to make.  You could make them crawling, sleeping, hiding - anything!  They are delightful fun!  Thanks Ute!

Started the year with a mini workshop, making faces!  Two new students, Joanne getting help from Adrianne who is an old hand now, and Jodie, who is doing everything all at once!  Not one, but two Trolls on the go, as well as the head she's making for the workshop!  Raelene is in the background sewing.  Luckily Joanne is sewing machine savvy and got the old machine to work properly tonight!  In the background are some completed dolls.

Aqua Blue 2012

Aqua Blue!

Here's a little mermaid I've been playing with the last few days. I've called her 'Aqua Blue'!Think she'd make a wee pattern? She looks good on a shelf, but equally soft & cuddly for a wee tot! Her arms move and I could make her top removable as children like dressing & undressing. She has no armature and is about ten inches from head to tail. One arm is bent and the other a tad straighter and she has a belly button and the beginnings of little buttocks drawn in. I think she'd cope ok if she happenbed to fall in the bath! Her hair is made from one of those interesting yarns with something shiney in it that lends itself well to a mermaid!



The Innkeeper 2012

I am delighted to present my newly finished Doll - the first for the year!  This is 'The Innkeeper' inspired by Les Miserables, to go with 'Jeanne - the Innkeepers Wife' that I made in 2010, so he's been a long time in the making!

 The Innkeeper will be a new class on Cloth Doll Artistry starting in February, so will not be available as a pattern for a while. I counted the hours and it has taken me over 45 hours to design and make the doll and put the pattern together at the same time! It is filled with drawings & photo's, so plenty to learn!  I am really keen to encourage people to upskill their talents with this art form, which is so gratifying!

 Another Class I will have on CDA will be about cobbling shoes for cloth dolls, so anyone who takes these classes should find them an interesting challenge!  I hope you will look out for them!

Now all I have to do is find a buyer for this chap!

Here is a prototype of the doll I intend to make as a pattern this year! I call it travelling light! The pattern doll will be different of course, as I made this in muslin, but I just loved the movement and attitude she presents. I hope you will make some cvomments on it and klet me know what you think, or if i should make any changes? Always interested to hear!

New Year 2012 - New Pattern!

It's been wonderful to have time to design a doll and make a new pattern, which I have spent 25.85 hours doing so far and it's not finished yet! I've been counting up my hours of progress this time, as it's a question I am often asked.
It's taken me 10.55 hours of that to write up 10 pages!  I have to make the doll as I write, draw and scan - and often redraw, then photoshop, take photo's,download  and insert, so it does take a little concentration.  Putting the doll together is like doing a puzzle.  Checking that all the parts are correctly scaled to the overall figure.

Of course the dog distracts me often, which reminds me I need to get some exercise, so it all takes longer and then, for some reason, we all have to eat! 

The new pattern is the long awaited Thenardier, The Innkeeper inspired by the theatrical show Les Misrables. He will go with his wife Jeanne, one of my other patterns. They should make a good pair! Currently Jeanne is a class with CDA.  Thenardier is such a cocky character and I am depicting him in a pose that shows this attitude.

All I have to do now is make his jacket apron pad & pencil, then sew on his arms, hair & Phyrgian Cap and that's the doll done.  For the pattern, I have to write up the construction notes for all the clothes, shoes cap etc and photoshop all the pattern pieces, then insert them.  Lastly - take a great picture  and design the cover.  So still a bit of work, but it helps to tick them off!  I really wanted to have it all done by last night, but I'm an old lady now - I must remember this!  LOL!

I have given this porcelain doll a modern makeover!  She was one of those dolls that flooded the market and then gathered dust and was neglected!

This one has been completely dismantled, unstuffed, rewired, had eyes replaced, face painted, hair cut & restyled. Her body has been relpaced with new cloth, restuffed and embellished.

Now she looks lovely and is just waiting to be collected and enjoyed!

Finally Olive's finished her lovely fairy!  We've had great fun playing with it tonight.  These jointed dolls are so posable!

Little Bit 2011 Free Pattern

A Little Bit!

By Sharon Mitchell 2011

Little Bit is easy to put together in the usual way. The whole body is calico, but I used a strip of two-way stretch fabric to make the tail and it worked really well for turning.  Trace the pattern on to freezer paper, press piece s on fabric and stitch around the paper shape leaving the marked openings.  Cut out leaving a small seam allowance.  Clip curves and peel off freezer paper, which can be used several times. Only the hands and feet have Chenille stems in them to stand and pose.

 Colour the inner ears, toes and paws with light strokes of crimson red Prismacolour pencil, before you hand sew them on with a fine needle & matching thread.

Fold the openings of the ears in and run a gathering stitch over the edge before sewing them on, to make them curve inwards.

Mark the eyes with Prismacolour pencil crimson red before sculpting in two 3mm black beads  from one side of the face to the other side, to indent them in.  Not too loose that will make them stick out.

‘Pink’ up the nose with Prismacolour pencil red and outline with tan pigma pen, or copper gel pen (if using the gel pen, spray first to seal, with hairspray).

