Made It!

Just squeaked by completing the ornaments for Christmas stockings this year. Here they are:

Ornament 2014

I am making pairs of Russian Skaters as my 2014 ornament. I made a pair for the annual ornament swap that my doll making group does each year and I liked them so much  I decided to try to make 6 more for my children's stockings. May have bitten off more than I can chew but time will tell.

These are the pair I gave away at the ornament swap.

 A shot of her pantaloones. All she needs are her skate laces and she will be done!

They start with a simple pipe cleaner frame and a wooden bead head. I needle felted a torso to give them a bit more body shape.  Once the frame work is done, the fun begins with costuming. Now that I have completed my first pair, I have so many color scheme ideas for the next ones. Just not enough time in the day to accomplish everything I would like to do.

Princess Peyton

I just completed my 8th wall doll. Not a mermaid this time, but a princess! I wanted to try making a crown- hence the royalty. Anyone that knows me is aware of my aversion to beading. I really do not like doing it and as a result do not do it well. But I wanted to make a crown. So to avoid the wire and beads often use in crowns, I made mine out of lace with a few bead embellishments. I am really happy with the results.
Step 1: Find a piece of lace that can be cut and fitted to the doll's head. I used an old dresser scarf, fussy cut it and sewed it into the shape of a crown. Dry fit it to the doll.
Step 2: Roll a piece of cardboard into a tube that matches the circumference of the doll's head. Cover the cardboard with tape (wide packing tape works well) so the crown will not stick to the cardboard during the drying process.
Step 3: Soak the crown in Fabric Stiffener- I used Paverpol and let it dry on the cardboard tube. I let mine dry overnight, but I have read that you can use the microwave to speed up the process. You can shape the crown a bit during the drying process.
Step 4: When dry the crown will be very firm. Slide it off the cardboard form and embellish to your heart's content. You can paint it, bead it....whatever! I wanted mine to look like lace so I left it pretty plain, just added the beads at the edge for a bit of color, but the next time I think I will paint it a metallic color. Just a different approach.

May I introduce Princess Peyton!

The names of my wall dolls always start with the letter P and Princess Peyton is no exception. She is named in honor of my only grand daughter- Peyton Marianne.  The color scheme is olive green and salmon pink. The bows on her shoes are photographing more orange than they really are. Her scepter is a wooden dowel painted metallic gold with a small Christmas ornament on top. If you take the attachment off the ornament, the dowel slides right inside a perfect fit.
Her hair is braided black yarn. She has a needle felted head and arms with a stuffed torso and legs. She is approximately 24 inches from the very tip of her crown to the bottom of her toes. I am very pleased with her.

Knitting Scarves

I have not been making many dolls lately, instead I have been spending this summer vacation (school starts August 20!! Yikes!) sitting on the porch with my husband. We bought binoculars and have been passing every afternoon watching the birds and/or reading/listening to audiobooks.  Very peaceful. But having one of those annoying Type A personalities I find I still need to be doing something with my hands. So I decided to knit scarves for each of my children for Christmas. I made the scarf below for myself to test the pattern. I would need to make 6 more so the pattern could not be too complicated!

The pattern is a basket weave which I like because it becomes reversible.  Currently I am knitting scarf #4 of my goal of 6 scarves by the end of the summer.

Here is the pattern if you are interested:
Size 8 knitting needles
Cast on 32 stitches
Garter stitch (knit across) first 4 rows then follow basket weave pattern below:
Rows 1-5  Knit 8, *(purl 4, knit 4) repeat from * until end of row
Rows 6-10 *(Knit 4, Purl 4) repeat from * until there are 8 stitches left, Knit 8
Repeat this pattern until the desired length then, Garter stitch the last 4 rows, bind off.

I am making the scarves out medium weight #4 yarn. You will need approximately 395 yards depending on how long you want your scarf. My finished scarf is about 6 1/2 inches wide and 76 inches long. You do not need to block this scarf.

Polar: Arctic Ocean Mermaid

I finished my third mermaid today. Her name is Polar because she is holding a polar bear cub! Each mermaid is named after what they are holding or the ocean they represent (or should I day "live in"!). This mermaid's tail is made from deep purple wool overlaid with a white lace. Her bodice is the same deep purple wool as her tail sans the lace. On her bodice is a vintage pin (another from my grandmother's old costume jewelry box that I was fortunate to inherit).  Some of the rhinestones were missing from the pin, so I embellished it with purple beads. Her hair is hand-spun yarn that is very soft. It is 40% angora (bunny) and 60% merino (sheep) which translates to 100% yummy! I bought this yarn at the NH Sheep & Wool festival and have been saving it for the right doll.

As with the other two mermaids, Polar has a needle felted head and upper torso and a stuffed fabric tail. The little baby polar bear cub is entirely needle felted

Here is a picture of the three mermaids on the closet door in my studio. Pearl (Atlantic Ocean), Pacifica (Pacific Ocean) and Polar (Arctic Ocean). Only one left to create- Indian Ocean- think of the possibilities!

Published!