Sculpt in a little mouth from the eyes, to pull up the cheeks a little and give a cheerful face! 

 Make a little scarf from a small scrap of gauze, soaked in blue & red cochineal and dry with hair dryer so it’s nice & wrinkly.  (Wear gloves so you will not stain your hands!)

Find a sheaf of lavender or other fine stalk flowers and cut to size – hold with string and pose arms around them for effect!

And there you have your own... Little Bit!

 

Clicking on the pattern should open it to print off

At last we had the Victorian Fete today and here is our stall all set up with three of us selling things.  Olive & Jean's dolls were on display and very popular!  No one bought any, but it was more an advertising exercise for our group and we managed to give away a few flyers, so here's hoping!  Raelene's table in the front was a good drawcard and there were plenty of people she knew. The rain held off until about 2pm - similar to last year!  We had plenty of street entertainment and between us all we made enough to make it worthwhile.

Here I am in my silly hat I threw together, with lots of clothes on to keep warm!  I look like a pitiful little flower seller!  Like the sign?  Applique using florals on black!  We drew a bit of attention from a wide range of the public, so it was good!  Going to bed now though!

Before restoration

This is my accidental buy on Trademe!  I didn;t intend to win it because I was sure someone else would place a higher bid, but I was wrong!  I had a problenm then - how to restore a plastic 1950's Pedigree Walkie Talkie Doll!  I started with the head - Used my expensive hair shampoo & conditioner!  Then drilled a hole in the iron stem to attach it to the mechanism it had broken off from.  Restrung the arms and tackled the broken foot with Selleys Knead it putty to seal the hollow so I could make a clay foot.That was surprisingly successful, so I painted it with acrylic and matt Mod Podge  to hold it in place and it looks reasonable enough!

After restoration

I'm feeling Rather pleased with my efforts to restore this doll that's close to may age!  wish I could do as well for myself!  LOL!  I was delighted to find she has real hair, so could do something with it.  My friend Kris made the machine embroidered shoes which fit beautifully!  Some leftover dress fabric made the dress, embellished with dupion silk collar and silk ribbon roses with satin leaves.

 I've been trying my hand at restoring a couple of dolls.  This one is 36 years old and has had a rough life.  Many children have played with her and a dog chewed off one foot! For years she has been discarded in various toy boxes and I retrieved it a while ago  - don't ask me why!   Anyway, I've made another foot with clay and painted it with acrylic paint and a matt Mod Podge, so hopefully it will stay in place!  I recoloured the lips and Mod podged them.  I replaced the blinking eyes with plastic ones backed up with clay, and to take the staring look off them, the glasses did the trick!  I made her a gymfrock so she could look like a little student!  She's waiting for new shoes and I'm about to make her a little suitcase for her schoolbooks!  My daughter, who was the original owner, named her Lesley, and now she wants her back! 

Little Bit!

Here is a little bit of a mouse I put together to see what it would look like.  It didn't look too bad, so I carried on and now I am very happy with it!  My friend Jeanne liked it and named it 'Little Bit'!

Look at this colourful doll in the making!  The exquisite wings are a delight to behold and Olive is very proud of them!  this doll will be a real cracker when she's made!  Olive is fone of beadwork and many hours have gone into sewing one lots of tiny beads.

Now there's a real resemblance here - we all agree!

Innkeepers head.

Here I am - home for a week with a virus!  Have to recuperate with something, so thought I'd make a start on the Innkeeper Pattern.  This is the easy part - the fun part!  The hard part is transcribing what I've just done to paper, describing all the sculpting steps and how to colour it!  Hmmmm!  Might have to make another one and watch what I'm actually doing!

On the good side, I have actually begun to write the pattern up and have done quite a few drawings already too!

What a profile!  Hard to get a high forehead, but he will have a most interesting hat on and some of my favourite whispy hair!  I think he'll be an interesting character to go with his wife. No his face isn't dirty - that's his five o'clock shadow of course!



OCDC
Raelene studiously working on sculpting her second doll - a Jill Maas.

Olive making hair for her new doll.  She's quite pleased with this one!

All very industrious tonight! Jean with her nose down working on another doll.  She's starting to crank them out now!  I've missed a few photo opportunities the last few weeks, but some lovely dolls being made here! 

"Ragtime Rats!"

This is my latest pattern called "RAGTIME RATS!"  I don't know if they will be very popular, but someone might like to make them for something fun!  They didn't take long to make and easy to do in front of the telly - if you don't have a pup who thinks everything on a low lying table is fair game!  I've been watching Swing Dancing on U tube!  LOL!

Tred & Bee

This is my interpretation of Ute Vasina's Wee Folk!  She needs jandals!  Her teeth are made from shell.  He ended up being cute!  I think I will re-dress her!

These are my swinging Rats!  Not sure what to call them, but I have just finished making the pattern for them! It's interesting that it doesn't matter how big or small a doll is, it all takes just as long to put together!  Same for the pattern!  Now I just need to get a decent pic to make a cover - and a name!  Anyone got any good ideas?

My entry for the Steam Punk Exhibition October 2011

Maximillion Masterfell, fresh from adventurous explorations in the stony Isles of Mauritias, with his guide and erstwhile companion, Professor Theodosia Thrumm, are escorting fierce diminutive ‘Con’, a wee-mannie conservationist Eco Warrior  from ‘way back’! Con is determined to save the Dodo from extinction by introducing them to NZ shores. He hopes to re-categorise them as the forerunner of the pigeon, and thus afford them the sanctuary they deserve!  Masterfell & Thrum are in talks with local Iwi and Doc on the subject and the South Island of NZ will be a natural choice as a suitable location to begin the breeding program!

Sharon Mitchell ~Designer,Maker, & Writer of silly stories! 2011

Professor Theodosia Thrumm!

Close up of Theodosia Thrumm.

Theodosia gets her knickers on!

Notice how I've put the legs on a bit crooked?  That's to give her a more relaxed stance - not that it's noticed when she's dressed!  This body piece is from my new pattern Miss Kate, though I did modify the botoms of the legs with this one.

Dodo Eco Warrior!

Dodo  Eco Warrior!

If it seems I've been quiet lately, I've actually been very busy!  It's middle of winter here and there's been lots for me to do in preparation for the Steam Punk Exhibition in October.  I'm doing a three piece work this year - just for fun!  The Dodo Warrior here is part of it and he will go with Maximillian Masterfell and his companion, who you will see soon, so I'm not saying her name yet!  I have aslo made up a quirky story to go with them, which I will share when I get a pic of them all together! She's almost done!  Loved making the Dodo!  This pattern is Suzette Glastonbury Rugulo's, but I chose different fabric to make it and a few additions of my own of course.  I made the wee warrior's shield from the lid of a jam tin stretched with wet leather. (He reminds me of Billy Connelly!)   Sorry the pictures aren't all that clear.  My camera is on it's last legs!  Or maybe it's the winter light - can't be my bad photography!

Double click on the picture to enlarge.  Right click to print.

...........  This is the Trunk I made from a tissue box and here are the construction notes that you can copy and paste to your computer and make them big enough to read, if you want to make one for yourself.  It's all illusion ......the trunk does not open, purely decorative!  Copy some images online of hunges and a clasp, and soem travel labels.  BAck the hinges and clasp with leather or thick card to make it stand out and look like a real one.  Paint the whole things with Mod Podge for a good effect.  I guess if you want it to look really old you could use some of that crackle paint! 

Most of all - have fun!

This is Biscuit!  He is a free pattern for you to use, but please give me the credit for designing him.

Requirements for making "Biscuit"!

Knitted short nap fur fabric - a must for this look!

Prismacolour pencil - black

Three black beads 5mm for eyes and 6mm for nose

Scrap of fabric or ribbed ribbon for collar & leash.  Small buckle for collar.

This is the pattern.  Double click to enlarge.  Right click to print.  In Properties, set to landscape. I made it so it was seven inches tall standing.

Because I am a novice at soft toy making fabrics, this dog was a happy accident!  If I’d tried to make it like this, it wouldn’t have turned out so well.  This is how I made it!

Construction notes.

v Place the pattern pieces on the fabric.  Because it’s knitted, and depending what size stitch you use, the nap is liable to move.  Pin it as much as possible, but little stretches in the fabric will give the fabric a twist, causing the pieces to be an un-uniform fit.  This is what gives the curl in the tail, or the turn of the dogs head and the limbs to look like they are moving.

v Stuff the pieces and put together in whatever pose you wish – or can!

v Using Prismacolour pencil black, mark in the eyes, creating shadows.  Also the nose and mouth.  If  the marks need darkening, wet the pencil and rub into the fabric.  Do the same on the back and the tips of the ears and possibly tail.

v Using the smaller beads, stitch back and forth to create the indent for the eyes and bridge of the nose.

v The larger bead in the nose – or you can be more creative than I about that!

v I stitched the ears on, and then bent them forward, anchoring them with thread. 

v Make a collar.

v All done – make a pair!  There are two different forelegs for this one!
Save this to your computer and enlarge to your requirements.

Haven't managed to get a good enough picture for the cover yet - still working on that.  Got to get the angle and the light right. 

The trunk is just a tissue box which I boxed up in Balsa wood, with pieces over the top to hold the shape.  Wrapped in brown paper, painted it with Gesso to firm it up.  Top coated it with acrylic paint, using black, yellow and a hint of red.  Had some green leather, cut it in strips, wet and stretched it over the edges and pinned it in place.  Squeezed the corners and snipped them.  They just stayed there and set in place as they dried out!  Marked a lid in felt pen, found some travel labels online and stuck them on. Found some hinges and a fastener and stuck them on leather, cut out and stuck them in place. Mod podge'd it all and it was done! It could probably do with some straps and buckles around it, which I have here. Needless to say, it doesn't open - and still has some tissues inside!  LOL!  Actually, it would make a novel tissue box cover! 

The other round thing is a very unrealistic looking hatbox, which will have to be replaces with something better.

The dog I designed ages ago, but it looks ok in this setting - gives her something to be doing!