Last December I sent Pearl, my New England Mermaid, into Art Doll Quarterly in response to their call for mermaid dolls and to my delight she made the cut! She can be seen on page 69. It is very exciting to see your doll in a magazine. When I get her back, I will photograph her with the magazine but for now here is a picture of her along with a picture of the magazine

A Pair of Puffins

Almost 5 inches

Just 4 inches

Jewel: Fairy Queen of Joy

I just completed (almost completed) my third Fairy Queen. Her name is Jewel. My other two Fairies are holding things in their hands, Jewel is not, so perhaps she isn't really finished.

In the photo, her dress and hair seem to be distinctively different shades of blue, but actually the turquoise hair is almost the same as her dress which is photographing blue rather than turquoise.

As with the other two fairies, she has a needle-felted head, arms, and upper torso. Her gown is designed over a styrofoam cone. All three fairies' gowns are made from craft felt which I just learned is made in the USA of eco-fi polyester made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles! Pays to read the labels!

Nefertiti                                         Jewel                                            Uno
Fairy Queen of Strength                  Fairy Queen of Joy                    Fairy Queen of Truth
 

March of the Fairy Queens

Pacifica: A Mermaid of the Pacific Ocean

Here is my second mermaid- Pacifica.  I used my same pattern as Pearl (Atlantic Mermaid). Pacifica has a needle felted head with a Styrofoam armature, a stuffed fabric torso and tail and needle felted arms. Her torso has a needle felted overlay. Her hair is hand-spun dyed wool with a metallic thread interwoven. Her headpiece is painted lace. The fabric of her tail has a fish tessellation on it.
Here she is:

Shell in her Hand

Water Droplets on her Tail

Pacifica
Pacific Ocean Mermaid

Pearl
Atlantic Ocean Mermaid

I did change the cut of the top of her tail and added side flukes to Pacifica but otherwise they are the same pattern.
I like to put these wall dolls on interior doors as well as walls. Very inviting.

I have now made 6 wall dolls. Four are elf creatures and two mermaids. The weird thing is all their names start with the letter P which was not  initially planned, but now I seem committed.  They are: Periwinkle, Pansy, Pebbles, Paper Crane and Pearl all named after whatever they are holding in their hands. Pacifica is holding a pearl just like Pearl, so to distinguish between the two she is called Pacifica because of her golden sunny color scheme  in contrast to Pearl's cold blue. I have plans for one more mermaid from the Arctic Ocean. She would naturally be called Polar. It just never ends! At least the mermaids are pretty creatures unlike my little dwarves!

Tolkien Dwarf #3: Oin

The last of my trio of dwarves inspired by the writing of Tolkien is now complete. This little fellow is called Oin. He is the tallest of the three, just measuring a bit below 10 inches. He is also the oldest of the three, sporting quite a mane of white hair and a long curled beard.  Because of the white hair, I gave him a bit of color in his outfit. I really like his fur boots with the silver buckles.  And I must say I am impressed with the battle axe he is carrying. As with the other two dwarves, his body is 100% solid needle felted wool with wired arms, fingers and legs. His cape and his weapon are both removable, but all his other clothes are permanently sewed to his body.

 One, Two, and Three!

Now I need to work on something a bit more attractive!

Tolkien Dwarf #2: Gloin

Second figure finished- maybe. I might add a sword or small axe to his left hand or I might not. I'm going to let him be for a while. I find that I need to leave a piece for a while, then look at it again with fresh eyes to decide if it is actually finished or needs improvements.
Anyway, here he is.

 The biggest challenge with little Gloin was his shield. It is needle felted with the addition of the sterling silver chains and the small plastic center cap. The center cap helps it keep its shape and gives him something to grasp. I reinforced his arm with a metal hook that the cap loops onto inside his hand. That way it can be removed but won't be constantly falling off every time he is moved. 


His jacket is machine embroidered wool fabric. His boots are wonderful but unfortunately do not photograph well. They are fur- very fashion forward for a dwarf. He also has glass eyes-piercing blue ones.

Two down, one to go!

 I certainly don't want to give the impression that I can make these figures in one day! Ha! Not even close! I know there will be three figures because I made the three heads first. The heads took me nearly a day each, but they do define the characters so as I am making them I am also thinking of who this character will be. Once I had the heads made, then I made three bodies and attached the three heads to the bodies (unclothed). Finally time to have the fun of  creating clothes and accessories. It takes me about a day, sometimes two, to clothe and accessorize the figures. So it is a slow process, but lots of fun.

Tolkien Dwarf #1: Dwalin

Finally finished my first Tolkien inspired dwarf. He certainly looks ready for any adventure. He is a solid needle felt. I did wire his legs, arms and fingers for movement but otherwise he is solid wool all the way through. He stands just shy of 9 inches tall. His jacket is made of felt that I embellished with embroidery stitching and trim. His eyes are glass. He carries his axe which is also needle felted wool attached to a small stick that I varnished to seal it. He is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his two compatriots.

Teaser Alert!

I am going to tease you with just a small part of the figure I am currently needle felting. Actually it is a trio of figures that I was inspired to make after watching the Hobbit.  You can probably guess. In  any case, this little satchel can actually hold something as it can be unlatched and opened if desired.

I should have one of the figures finished today. I will try to post a picture of him very soon. The satchel is his. Stay tuned.